[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 9, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S530-S531]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            HAITI EARTHQUAKE

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, in 2003 I joined my friend, then-Senator 
Mike DeWine, in visiting Haiti. While no longer in the Senate, Mike 
remains a tireless advocate for Haiti. Also joining us were Senator 
Bill Nelson and Representative Kendrick Meek.
  At the time, the country was trapped in a political and economic 
slump. Yet, amid the country's grinding poverty and broken political 
system, the Haitian people maintained an incredible vibrancy and 
kindness. It is a warmth one notices among the many Haitians living in 
the United States, including the more than 7,000 who call Chicago their 
home.
  I have never forgotten that experience, and over the years I have 
worked to support development and economic programs to help the Haitian 
people. Last year I introduced a bill with Senator Brownback to help 
reforest Haiti with techniques proven in other nations.
  A year ago I had the chance to return to Haiti--this time with 
Senator Jeff Bingaman, Congressman Meek, and an Illinois State Senator 
whose parents are from Haiti, Kwame Raoul. While the country still 
faced terrible poverty, much had improved since my earlier visit. The 
government and political system had stabilized.
  A multination U.N. peacekeeping force had brought an end to most of 
the gang violence, kidnappings, and lawlessness. Special trade programs 
with the United States had sparked a rebirth of the garment industry, 
providing thousands of Haitians with jobs. Groups such as Partners in 
Health and Hands Together were making progress in building health care 
capacity and educating children from the poorest slums of Port-au-
Prince. The country had even rebounded from a series of devastating 
hurricanes and tropical storms.
  And most recently, former President Bill Clinton had become the U.N. 
Special Envoy to Haiti, bringing his skill and energy,--along with 
Secretary Clinton's leadership in the State Department,--to help 
improve the lives of the Haitian people. While still desperately poor, 
many had sensed the country was turning a corner.
  Then tragedy struck. On January 12, the largest earthquake in this 
hemisphere in 200 years devastated Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, and 
several surrounding towns. The Haitian Government estimates that 
200,000 people died. Sadly, that number is almost certain to grow. A 
staggering number of houses and buildings simply collapsed. It is 
estimated that 1 million people may now be homeless. Hospitals and 
government buildings were heavily damaged or destroyed. The U.N. 
headquarters crumbled to the ground, killing hundreds of international 
staff who had dedicated their lives to helping the people of Haiti. 
Only a short 90-minute plane ride from our shores, a small, poor nation 
has suffered an almost unimaginable catastrophe.
  President Obama immediately did the right thing. He mobilized the 
whole of the U.S. Government to help our neighbors in Haiti. Less than 
36 hours after the earthquake struck, President Obama pledged to the 
Haitian people that America would not forget them or forsake them in 
their time of need. He pledged $100 million in emergency aid for Haiti. 
This aid is in addition to the regular development assistance the 
United States provides to Haiti, which totaled at least $287 million 
last year and was planned to reach at least $340 million this year.
  In addition, over 17,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines--
including 17 members of the Illinois Guard--have been dispatched to 
assist in Haiti recovery and relief efforts. We have all seen their 
heroic efforts: medical treatment provided in the most challenging of 
conditions, survivors pulled from the rubble of collapsed buildings.
  American leadership is helping to coordinate the largest 
international relief effort since the cataclysmic Asian tsunami in 
2004, with governments throughout the world joining in. In Europe, the 
18 member nations of the European Union have pledged a total of $575 
million in emergency aid to Haiti. The E.U. has also sent security 
forces to help strengthen security in the devastated nation. Planeloads 
of rescue teams and relief supplies have been dispatched from nations 
including Britain, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, 
and Spain. Other countries--in South America, the Middle East, and 
Asia--have pledged to help. And government help is only the beginning.
  In typical American fashion, people and organizations from all over 
our country have donated money, organized shipments of medicine, food 
and water, and traveled to Haiti as emergency relief workers to help 
rescue and treat the earthquake victims.
  The Chronicle of Philanthropy conducted a survey. It found that in 
the first 13 days after the earthquake struck Haiti, individuals and 
groups donated $470 million to 39 U.S. nonprofit organizations for 
Haiti relief. Despite the economic pain and anxiety so many American 
families are feeling, Americans are once again demonstrating great 
generosity when it is so desperately needed. The American people have 
responded generously.
  According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy survey, the pace of giving 
for Haiti is running ahead of the amount donated in the same period 
after the September 11 attacks in 2001 and the Asian tsunami in 2004, 
and nearly as fast as the unprecedented outpouring of donations that 
followed Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
  Never before have so many Americans donated so much, so fast, to the 
people of another nation in need. And they have done so in large and 
small ways, including a novel approach that has made a significant mark 
for the first time--using their cell phones to ``text'' donations--a 
method that didn't even exist a few years ago.
  The American Red Cross has received more than $33 million through 
text-messaged gifts of $10 each. Other organizations have also tapped 
into the ``mobile giving'' movement to raise funds for Haiti.
  A global telethon last week has raised $66 million so far, with money 
still coming in from music downloads and other sources.
  Corporations are also stepping up. The Business Civic Leadership 
Center, a nonprofit group affiliated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 
reports that 265 companies have contributed more than $122 million for 
Haiti relief.
  Families around the world, including many in Illinois, have found 
that the Haitian orphans they were in the process of adopting are 
caught in the earthquake's uncertain aftermath.
  My heart goes out to these families and these children. We have been 
contacted by a number of Illinois families who are asking for help 
locating or reconnecting with a loved one who was caught in the quake. 
We have been working to minimize the redtape and put the families 
directly in contact with the U.S. Government task force and other 
groups who are on the ground in Haiti working on locating people and 
getting them to safety.
  With loving families waiting anxiously for news, we are doing all we 
can, in coordination with the Haitian Government, to help these 
children. We are also working to find and move to safety newly orphaned 
children.
  That is why I was heartened by the announcement by Department of 
Homeland Security Janet Napolitano that her agency and the Department 
of State have implemented a humanitarian parole policy that allows 
Haitian children already identified as orphans before the earthquake to 
enter the United States temporarily under certain circumstances.
  We will continue to address the most immediate needs in Haiti: 
rescuing survivors; providing shelter, food, water, and medical 
treatment; and avoiding the spread of disease. And we must commit to 
working with the Haitian people and international partners to help get 
Haiti back on its feet over the long term.
  The United States should join in the upcoming international donor 
conference that will shape a long-term plan to help put Haiti back on 
its feet in a way that is sustainable in the years ahead. We cannot 
undo the terrible loss Haiti has suffered, but we can show the best of 
American compassion, generosity, and ingenuity in helping the Haitian 
people rebuild their nation. I urge my colleagues to support these 
efforts.
  I yield the floor.

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