Opening Statement

Chairman Eliot L. Engel

House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere

Haiti’s Development Needs

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

2:00 p.m.

Good afternoon. A quorum being present, the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere will come to order. I ask unanimous consent that any Member who may attend today's hearing be considered a Member of the Subcommittee for the purposes of receiving testimony and questioning witnesses after Subcommittee Members have been given the opportunity to do so, and without objection, so ordered.

I am pleased to welcome you to today’s hearing on Haiti’s development needs. I cannot think of a country or subject more deserving of Congress’s full and sustained attention than our neighbor, Haiti. Haiti is personally very important to me and to several members of this subcommittee and I plan to focus intensely on it throughout the 110^th Congress.

Last year, Haitians successfully carried out three democratic elections with a turnout rate of over 60%. With a strong mandate to govern, Haitian President René Preval is in a unique position to reduce poverty and rebuild Haiti’s fragile democratic institutions. For the first time in years, there is a window of opportunity in Haiti and a bipartisan consensus here on Capitol Hill. But that window is small and we must act quickly.

          With a stable political situation in place, we must turn our full attention to Haiti’s development needs and the role that the international community can play in supporting the Haitian government’s efforts to curb poverty. Haiti’s poverty is massive and deep and Haiti remains the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. According to the International Monetary Fund, 76% of Haitians live on less than $2 per day and 55% of those live on less than 44 cents a day. Hunger is also widespread as 81% of the population do not receive the minimum daily ration of food defined by the World Health Organization. This is quite simply unacceptable.

          I am pleased by the overall increase in foreign assistance to Haiti in the President’s budget, particularly the $36 million increase in HIV/AIDS funding. However, I am deeply concerned by the decreases in all areas outside of HIV/AIDS and Economic Support Funds. I am particularly troubled by the minimal amount of assistance being provided for education in the 2008 budget.

          When President Preval was elected last May, he outlined his two major goals: “building institutions as provided for in the constitution and creating conditions for private investment to create jobs.” The elections last year put Mr. Preval well on his way to the first goal. Now we must support Mr. Preval in creating jobs in Haiti. Congress’s passage and the President’s signing into law of the HOPE Act last year has the possibility of stimulating the country’s textile industry and creating thousands of jobs. But we must move fast in implementing HOPE as time is of the essence. I look forward to working with the Bush Administration to certify Haiti on or before the March 20 target date.

          I hope that we can use today’s hearing to think outside the box about how best to create jobs and enhance development in Haiti. I am particularly interested in exploring ways to support Haiti in developing a viable and sustainable biofuels industry. With President Bush’s visit to Brazil last week, we are beginning to see a renewed focus on hemispheric cooperation on alternative energy. I would like to see the U.S. partner with Haiti to develop crops that promote energy independence. Jatropha is one such crop which I know will be discussed today.

While it goes without saying, security in Haiti continues to be a major impediment to development. Gang violence and kidnappings are frighteningly common. 100 people were reported kidnapped in Haiti in December 2006, alone. Lack of road security, looting and poor road conditions impede the delivery of aid. A modicum of security would go a long way in maximizing the impact of assistance to Haiti.

As someone who proudly represents one of the largest Haitian communities in the United States, I am also interested in identifying ways that the tremendous talents of the Haitian diaspora residing in Spring Valley, New York, and elsewhere can be tapped into, so that they can contribute to Haiti’s democratic path towards peace, prosperity, security and stability. I hope that our witnesses today can provide us with their ideas about how best we can work with the Haitian diaspora in rebuilding Haiti. And I am working closely with my colleague Barbara Lee on her legislation to set aside a moderate amount of funds for a program to assist Haitian-Americans to return to Haiti to support its development.

Last year, an astounding $1.65 billion in remittances was transferred by the Haitian diaspora to relatives and friends in Haiti. Our foreign assistance pales in comparison to these remittances. I hope that we can find ways to encourage the transfer of remittances that support specific development projects in Haiti.

I now want to welcome our esteemed witnesses who are testifying today. Wyclef Jean is a multiple Grammy Award-winning artist and producer whom MTV has described as “hip hop’s unofficial multicultural conscience.” He is also the founder of Yelé Haiti, a foundation which uses the combination of music and development to contribute to Haiti’s long-term progress. We are absolutely delighted to have him here today.

And Adolfo Franco is the Assistant Administration for Latin America and the Caribbean at the U.S. Agency for International Development. He has testified before this Subcommittee several times and also has served as Counsel to the Chairman of the full committee. We are honored by your presence here today, Mr. Franco.

Finally, I want to apologize in advance for having to briefly run out for a couple of votes during the hearing. There is a mark-up in the Energy and Commerce Committee this afternoon.

Thank you very much. I am now pleased to call on Ranking Member Burton for his opening statement.