Hank Johnson: “The earthquake on January 12, 2010, was the worst disaster to afflict Haiti in over two centuries. According to recent…”

“The earthquake on January 12, 2010, was the worst disaster to afflict Haiti in over two centuries. According to recent estimates, the earthquake has killed 230,000 people and displaced another 1.3 million. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with a long history of exploitation at the hands of world powers. Now, with severe damage to roads, ports, and hospitals, and a desperate need for clean water, food, shelter, and basic sanitation, Haiti faces reconstruction burdens that may exceed $14 billion. With such expenses in the future, Haiti is in no position to repay the debts it owes wealthy international creditors. Madam Speaker, with that in mind I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4573, legislation I cosponsored that would promote debt relief for our Haitian brothers and sisters. The bill urges the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the United States executive directors at the International Monetary Fund, IMF, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and other multilateral development institutions to use the 'voice, vote, and influence of the United States' to cancel immediately and completely all debt owed by Haiti to such institutions; suspend Haiti's debt service payments to these institutions until the debts are canceled completely; and provide additional assistance from these institutions to Haiti through grants so that Haiti does not accumulate additional debt.”