On Friday the U.S. Senate passed, by unanimous consent, the Haiti Recovery Act (S.2961), introduced by Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Richard Lugar (R-IN). The bill addresses the long-term needs that are critical to Haiti’s recovery, particularly its governance and public infrastructure. The bill does 2 specific things:

1) It instructs the Treasury Secretary to direct America’s representatives at each of the multi-lateral financial institutions to advocate within institutions:

a. relieving Haiti of its outstanding international debt– currently totaling over $1 billion– as well as any additional debt incurred in the aftermath of the earthquake. It also encourages these institutions to make future financial assistance available to Haiti in the form of grants, rather than loans.

b. the provision of debt service relief for all payments remaining on the date of the enactment of the Act.

2) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to advocate the creation of an international infrastructure fund for Haiti to invest in electric grids, roads, water, sanitation facilities, and other critical infrastructure projects.

Debt relief and grants to rebuild Haiti’s lost infrastructure are critical to its recovery. We congratulate Senators Dodd and Lugar and the United States Senate for their bi-partisan cooperation to pass this important legislation. Stay tuned for news on the progress of similar legislation in the House.