Congress person Bobby Rush helps keeps America's eyes on Haiti
Staff Writer
2010-05-07
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A congressional delegation (CODEL) will depart for Haiti at 7:30 AM EST on Friday May 7, nearly five months after a shocking earthquake rocked the poor island nation. The group of 10 members and other U.S. officials will be led by Rep David Price (D-NC) and will include Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-IL). This is the latest collection of lawmakers to travel to the Caribbean country since the January 12 tragedy that killed 210,000 people. The CODEL is expected to arrive at Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s Toussaint L’Ouverture International Airport at 10 AM EST.
The delegation includes one Republican and nine Democrats including Rep. David Dreier (R-CA), Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ), Rep. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC), and Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI). The lawmakers will travel as part of the House Democracy Partnership (HDP), a legislative exchange and capacity-building program established by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2005. The bipartisan, twenty-member commission works directly with fifteen partner legislatures around the world to support the development and consolidation of effective, independent, and democratic institutions of government.
HDP’s partnership with the National Assembly of Haiti was initiated in 2007 following the country’s successful 2006 legislative elections. The earthquake completely destroyed the parliament and took the lives of several of its members and staff, and HDP has been working in its wake to help the Assembly identify a meeting space and procure badly-needed equipment in order to regain its ability to function as an institution. With the National Assembly’s mandate scheduled to expire in May 2010, HDP has been emphasizing the need for the legislature to remain involved in the long-term reconstruction effort.
“I want a first-hand look at how the Haitian Parliament is meeting the needs of the Haitian people in the wake of this devastating tragedy and I want to see the progress that’s been made to stabilize Haiti," Rep Rush said. “Not only were thousands of lives lost but the political and economic infrastructure of the country was also disrupted. This will be a long process. We will meet with members of parliament, U.S. embassy officials and visit relief camps so we might access how well our intervention is going.”
The mission comes two days after the House on Wednesday approved trade breaks for Haiti's textile industry, the latest of several actions aimed at helping the hemisphere's poorest nation recover from the most devastating earthquake in the country’s history.
The CODEL will return to Washington on Friday night; and, Rep. Rush is expected to Chicago on Saturday.