[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 25, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H3907-H3910]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HAITI CRIMINAL COLLUSION TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2023

  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 1684) to require the Secretary of State to submit an annual 
report to Congress regarding the ties between criminal gangs and 
political and economic elites in Haiti and impose sanctions on 
political and economic elites involved in such criminal activities, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1684

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Haiti Criminal Collusion 
     Transparency Act of 2023''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) According to a United Nations estimate, approximately 
     167 criminal gangs operated in Haiti in October 2021, 
     exerting territorial control over as much as two-thirds of 
     the country.
       (2) Haitian armed criminal gangs, the most prominent of 
     which are the G9 Family and Allies and 400 Mawozo gangs, 
     conduct violent crimes, including murder, rape, arms and drug 
     trafficking, racketeering, kidnapping, and blockades of fuel 
     and aid deliveries. These crimes have perpetuated the ongoing 
     security and humanitarian crises in Haiti, which have 
     worsened since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise 
     on July 7, 2021.
       (3) The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for 
     Human Rights and the Human Rights Service jointly found a 333 
     percent increase in human rights violations and abuses 
     against the rights to life and security in Haiti between July 
     2018 and December 2019.
       (4) At least 19,000 Haitians were forcibly displaced during 
     2021 due to rising criminal violence.
       (5) Armed gangs have used rape, and other forms of sexual 
     violence to instill fear, punish, subjugate, and inflict pain 
     on local populations with the goal of expanding their areas 
     of influence in Port-au-Prince.
       (6) At least 803 kidnappings were reported in Haiti during 
     the first 10 months of 2021, including the kidnapping of more 
     than 16 United States citizens, giving Haiti having the 
     highest per capita kidnapping rate of any country in the 
     world.
       (7) There is significant evidence of collusion between 
     criminal gangs and economic and political elites in Haiti, 
     including members of the Haitian National Police, which has 
     resulted in widespread impunity and directly contributed to 
     Haiti's current security crisis.
       (8) On December 10, 2020, the Office of Foreign Assets 
     Control of the Department of the Treasury designated former 
     Haitian National Police officer Jimmy Cherizier, former 
     Director General of the Ministry of the Interior Fednel 
     Monchery, and former Departmental Delegate Joseph Pierre 
     Richard Duplan under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights 
     Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 
     114-328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note) for their connections to armed 
     criminal gangs, including organizing the November 2018 La 
     Saline massacre.

     SEC. 3. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
     ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
       (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
       (B) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate;
       (C) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
       (D) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
     Representatives;
       (E) the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the 
     House of Representatives; and
       (F) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
     Representatives.
       (2) Economic elites.--The term ``economic elites'' means 
     board members, officers, and executives of groups, 
     committees, corporations, or other entities that exert 
     substantial influence or control over Haiti's economy, 
     infrastructure, or particular industries.
       (3) Intelligence community.--The term ``intelligence 
     community'' has the meaning

[[Page H3908]]

     given such term in section 3(4) of the National Security Act 
     of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)).
       (4) Political and economic elites.--The term ``political 
     and economic elites'' means political elites and economic 
     elites.
       (5) Political elites.--The term ``political elites'' means 
     current and former government officials and their high-level 
     staff, political party leaders, and political committee 
     leaders.
       (b) Report Required.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for the 
     following 5 years, the Secretary of State, in coordination 
     with the intelligence community, shall submit a report to the 
     appropriate congressional committees regarding the ties 
     between criminal gangs and political and economic elites in 
     Haiti. The report shall--
       (A) identify prominent criminal gangs in Haiti, describe 
     their criminal activities including coercive recruitment, and 
     identify their primary geographic areas of operations;
       (B) list Haitian political and economic elites who have 
     links to criminal gangs;
       (C) describe in detail the relationship between the 
     individuals listed pursuant to subparagraph (B) and the 
     criminal gangs identified pursuant to subparagraph (A);
       (D) list Haitian political and economic elites with links 
     to criminal activities who are currently subjected to visa 
     restrictions or sanctions by the United States, its 
     international partners, or the United Nations, including 
     information regarding--
       (i) the date on which each such Haitian political or 
     economic elite was designated for restrictions or sanctions;
       (ii) which countries have designated such Haitian political 
     and economic elites for restrictions or sanctions; and
       (iii) for Haitian political and economic elites who were 
     designated by the United States, the statutory basis for such 
     designation;
       (E) describe in detail how Haitian political and economic 
     elites use their relationships with criminal gangs to advance 
     their political and economic interests and agenda;
       (F) include a list of each criminal organization assessed 
     to be trafficking Haitians and other individuals to the 
     United States border;
       (G) include an assessment of how the nature and extent of 
     collusion between political and economic elites and criminal 
     gangs threatens the Haitian people and United States national 
     interests and activities in the country, including the 
     provision of security assistance to the Haitian government; 
     and
       (H) include an assessment of potential actions that the 
     Government of the United States and the Government of Haiti 
     could take to address the findings made pursuant to 
     subparagraph (G).
       (2) Form of report.--The report required under paragraph 
     (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include 
     a classified annex.
       (c) Designations of Political and Economic Elites.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of State, in coordination 
     with other relevant Federal agencies and departments, shall 
     identify persons identified pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and 
     (B) of subsection (b)(1) who may be subjected to visa 
     restrictions and sanctions under--
       (A) section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign 
     Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2022 
     (division K of Public Law 117-103; 8 U.S.C. 1182 note); or
       (B) section 1263 of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights 
     Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 10102).
       (2) Imposition of sanctions.--
       (A) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the date on 
     which the report is submitted pursuant to subsection (b), the 
     President shall impose, on individuals identified pursuant to 
     paragraph (1), to the extent applicable, the sanctions 
     referred to in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of such paragraph.
       (B) Exception relating to importation of goods.--
       (i) In general.--A requirement to block and prohibit all 
     transactions in all property and interests in property 
     pursuant to the authority provided by this section shall not 
     include the authority or a requirement to impose sanctions on 
     the importation of goods.
       (ii) Good defined.--In this section, the term ``good'' 
     means any article, natural or manmade substance, material, 
     supply or manufactured product, including inspection and test 
     equipment, and excluding technical data.
       (3) Waiver.--The President may waive the requirements under 
     paragraphs (1) and (2) with respect to a foreign person if 
     the President certifies and reports to the appropriate 
     congressional committees before such waiver is to take effect 
     that such waiver--
       (A) would serve a vital national interest of the United 
     States; or
       (B) is necessary for the delivery of humanitarian 
     assistance or other assistance that supports basic human 
     needs.
       (4) Public availability.--The list of persons identified 
     pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(B) shall be posted on a 
     publicly accessible website of the Department of State 
     beginning on the date on which the report required under 
     subsection (b)(1) is submitted to Congress.
       (d) Sunset.--This section shall cease to have effect on the 
     date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this 
     Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Kentucky (Mr. Barr) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kentucky.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to 
include extraneous material on this measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Kentucky?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, prolonged political instability, exceptionally high 
poverty levels, a resurgence of cholera, food insecurity, a paralyzed 
economy and crippling inflation prices, continuous devastating natural 
disasters, lack of access to adequate healthcare, and distressing 
levels of insecurity--these are the ongoing crises facing the people of 
Haiti.
  Tragically, they are being made worse by corrupt oligarchs and 
political elites in the country who use gangs as a tool to advance 
their personal interests and gain power.
  Those lawless gangs are responsible for an exponential rise in 
violence and horrific human rights abuses. They are wreaking havoc 
against an already vulnerable population.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentleman from New York, Ranking 
Member Meeks, who worked with Chairman McCaul and their bipartisan 
cosponsors to help confront those predators with this bill.
  This bill ensures that the Secretary of State will impose sanctions 
on Haiti's economic and political elite responsible for mobilizing 
these gangs to carry out their dirty work which has unleashed violence 
with no end in sight.
  The bill also requires annual reports to Congress on the ties between 
these gangs and political and economic elites in Haiti.
  To help the Haitian people restore democratic order, we must hold 
corrupt elites accountable for the violence they are instigating. 
Prohibiting these criminals from traveling to and operating in the 
United States is an important step in that direction.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this bill, and I reserve the balance 
of my time.
                                         House of Representatives,


                                   Committee on the Judiciary,

                                    Washington, DC, June 15, 2023.
     Hon. Michael McCaul,
     Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman McCaul: I write regarding H.R. 1684, the 
     Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act of 2023. Provisions 
     of this bill fall within the Judiciary Committee's Rule X 
     jurisdiction, and I appreciate that you consulted with us on 
     those provisions. The Judiciary Committee agrees that it 
     shall be discharged from further consideration of the bill so 
     that it may proceed expeditiously to the House floor.
       The Committee takes this action with the understanding that 
     forgoing further consideration of this measure does not in 
     any way alter the Committee's jurisdiction or waive any 
     future jurisdictional claim over these provisions or their 
     subject matter. We also reserve the right to seek appointment 
     of an appropriate number of conferees in the event of a 
     conference with the Senate involving this measure or similar 
     legislation.
       I ask that you please include this letter in your 
     committee's report to accompany this legislation or insert 
     this letter in the Congressional Record during consideration 
     of H.R. 1684 on the House floor. I appreciate the cooperative 
     manner in which our committees have worked on this matter, 
     and I look forward to working collaboratively in the future 
     on matters of shared jurisdiction. Thank you for your 
     attention to this matter.
           Sincerely,
                                                       Jim Jordan,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                                 Committee on Foreign Affairs,

                                    Washington, DC, June 15, 2023.
     Hon. Jim Jordan,
     Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Jordan: Thank you for consulting with the 
     Foreign Affairs Committee and agreeing to be discharged from 
     further consideration of H.R. 1684, the Haiti Criminal 
     Collusion Transparency Act of 2023, so that the measure may 
     proceed expeditiously to the House floor.
       I agree that your forgoing further action on this measure 
     does not in any way diminish the jurisdiction of your 
     committee, or prejudice its jurisdictional prerogatives on

[[Page H3909]]

     this measure or, similar legislation in the future. I would 
     support your effort to seek appointment of an appropriate 
     number of conferees from your committee to any House-Senate 
     conference on this legislation.
       I will seek to place our letters on this bill into the 
     Congressional Record during floor consideration. I appreciate 
     your cooperation regarding this legislation and look forward 
     to continuing to work together as this measure moves through 
     the legislative process.
           Sincerely,
                                                Michael T. McCaul,
                                                         Chairman.

  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1684, the Haiti 
Criminal Collusion Transparency Act of 2023.
  Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that Haiti is in a dire situation. A 
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report, released this year, 
highlighted increasingly sophisticated and high-caliber firearms and 
ammunition being trafficked into Haiti amid an unprecedented and 
rapidly deteriorating security situation.
  This level of criminal activity is the craft of experienced and well-
connected individuals who have long utilized crises and instability in 
Haiti to gain economic control and increase their political sphere of 
influence.
  There are as many as 200 gangs in Haiti who now control at least 85 
percent of Port-au-Prince. Gang violence has resulted in the killing of 
over 1,200 people in Haiti in the first 5 months of the year alone. In 
just 11 days, the Baz Gran Grif gang murdered 69 people and injured 
another 83, forcing authorities to abandon several police stations. 
Authorities believe the gang is responsible for the killing of 14 
Haitian National Police officers in late January as part of its ongoing 
violence.
  Political insecurity following Moise's assassination has only 
furthered the declining security situation. The Haitian National 
Government's last democratically elected officials' terms expired in 
January, and new elections are postponed indefinitely.
  While we continue to push for a Haitian-led solution to these 
challenges, the United States must do what it can to not allow corrupt 
officials that have contributed to Haiti's political and criminal 
crisis to travel freely to the United States. I am committed to holding 
corrupt officials accountable and prohibiting their travel to the 
United States, and this legislation would help in those efforts.
  H.R. 1684 authorizes the Secretary of State to sanction Haiti's 
economic and political elite who regularly use gangs to leverage and 
maintain power. The bill also ensures that Congress receives regular 
reports on Haitian gang activity and related criminality.
  The Haitian people need to believe that their voices matter and that 
their government exists to improve their quality of life, not make it 
more burdensome. We know these conditions are causing the rise in 
migration out of Haiti as people seek freedom and safety at any cost.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe we have a duty to make sure that we identify 
and hold accountable those who relish in the chaos caused by supporting 
gang activity, using kidnappings and rape to control and silence 
communities, and using coercion to bring youth in and around Port-au-
Prince into the service of criminal activity.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Connolly).
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Haiti Criminal Collusion 
Transparency Act introduced by my friend, the ranking member, Mr. Meeks 
of New York, to place international pressure on elites in Haiti who 
have exacerbated and benefited from widespread instability of violence 
in that turbulent country.
  Nearly one-half of the country's population, close to 5 million 
Haitians, face acute hunger today. Haitians face drastic food, fuel, 
and medical equipment shortages. Cholera outbreaks are now widespread 
not far from our shore, and gangs dominate the Haitian economy and 
daily life through corruption, extortion, and brutal violence.
  In fact, the Haitian National Police and Haitian politicians are so 
compromised by gangs that lawlessness and instability are the new norm.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Meeks for keeping our attention 
on Haiti. The situation is, as he said, dire. The only way we will 
start helping Haiti root out corruption is to create a cost for those 
among the Haitian elite who benefit from crime and corruption.
  A little over a century ago, U.S. soldiers landed on Haiti's shores 
to stabilize a country in upheaval following the assassination of a 
Haitian President.
  With the country now, once again, destabilized following the 
assassination of another Haitian President, the United States must work 
with allies and partners to give the Haitian people a voice and to 
allow for them to take their country back from the gangs and the 
instability rampant in Haiti today.
  This time we must do so with an appreciation for our Nation's sordid 
history in Haiti, mistakes we have made, and how we can do better by 
the Haitian people this time. We have a chance to redeem our own 
history.
  Mr. Speaker, again, I thank the ranking member, Mr. Meeks, for 
keeping our attention focused on Haiti, as it should be, and for 
bringing this important piece of legislation to the floor, and I urge 
all of our colleagues to support it.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick).
  Mrs. CHERFILUS-McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Meeks 
for leading this and also Chairman McCaul.
  Mr. Speaker, as the only Haitian-American Member in Congress, I was 
proud to help introduce the Haitian Criminal Collusion Transparency 
Act.
  This bill would require the Secretary of State to submit an annual 
report to Congress on the ties between criminal gangs and political and 
economic elites in Haiti. It would also impose the necessary sanctions 
on parties involved in such criminal activities.
  Armed criminal gangs continue to wreak havoc across Haiti, fanning 
the flames of a worsening humanitarian crisis and leading many to fear 
for their own safety.
  We see numerous accounts of rape against children, infants, and 
women. The gangs have gained strength for years without any kind of 
accountability. The assassination of Moise in 2021 added fuel to the 
fire.
  By shining a light on the connection between these violent criminal 
enterprises and corrupt leaders, along with levying a series of 
crippling economic sanctions, we can better address the chaos that has 
engulfed Haiti for years now.
  The instability impacts us right here at home. Traveling to Haiti has 
become extremely unsafe. A few months ago, two of my constituents were 
kidnapped while visiting Haiti and held for ransom by dangerous gangs. 
No one should ever have to endure that by visiting Haiti.
  Mr. Speaker, I will continue to support solutions that address the 
country's political, economic, and health situations, and I will 
continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to put 
an end to the reign of terror in Haiti. Once again, I thank our ranking 
member, Representative Meeks, and also Chairman McCaul for helping us 
push this forward.

                              {time}  1615

  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Kamlager-Dove).
  Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Meeks and 
Chairman McCaul for their leadership.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1684. This timely piece of 
legislation, which I cosponsored, calls attention to the unprecedented 
humanitarian and security crisis unfolding just miles from our shores 
in Haiti.
  Despite reports that sexual violence, kidnappings, displacement, and 
indiscriminate killings have swept the country, the international 
community has in many ways left Haitians to fend for themselves again, 
as usual.
  The last thing we should do is write off Haiti's struggles as 
hopeless and insurmountable. The Haitian people have a long history of 
resilience and grit in the face of relentless man-made and natural 
disasters. After all, this is a

[[Page H3910]]

country born out of the fight for dignity and human rights against 
colonialism, systemic racism, and slavery.
  Haitians are a people who have confronted every unthinkable obstacle 
that has come their way, and they have persevered against the odds.
  We must continue to support the Haitian people with concerted 
international action and intentional policies like this bill.
  I am glad that this bill takes a strong step in holding accountable 
the economic and political elites who are perpetuating and benefiting 
from the country's chronic insecurity.
  I know there are Members on both sides of the aisle who are deeply 
invested in Haiti's future and represent Haitian constituents. I worked 
with some of them to introduce a resolution calling for a redoubling of 
diplomatic efforts to help achieve a solution to the current impasse.
  There is more we can do, and there is more we must do in a strong 
bipartisan way.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues not to turn a blind eye to Haiti, 
not to forget the Haitian people, and to support this important 
legislation. Haiti is our neighbor. Haiti deserves more.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, I introduced and marked up this bill with robust 
bipartisan support. I thank my colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle, Chairman McCaul and the chair of the subcommittee, Chairwoman 
Salazar; my colleagues who just spoke, Representative Cherfilus-
McCormick and Representative Kamlager-Dove; and others who worked in a 
bipartisan way to ensure that Congress takes steps to address the 
crisis created by Haitian gangs.
  Mr. Speaker, the people of Haiti deserve to know which organizations 
and individuals support destabilizing criminal activity, including 
those who take advantage of desperate people who are already extremely 
vulnerable, trafficking them throughout the region and making financial 
gains at every stop along the way.
  Mr. Speaker, we cannot allow these elites, those who are paying the 
gangs, those who are incentivizing the gangs to create and do horrific 
things, to just keep walking about with impunity.
  We have to stand up and state that we are going to point them out and 
sanction them to give the people of Haiti an opportunity to feel that 
their government and their country can move forward.
  We can no longer just talk about having elections without having the 
gangs wiped out and away from Haiti because they would control the 
elections.
  This sends a message to those elites, those who are financing the 
gangs, those who think that they can continue their criminal activity, 
that the United States is going to sanction them and that they won't be 
able to cross the borders and go back and forth.
  This bill would require the Secretary of State to submit an annual 
report to Congress regarding the ties between criminal gangs and 
political and economic elites in Haiti and impose sanctions on 
political and economic elites involved in such criminal activities.
  I have a lot of Haitians in my district. They want some action. They 
want some relief from the activities of these criminal gangs.
  The message that this bill sends, and what the follow-up with the 
administration would say, is that the United States House of 
Representatives, in a very bipartisan fashion and working collectively 
together, will not allow them to continue their corrupt criminal 
activities.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, what is going on in the nation of Haiti is a human 
tragedy. I again thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks) for 
leading this bipartisan bill, which, as he eloquently described, would 
require the Secretary of State to submit an annual report to Congress 
regarding the ties between criminal gangs and political and economic 
elites in Haiti, thereby enabling the Secretary of State to identify 
and impose sanctions on political and economic elites with links to 
criminal gangs. Hopefully, that effort would improve the conditions 
that the people of Haiti are going through right now.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill deserves our support, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 1684, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________