[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 67 (Thursday, May 6, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E789]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HAITI ECONOMIC LIFT PROGRAM ACT OF 2010

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 5, 2010

  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 
5160--the Haiti Economic Lift Program Act of 2010. As a co-sponsor of 
this bill, I strongly believe that it is another important and 
necessary step to ensure successful recovery and future sustainability 
in Haiti.
  Haiti's long term development is the ultimate concern and goal of all 
participating donors and supporting organizations. January's earthquake 
struck Haiti during a time of economic vulnerability. Before the 
earthquake, Haiti was, by far, the poorest country in the Western 
Hemisphere. However, the United States has led the way in securing a 
stable and prosperous future for the people and government of Haiti.
  We have displayed our commitment through trade preference programs 
including the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act, as amended by the 
United States-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act, the Haitian 
Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act of 2006, 
``HOPE Act'', and the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through 
Partnership Encouragement Act of 2008, ``HOPE II Act''. These 
amendments extended duty-free tariff treatment to certain apparel 
produced in Haiti and have made an important contribution to Haiti's 
economic development efforts.
  Before the earthquake, Haiti also has among the world's lowest levels 
of gross domestic product per capita. An estimated 80 percent of the 
population lived under the poverty line and 54 percent living in abject 
poverty, according to the CIA World Factbook. According to the United 
Nations Human Development Report, more than two-thirds of the labor 
force is believed to not have formal jobs, and just 62.1 percent of 
adults over age 15 are literate. Additionally, 18 percent of Haitians 
did not live to the age of 40.
  Yet, despite the destruction wreaked by multiple tropical storms in 
2008, Haiti's economy and infrastructure-building seemed to be turning 
a corner in recent years, aided by international support and debt 
relief programs.
  In fact, according to the New York Times, ``Haiti was one of only two 
Caribbean countries expected to grow in 2009. There were hopes of a 
tourism revival, reinforced by the announcement that a new Comfort Inn 
would open there this May. In a sign of its growing structural 
sophistication, Haiti even recently announced that it would begin 
collecting better national statistics, with the help of the 
International Monetary Fund, so that it could better assess and 
calibrate its economic policies.'' The earthquake on January derailed 
this progress.
  Today we approved a bill which will help Haiti recover from that 
devastating earthquake by opening the U.S. market to more clothing from 
the Caribbean country, sparking growth in Port-au-Prince and the 
surrounding region. Subsequently, when the bill reaches the Senate, I 
urge my colleagues to move quickly in support of the bill.
  The clothing sector accounted for 75 percent of Haiti's export 
earnings and employed more than 25,000 people before the January 12 
earthquake that killed more than 300,000, and this bill makes it more 
attractive for clothing manufacturers to invest in new facilities in 
Haiti by extending and expanding the duty-free access to the U.S. 
clothing market under two separate programs.
  As important as this legislation is, it is only one part of a much 
larger American assistance response to the earthquake. America will 
continue to respond with humanitarian assistance to help the people of 
this struggling island nation rebuild their livelihoods. I send my 
condolences to the people and government of Haiti as they grieve once 
again in the aftermath of a natural disaster. As Haiti's neighbor, I 
believe it is the United States' responsibility to help Haiti recover, 
and build the capacity to mitigate against future disasters.
  Once again I stand in solidarity with the people of Haiti and will do 
everything in my power to assist them with rebuilding their country and 
livelihoods. I am proud of our first responders, and pledge that 
America's long term commitment to Haiti will live up to the standard 
that the first responders set.