Ally Pregulman

The Haiti Debt Relief and Earthquake Recovery Act of 2010, which previously passed both the House and the Senate, was quietly signed into law on Monday night; the will of the American people is loud and clear that all nations should come together to aid Haiti’s recovery.

The bill, which was significantly aided by the support of Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Senator Dick Lugar(R-IN), Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA 35), and Representative Spencer Bachus (R-AL 6), encourages eliminating Haiti’s remaining debt to international financial institutions, currently totaling $1 billion, and instructs these institutions to offer grants rather than loan assistance to Haiti in order to end the debt-relief cycle.

When the earthquake hit Haiti in January, ONE members came together in an unprecedented campaign on this issue, mobilizing for Haiti through extensive networking and contributions. In January, thousands of ONE members participated in a conference call to discuss Haiti’s debt earlier this year. In February, a petition with 400,000 signatures (200,000 of which were ONE members and another 200,000 from our partners) was delivered to the G7’s Finance in Canada by a Haitian-Canadian ONE member Michele Bertol.

You were heard by the Minister and now you will be heard by governments around the world: Haiti needs debt relief. This bill specifically shows that the American people support this initiative.

Despite relief through the World Bank’s Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, Haiti has still been borrowing from other nations. Haiti’s main creditor is the Inter-American Development Bank. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been making allusions towards cancelling the debt, but we must be vigilant to provide Haiti with debt relief.

The United States will help to relieve Haiti’s debt out of the 150 account, an important section of the Foreign Affairs portion of the FY 2011 Budget. Therefore, it is important to stay active and encourage your representatives to work hard on the appropriations process. ONE members are an integral part of our work; the Haiti bill would not have become a law without your support.