Margesson,Rhoda (Author) and Taft-Morales,Maureen (Author)
Format:
Pamphlet
Publication Date:
2010-02-02
Published:
Congressional Research Reports for the People
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
56 p., The largest earthquake ever recorded in Haiti devastated parts of the country, including the capital, on January 12, 2010; and an estimated 3 million people, approximately one third of the overall population, have been affected by the earth quake, leaving an estimated 112,000 deaths and 194,000 injured. President Barack Obama assembled heads of US agencies to establish a coordinated response to the disaster; and Congressional concerns include budget priorities and oversight, burden-sharing, immigration, tax incentives for charitable donations, trade preferences for Haiti, and helping constituents find missing persons, speed pending adoptions, and contribute to relief efforts.
The Haiti earthquake prompted offers to send aid and assistance in various forms from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and private foundations. The need for manpower on the ground to orchestrate the relief effort brought together military forces from the world over, to include the United States, which stood up Joint Task Force-Haiti (JTF-H). The combined effort of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti and JTF-H in providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Haiti following the earthquake demonstrates the importance of developing strong relationships, both institutional and personal, with partner nation armies.
Part of a special journal issue focusing on the role of the U.S. Foreign Service in Haiti., Offers 21 stories describing American Foreign Service Association experiences in disaster relief in Haiti.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
24 p., In December 2006, the 109th Congress passed the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act of 2006 (HOPE I), which included special trade rules that give preferential access to US imports of Haitian apparel. With disappointing results, the 110th Congress responded by amending HOPE I with the Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act of 2008 (HOPE II). After the devastating 2010 earthquake, the US Congress addressed the apparel industry's needs by amending the HOPE Act with the Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) Act of 2010, which improves US market access for Haitian apparel exports.