Assessing Progress in Haiti Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. WATERS. I would like to thank the gentlelady from Florida for extending time to me to rise in support of this bill.

I am now--and have been for many years--a big supporter of the people of Haiti. I am the proud author of H.R. 4573, the Haiti Debt Relief and Earthquake Recovery Act. It was that bill that freed up $828 million that they would have had to have paid out for their debts, money that can now go toward helping with the earthquake response.

Immediately following the earthquake, there was an outpouring of sympathy from people in the United States and around the world; and I am very appreciative for what our government did and for what the people of this country did--individuals, churches. We've not always had our politics right in Haiti, but we sure rose to the occasion with regard to this devastating earthquake that hit Haiti.

The international community pledged a total of $9.9 billion in reconstruction funds, including $5.3 billion for the first 2 years. Yet, more than 1 year later, little, if any, of the money has reached the people of Haiti. According to the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, 680,000 displaced people are still living in tent camps, and the conditions in many of these camps are appalling. There is a critical need for food, clean water, and sanitation facilities. A deadly outbreak of cholera has already killed more than 4,800 people and has infected more than 280,000 people. The effects of the epidemic were exacerbated by the lack of clean water and sanitation infrastructure. Foreign aid without transparency will accomplish nothing.

We owe it to the Haitian people and the American people to find out how much of this money has actually been delivered to Haiti and where that money went. That is why I strongly support this bill, which requires the President to report on the status of post-earthquake relief, recovery, reconstruction, and development efforts in Haiti. The report must evaluate coordination among various international agencies and donors, the extent to which U.S. and international efforts are in line with the priorities of the Government of Haiti, and mechanisms for Haitian civil society to participate in recovery efforts.

I am in awe of the strength and resiliency of the Haitian people. We owe it to them to assist them in their time of need. We also owe it to them to make certain our assistance reaches the people who need it the most.

As I said, we've not always had our act together in Haiti. Well, there has been a new election, and they've elected a President. There was a lot of turmoil and disorder around this election, but it's over now; it has been done, and we want to work with the new government to make sure that there is transparency and that we do know what happened to this money. So I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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