Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D), who represents Wisconsin’s 4th District in Washington, traveled to Haiti today as part of a five member bipartisan Congressional Delegation, led by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA).
The purpose of the trip, according to a press release put out by Moore’s office, is to review and assess the humanitarian assistance that has been ongoing since the January 12th earthquake that devastated that country’s capital city Port-au-Prince and much of the Caribbean nation.
According to the U.S. Agency for International Developmenet (USAID), the U.S. government has contributed more than $636 million in earthquake response funding for Haiti in the month since the earthquake hit. The U.S. Department of Defense support of humanitarian efforts – primarily through transportation of U.S. government personnel and relief commodities into Haiti and the provision of health and medical services – has cost an estimated $255 million. The Obama administration is expected to submit a request to Congress for more funds for the recovery and rebuilding of Haiti.
Congresswoman Moore made this comment via her press release:
“This is an opportunity to see relief efforts firsthand and assess what else can be done. It will also help us determine how to provide the most effective aid to the Haitian people in their recovery. Even during the toughest of times many Americans have responded to Haiti’s disaster with great generosity.”
The bipartisan delegation also includedsRep. Michael Burgess, a Republican from Texas, Dennis Kucinich, a Democrat from Ohio, and Michael Capuano, a Democrat from Massachusetts.
The delegation will be briefed by U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Ken Merten and USAID Haiti Director Caleene Dei regarding U.S. relief efforts. They will also see the camp on Champs de Mars where Haitians who have lost their homes are living, according to the press release.
For more information about the U.S. government’s response to the Haiti earthquake and its efforts to provide relief and reconstruction, go to the USAID website.