[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 10 (Thursday, January 17, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E60]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION EXPRESSING CONGRESS' 
 SUPPORT FOR PROVIDING TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS TO HAITIAN NATIONALS 
 RESIDING IN THE UNITED STATES AT THE TIME HURRICANE MATTHEW HIT HAITI

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                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 17, 2019

  Mr. HASTINGS. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my House 
concurrent resolution, which expresses Congress' support for extending 
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Haitian Nationals who resided in 
the United States when Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti on October 4, 2016.
  Hurricane Matthew was the worst hurricane to hit the country in 50 
years. It took the lives of over 1,000 people and directly affected 2.1 
million Haitians with the internal displacement of 175,000 people and 
leaving 1.4 million in need of urgent humanitarian aid.
  It is estimated that Hurricane Matthew resulted in damage that will 
cost Haiti $1,000,000,000, or about 11.4 percent of its gross domestic 
product. This includes extensive damage to Haiti's roadways, bridges, 
buildings, and other critical infrastructure. Additionally, Hurricane 
Matthew resulted in tremendous destruction in Haiti's agricultural 
sector with crop losses estimated to be $360 million.
  Madam Speaker, as we all know, Haiti continues its efforts to rebuild 
from the 2010, 7.0 magnitude earthquake, and recover from the Cholera 
outbreak of the same year. With these tragedies in mind, and the 
knowledge that Haitians continue to work diligently to address these 
and other important issues, including creating strong democratic 
institutions, I encourage all Members to join me in letting the Haitian 
Diaspora know that we stand with them.

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