Congressional Black Caucus

Floor Speech

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Ms. LEE of California. Thank you very much.

Let me thank the gentlelady for yielding and for that very powerful presentation, and for your leadership and commitment to especially the children of Haiti.

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Good evening. It has been just over three weeks since a devastating earthquake rocked the nation of Haiti, devastating its capital city Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area. The damage seems unfathomable, yet it is real. The loss of life is staggering and the destruction of homes and infrastructure is tremendous.

As Chair of the 42-member Congressional Black Caucus, I want to reiterate that our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the people of Haiti during this difficult time.

Since the earthquake of January 12 many members of the Congressional Black Caucus have stood on the floor of this House to talk about and bring attention to the needs of the people of Haiti and the Haitian American community. We will continue to speak out and speak up on their behalf because the needs are urgent and they are real.

The Congressional Black Caucus has a long history of working with Haiti, and many of us have traveled to the country multiple times. Beyond our personal involvement with Haiti, the United States and Haiti share a long and historical relationship that began with the trans-Atlantic slave trade, which placed millions of people of African descent in human bondage throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Our brothers and sisters who found themselves in Haiti led the way to freedom and independence for the African Diaspora in the Caribbean and the Americas when they established the world's first ``Black-led Republic,'' established by former slaves. It was also one of the first nations in the world to break the bonds of colonialism, providing inspiration to millions of oppressed peoples around the globe.

Haitians fought for their independence--and literally paid for their freedom by paying substantial tributes to their former colonizers, creating a financial hardship that has endured for generations and directly contributes to Haiti's underdevelopment today. The world has a historic and moral obligation to help the people of Haiti in their time of need.

During the current crisis, the CBC has worked closely with the Obama administration and nongovernmental organizations to provide whatever assistance we can to the humanitarian relief efforts underway. Just today, we met with USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah to voice our concerns and offer our continued partnership as the administration continues its ongoing emergency relief and begins to formulate a longer-term agenda for reconstruction.

And a week ago, members of the CBC met with Raymond Joseph, Ambassador of Haiti to the United States. During this meeting we communicated two overarching messages.

First, we reaffirmed our continued, ongoing commitment and solidarity with the Haitian people.

Second, we emphasized that the CBC would like to coordinate our work with that of President Obama's administration, the Government of Haiti, and the Haitian people to develop an overarching relief, reconstruction, and development agenda.

Given the CBC's long history with Haiti, our members have many ideas and initiatives--legislative or otherwise--that we believe can assist the government and the people of Haiti in relief and recovery and reconstruction efforts.

These include efforts to promote debt relief and to coordinate aid distribution on the ground.

But most importantly, we must establish a comprehensive assistance framework in partnership with the Government of Haiti and in coordination with other donors to promote the long-term development of Haiti. In short, we need a Marshall Plan for Haiti, with Haitian nongovernmental organizations and the Haitian Diaspora playing a vital role in its formulation and implementation.

To offer just one example, last year I introduced H.R. 417, the Next Steps for Haiti Act. This legislation would create a professional exchange program to assign U.S. professionals, particularly in the Haitian Diaspora, to provide technical assistance to Haiti in critical development-related fields--such as healthcare, infrastructure, and disaster preparedness.

Initiatives such as these could go a long way towards empowering the Haitian people to rebuild and work towards the betterment of their country.

Moving forward, we are committed to working with the Haitian government and organizations on the ground--who know their country oh so well--to meet their short-, medium-, and long-term needs of their country. Once the cameras are gone, and Haiti is off the front pages and the 24-hour news cycle, we will continue to be there. We, the CBC, are in it for the long haul.

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I would like to yield now to the gentlelady from California (Ms. Waters), a Member of Congress who is not only a legislator, but also a great humanitarian. We saw her very recently in Haiti, as she went to Katrina to help those during the search and rescue phase, and is back now to join us tonight on the floor to talk about not only her recent experiences, but her long-standing commitment to Haiti and her work on Haiti. Thank you very much.

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