[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.
____________________