Bill To Cancel Haiti's Debt Clears House Hurdle

A House subcommittee approved a measure on Thursday to press major international financial institutions to completely cancel all debts owed by Haiti, where a major earthquake devastated what little capacity Haiti had to pay the debts back.

The International Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee approved the Debt Relief for Earthquake Recovery in Haiti Act, introduced by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), which also aims to encourage direct assistance in the form of grants from those institutions, rather than loans.

The bill would require the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Directors at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and other institutions to use the voice, vote, and influence of the U.S. to accomplish the debt forgiveness. Waters has been a longtime champion of debt-relief for Haiti.

"The moral case for canceling Haiti's debt is clear," said Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, "and the Committee stands prepared to continue to work with the Administration to authorize a swift and substantial U.S. commitment to comprehensive multilateral debt cancellation for Haiti."

Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, owes $828 million to multilateral development institutions, according to the Department of the Treasury, including $447 million to the IDB, $284 million to the IMF, $39 million to the World Bank and $58 million to the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

The idea that Haiti owes anybody for anything is a striking one considering the nation's history.

"Haiti faces enormous challenges now, and the burden of paying off foreign debt would prevent the nation from taking necessary steps to help its people at this perilous time," said Waters. "I introduced H.R. 4573 so that Haiti can use its limited resources to make both immediate and long-term investments in essential humanitarian relief, reconstruction and development efforts."

Comments

[Pupadup4oBama]

10:06 AM on 03/08/2010

Calm down people this is an INTERNATIONAL committee working with INTERNATIONAL financial institutions.
Let's work to build countries up instead of always tearing them down.

[uncomplicatedlife]

10:42 PM on 03/07/2010

I guess I'm becoming desensitized to debt numbers.
The total Haitian debt is less than one Billion?
Thats all?
We could just pull out of Iraq a few days early and cover that.

[vet65]

11:42 AM on 03/07/2010

It's so nice to see so much aide going to Haiti. Just hope it doesn't take as long as it took New Orleans. I don't remember so much outgoing sympathy acts of humanity to our own country when they needed it. Oh, but New Orleans is old news now. Sorry.

[seacoral]

07:22 AM on 03/06/2010

Le

Yeah well let's just give it all away, since our country is doing so well !

[Cogs]

12:20 AM on 03/06/2010

Haiti is about to face an enormous threat. Hurricane season is coming and recovery from the quake has been agonizingly slow. I don't know how these people can survive without housing and basic needs. Haiti may be doomed

[booker52]

07:45 AM on 03/05/2010

Where is my debt relief??

[archeDeWashington]

04:37 AM on 03/05/2010

Whenever you think for other disasters think also about my people the greatest one for the century.

www.okongo.org/please_save_my_people.html

www.okongo.org

www.okongo.org/effect_of_wars.html

Share the links for friends and relatives

Thanks to support my desperate people.

[WYHKTai-Tai]

04:24 AM on 03/05/2010

Well, This is good news! It doesn't say the banks will go for it though.
We'll see what happens.

[1000daysoframen]

03:35 AM on 03/05/2010

Wait a minute! what sort of disaster would make congress give me health insurance? or pay off my student loans? i don't have a problem with canceling the haitian debt, i do have a problem in that congress can't manage to afford its own the same courtesies...

[Mekrabb]

02:59 AM on 03/05/2010

?why the hell is there a world bank?

[Mekrabb]

02:56 AM on 03/05/2010

this is bs.

we need money

flat out wrong.

[KIVPossum]

02:29 AM on 03/05/2010

Are we sure we can afford to do that? After all, that's a billion$ that could go to banker's bonuses.

[ArtShamsky]

01:20 AM on 03/05/2010

Wish I could get my debt canceled.

[48marriedwhitemalewkids]

01:20 AM on 03/05/2010

Haiti needs to give something in return. Haiti should declare a "Year of Jubilee" and let anybody import anything tax free for 1 year. This will give those poor Haitians a huge tax break to ship in new trucks, cars, and construction supplies.

To give away this huge bargaining chip without negotiated something in return is - poor politics.

There are a lot of policy changes that the U.S. Administration would like Haiti to implement. Do you think they will change for their own good?

[robXdion]

02:54 AM on 03/05/2010

Read up on the history of Haiti -- and how they got a "debt" and had to pay reparations to France while every predominately white European country (and the US) held sanctions against them for centuries --- BEFORE you comment.

[Beowoof]

01:17 AM on 03/05/2010

Well, considering that Haiti's entire debt is less than some bags that were lost in Iraq, I think it's reasonable.

[tj101]

01:33 AM on 03/05/2010

Best 1st comment ever.

[Beowoof]

01:40 AM on 03/05/2010

Very amusing. Thank you