Support For H. Res. 1021

Floor Speech

Madam Speaker, as Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight, I wanted to support the House Resolution which expresses condolences to and solidarity with the people of Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake of January 12th, 2010.

I would like to praise the work of Meds and Food for Kids (MFK), an internationally renowned non-profit program, based in St. Louis. MFK was designated by the U.S. Agency for International Development as an official distributor of food to the malnourished people of Haiti.

It is also important to recognize and leverage the work of international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Food Program. This earthquake, which destroyed the U.N. Headquarters, has caused the greatest single loss of life in U.N. history. The U.N. Security Council voted on January 19 to send 3,500 more peacekeepers to Haiti.

President Obama announced $100 million in additional assistance to help Haiti during this time of crisis. I want to help ensure that taxpayer resources, as well as donations given through private charities, are spent efficiently, transparently, and effectively, and are used to help those Haitians most in need.

Rebuilding efforts will take years. It is important that once this story slips from the front pages of newspapers that the international community, including the United States, is still there to lend a lending hand.

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