HOUSE UNANIMOUSLY APPROVES HAITI DEBT RELIEF BILL

WASHINGTON, DC— House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn today applauded unanimous passage of H.R. 4573, Debt Relief for Earthquake Recovery in Haiti Act of 2010. The legislation promotes debt relief for Haiti, recovering from a devastating earthquake in January. The Senate is expected take up and approve the legislation soon.
“Debt relief is essential to Haiti’s ability to move forward with its recovery,” said Majority Whip Clyburn, tasked by Speaker Pelosi to coordinate legislative efforts in the House in response to the earthquake in Haiti. “By removing this burden we allow Haiti’s limited resources to be directed to the urgent needs of relief, recovery and rebuilding. Today’s legislation is part of Congress’s continued effort to help the people of Haiti recover from the devastating earthquake.”

The bill urges the Treasury secretary 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:

o Cancel immediately and completely all debt owed by Haiti to such institutions;

o Suspend Haiti's debt service payments to these institutions until the debts are canceled completely; and

o Provide additional assistance from these institutions to Haiti through grants so that Haiti does not accumulate additional debt.

Despite significant debt relief last summer, Haiti owes a total of $828 million in debt to multilateral financial institutions, including $447 million to the Inter-American Development Bank, $284 million to the IMF, $39 million to the World Bank, and $58 million to the International Fund for Agricultural Development. Haiti also owes about $400 million to other individual countries.

Congress has responded aggressively to the Haitian disaster, taking action on measures to:

o spur millions in charitable contributions to Haiti (H.R. 4462; PL 111-126),

o extend temporary aid to the thousands of Americans evacuating Haiti, (S. 2949; PL 111-127) and

o expressing our condolences to the people of Haiti. (H.Res.1021)

In addition, USAID has contributed nearly $428 million in earthquake response funding, while the U.S. Government as a whole has provided more than $712 million, as of March 4, 2010.