[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 496 Received in Senate (RDS)]
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 496
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 5, 2004
Received
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress with regard to providing humanitarian
assistance to countries of the Caribbean devastated by Hurricanes
Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne.
Whereas in May 2004, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA)
predicted that 2004 would be an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season;
Whereas from August to September 2004 Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and
Jeanne devastated countries of the Caribbean and the southern,
midwestern, and eastern regions of the United States;
Whereas the people of the United States, who have encountered the harsh
consequences of the recent hurricanes, can empathize with the countries
of the Caribbean as they begin the recovery process;
Whereas Hurricane Frances displaced 800 people and destroyed 80 homes in the
Bahamas;
Whereas Hurricane Frances caused an estimated $125,000,000 in damage to the
islands of the Bahamas;
Whereas four hurricanes have struck the region within five weeks;
Whereas 90 percent of homes in Grenada sustained significant damage as a result
of Hurricane Ivan;
Whereas the International Committee of the Red Cross estimates that 60,000 of
the 95,000 inhabitants of Grenada were made homeless as a result of the
devastation;
Whereas Hurricane Ivan is the worst natural disaster to hit Jamaica in 50 years;
Whereas an estimated 13,000 Jamaicans were displaced during Hurricane Ivan;
Whereas more than 60 people died and hundreds were injured as a result of
Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Ivan;
Whereas as a result of Hurricane Jeanne, at least 2,000 people have died in
Haiti while it is estimated that another 1,000 people are currently
missing;
Whereas many others have died in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico due to
Hurricane Jeanne;
Whereas the United States Agency for International Development reports that
there is flooding in more than 80 percent of Gonaives, Haiti, and more
than 30 percent of Port-de-Paix, Haiti;
Whereas hurricane recovery assistance is being sought from the Caribbean-
American community, the European Union, and Canada;
Whereas the financial burden of providing emergency and reconstruction
assistance to the devastated countries is much greater than the
Caribbean region can sustain by itself;
Whereas the cost of providing humanitarian emergency assistance to the countries
of the Caribbean continues to increase with each natural disaster;
Whereas the cost of assisting Grenada, Jamaica, the Bahamas, the Dominican
Republic, Haiti, and other island nations with reconstruction after the
hurricane season of 2004 could exceed $250,000,000;
Whereas in addition to disaster relief, governments of the countries of the
Caribbean are under pressure to secure their communities and prevent
looters and other criminals from causing further harm to their citizens
who are struggling to recover from the devastation caused by the
hurricanes;
Whereas the United States Agency for International Development's Office of
United States Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) is coordinating with
the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) and members of
the Eastern Caribbean Donor Group (ECDG), including the Pan American
Health Organization (PAHO), International Federation of Red Cross and
Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the United Nations Development Program
(UNDP), and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to
provide urgently needed food, potable water, temporary shelter, and
other basic necessities;
Whereas multilateral development banks, such as the World Bank and the Inter-
American Development Bank, and other international organizations, such
as the United Nations and the Organization of American States, have
joined the United States in providing urgently needed assistance to the
countries of the Caribbean that have suffered the most from the effects
of the hurricanes;
Whereas the damage caused by the hurricanes have demonstrated that proper
building and housing codes that are consistently enforced significantly
reduce the human and financial toll caused by natural disasters;
Whereas the Caribbean region is recognized as the third border of the United
States and the economic turmoil caused by the hurricanes of August and
September 2004 will have an effect on the United States; and
Whereas the countries of the Caribbean will need significant assistance from the
international community for both relief and reconstruction efforts: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That Congress--
(1) commends the governments of the countries of the
Caribbean for their efforts to respond and assist the people of
the region after the devastation caused by Hurricanes Charley,
Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne from August to September 2004;
(2) commends the efforts of the Caribbean-American
community to provide relief to family and friends suffering in
the region;
(3) supports the efforts of the United States Government to
assist in coordinating international efforts to help the people
of the region, particularly in Grenada, Jamaica, Haiti, and the
Bahamas, with assessing damage and providing relief to affected
communities;
(4) urges the international community to take all necessary
steps to provide emergency relief and support reconstruction
efforts; and
(5) urges the President, acting through the Administrator
of the United States Agency for International Development to--
(A) continue to make available to private volunteer
organizations, United Nations agencies, and regional
institutions the necessary funding to mitigate the
effects of the recent natural disasters that have
devastated the countries of the Caribbean; and
(B) provide assistance for the promulgation and
enforcement of housing and building codes in the
countries of the Caribbean.
Passed the House of Representatives October 4, 2004.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.