[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 16]
[House]
[Pages 22598-22599]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                      HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN HAITI

  (Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak of humanitarian 
crisis, not half a world away in Afghanistan, but in our own 
hemispheric neighborhood of Haiti.
  Mr. Speaker, airline security, the economy and the war have our full 
attention, and rightfully so, but closer to us in Haiti, the last 
election has been hopelessly deadlocked with no resolution in sight.
  To compound the problem, because of the opposition of some to the 
outcome of those elections, our country and international financial 
institutions which hold the lifeline of aid dollars to this struggling 
democracy have blocked the release of loans to Haiti.
  This has created a crippling effect of economic consequences where 
the poorest country in our hemisphere cannot

[[Page 22599]]

meet its financial obligations and food, medicine and life itself have 
been hung in the balance for 8 million people.
  Let us not make the same mistake and ignore another country's 
turmoil, until a disaster too great for the imagination or easy 
recovery unfolds.
  The people of Haiti need food, medicine and funds to combat an HIV 
infection rate of 4 percent of the population, an infant mortality rate 
of 74 deaths out of every 1,000 babies born and to improve their 
quality of life.
  Mr. Speaker, the people of Haiti have voted and they know who they 
want to govern them. Let us respect that and allow the dollars for food 
and medicine to flow.

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