The federal government has surpassed the initial dollar amounts President Obama dedicated for Haitian earthquake relief. After the January 12, 2010 devastation, President Obama announced the United States would start the humanitarian response with 100 million dollars. Rob Nabors, Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget says, “We’ve actually spent over 300 million dollars in federal funds in Haiti to date.”
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is looking at a10 year world plan for Haitian reconstruction. The cost is not known.
American financial estimates continue to climb. The State Department, Health and Human Services, along with the Defense Department continues relief work in the Port Au Prince area.
Nabors says, “What we are going to do, is not let money stand in the way. We are going to do what we need to do …and so the United Sates steps up and does its share in support.”
The death toll from the earthquake has reached 212,000. More than 300,000 were injured and 1 million left homeless.
The Justice Department has notified the White House that a settlement is near for black farmers discriminated against by the United States Department of Agriculture. The plaintiffs in this case 80 to 90 thousand black farmers. The issue dates back to the late 1990’s and the Clinton administration.
President Obama’s 2011 budget proposal includes 1.2 billion dollars in settlement monies for the black agrarians. If approved by congress, it would mark the second time federal funds were allocated for the discrimination award for black farmers in a presidential budget proposal. In the past, President George W. Bush proposed the monies, but, congress cut the farmers hoped for compensation. Rob Nabors, Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget says, “The President [Obama] put forward a proposal last year; and, it is continued in this year’s budget where we have a proposed settlement of approximately 1.2 billion dollars. The Department of Justice is currently negotiating the settlement.
“It is about ensuring Justice is done. It is important in this situation,” contends Robert Gibbs White House Press Secretary.
John Boyd, head of the National Black Farmers Association contends, “It has been very frustrating for the black farmers. He is hopeful this latest settlement offer, makes it into the black farmers hands after years of promises.
“Nearly 80 to 90 thousand black farmers are waiting for justice and they are getting older everyday and they are dying everyday”, says Boyd.
In 1999, 14 thousand black farmers were awarded a settlement from the original lawsuit. Boyd reminds that those farmers received “62,500 a piece totaling over a billion dollars.” Farmers who did not know about that initial suit were able to file claims against the United States Department of Agriculture. Now, tens of thousands of black farmers are possibly in line for the federal monies to correct the wrongs by the Agriculture Department.
Boyd contends, “Not all those are going to get their money. Those farmers who are eligible will get there money. Those who are not, will get closure.”
Boyd says, the issues originated from a “lawsuit in 97 [1997] for discrimination in farm lending programs and subsidies (farm service agency USDA). The National Black Farmers Association allowed for late file lawsuits in 2008.” He also believes the only way farmers will get their overdue settlement monies is if President Obama and the Democrats in Congress fight for the budget item approval.
President Obama has officially proclaimed February African American history month. On the first day of Black history month, Vice President Joe Biden and the Second lady, hosted the Alvin Ailey Dance theatre. The internationally acclaimed modern dance troop’s honor coincided with the beginning of a series of performances in Washington, D.C. for their annual shows in February at the Kennedy Center. Bruce Gordon , form Head of the NAACP and board member of the Alvin Ailey Dance theatre says the dinner with the Vice President is a high honor.
Next week, President Obama hosts a Public Broadcasting concert featuring the music of the Civil Rights era. At lease one of the Performers for the event, Chicago Native and Grammy Award winner, Jennifer Hudson.
President Obama’s 2011 budget proposal includes 1.2 trillion dollars in budget cuts over 10 years. The White house contends the plan does not make across the board cuts but adds money in some areas and cuts others. Within the six percent increase in education funding, there is a 98 million dollar proposal for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. White House officials contend President Obama understands the importance of HBCU’s to this nation. In 2009, the Obama administration allowed increased funding allotted by then President George W. Bush to sunset at the upset of many of the countries 100 plus HBCU’s.
Haitian funding is not included in the fiscal proposal as the earthquake occurred after the budget was compiled. President Obama initially pledged 100 million dollars in emergency funds. That money will grow overtime as the United States is joining world communities in financial help to rebuild the quake shattered area. At the Haitian Donors Conference slated for March in New York City, the discussions will center around commitments of just how much will be given for the country over the next ten years.
President Obama praises the Senate for restoring the pay-as-you-go law and discusses his proposal for a freeze in discretionary spending. The Presdient also calls for a bipartisan Fiscal Commission to hammer out further concrete deficit reduction proposals.
Baltimore was the setting for the GOP retreat where President Obama addressed event goers of the opposing party. In efforts to foster bi-partisanship, President Obama also answered questions from Republican U-S House members. The entire event was televised, translating into the transparency of discussions with the GOP. Then Presidential candidate Barack Obama campaigned on an open dialogue with the Republican Party and transparency.
President Obama delivers his first State of the Union Address in the well of the House just a year after taking office. The address will cover domestic and foreign policy during a time of recession and two wars. Terry Edmonds, head speechwriter for then President Bill Clinton, says the message will convey “optimism, looking forward even if we do have challenges, we have the resources and the will to overcome.”
Edmonds says one of the most used phrases by Presidents during the speech, “The state of our union is strong.”
In December, President Obama evoked Charles Dickens in describing the state of Black America that continues to have disproportionate numbers in education, employment, health care and beyond. From an exclusive Oval Office interview with American Urban Radio Networks.
Q And lastly, you’ll be coming up with your State of the Union, your first State of the Union in January. And I know you’re going to speak to all America. But, in your opinion, what is the state of black America?
THE PRESIDENT: You know, I think this continues to be the best of times and the worst of times. I mean, I think it’s the best of times in the sense that never has there been more opportunity for African Americans who have received a good education and are in a position then to walk through the doors that are opened. And, obviously, you and me sitting here in the Oval Office is a testament to that.
I think it’s the worst of times in the sense that unemployment and the lack of opportunity, particularly in some cities, has never been worse. I mean, you look at a city like Detroit where you used to have an enormous African American middle class built on the auto industry - that city is in hard, hard times right now.
Now, just going back to the point you raised earlier about our responsiveness to the African American community, imagine what Detroit would look like if we hadn’t stepped in to make sure that GM stayed open, which was on the verge of bankruptcy. Having said that, if you’ve got double digit unemployment in cities like that, we’re going to have to make some special efforts, and it starts with early childhood education; it starts with education generally. That’s why I’m putting such a big emphasis on that. But it also means that every federal agency has to make sure that the assistance that’s being made available to the general population is targeting those hard to reach places, so that they are also benefiting from our overall efforts to lift up the economy.
I’m optimistic about the long term future of the African American community, but it’s going to take work. It was never going to be done just because we elected me. It’s going to be a collaborative effort between people in the community who recognize that we’re going to have to rely on government to do some things, but a lot of these things we’re going to have to do ourselves.
The Haitian Donors conference is set for March in New York City. The framework of a 10 year Haitian international rebuild plan was set in Montreal, Canada with representatives from the United States, Haiti, Spain, France, Brazil, Canada, and the European Union. The United States leads in donations for Haiti followed by Canada. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had some time for a one on one to answer questions about American presence in Haiti and how we need to proceed on Haitian issues of housing, debt forgiveness and the extension of temporary protective status for some Haitians in the United States. Haiti is a priority of the Obama administration in the short term and long term. President Obama is expected to address issues of Haiti in his State of the Union Address.
On the plane headed to Canada Sec. Clinton came back to talk with the press about Haiti.
Interview With April Ryan of American Urban Radio Networks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Montreal, Canada
January 25, 2010
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QUESTION: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, thank you so much for your time, and talking to us about issues of Haiti. We are here at this ministerial preparatory conference. You are setting the outline, I guess, for the Haitian donors conference.
Could you talk to me, first of all, about the positives that came out of this conference, and what you see down the road for Haiti?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, April, first of all, thank you for following this story and coming to this conference in Montreal, because I think we established a good framework for how we are going to move forward. It’s only been 12 days since this horrible disaster occurred. But already we have a set of principles about how we want our work to be shaped. We have some long-term strategic objectives, and we have the beginnings of a road map for reconstruction and development.
It is really heartening, and I think your listeners would find it so, that people from across the world are showing their hearts on behalf of Haiti. But it’s not enough that we show compassion. It’s not enough that we contribute to a good charity, or that we bless the use of our tax dollars to help the people of Haiti. We have to have a plan that we can execute on, that we can demonstrate results from on behalf of the people of Haiti.
So, we will be having the next conference, which will try to set all of this in place, in New York in March. Because the United States has a great commitment to the people of Haiti. President Obama and I had already been working on a plan to try to assist the people of Haiti before the earthquake. So we are going to build on that, and we are going to come up with some workable, practical approaches to give the Haitians a better future.
QUESTION: Now, am I correct in understanding that, from this press conference with the ministerial leaders, that it will be 10 years — you have a 10-year plan — correct?
SECRETARY CLINTON: I think that the time frame that everyone is talking about is 10 years, because we look at other disasters — take, for example, the recent tsunami in Asia over Christmas of 2004 into the new year then. So that’s been five years. And a lot of good work has been done, but there is still work to be completed.
But, for example, in the terrible impact of the tsunami in Indonesia, it didn’t affect the Government of Indonesia. So the Government of Indonesia and most of the country was unaffected. What happened here was so much more devastating, because it just wiped out government buildings, records, public services from schools and hospitals and police stations. The penitentiary was unfortunately damaged, and therefore, all the criminals got out.
So I think most experts believe that we’re talking about, on the low end, a 5-year, on the upper end, a 10-year — of sustained commitment. And then, hopefully, we will have put the Haitian people on a strong foundation.
One other example I would use is think about the terrible genocide in Rwanda. Yet now, about 15 years later, Rwanda is recovering. I mean they lost 800,000 people. It was the worst kind of terrible evil. And yet now their economy is growing, because they had a plan. And the international community stood with them while they implemented that plan.
QUESTION: Well, you speak of that, and Haiti is a whole different — in a whole different boat than many of these other countries: the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. You know, I went there and, I mean, I saw beauty in poverty, because people wanted to survive. And now they are trying to reorganize that survival, and change how they lived before.
And that brings me to something that I found out this week. I talked to Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans, and he said his city, five years in, still has a lot of problems. And he says typically it takes a city or a community, to rebuild, 10 to 15 years. You’re talking 10. And New Orleans had buildings that at least met code. They had certain infrastructures that were in place. Haiti doesn’t.
So, do you realistically think 10 years, or maybe even beyond? And, if so, it’s going to go beyond the billions and billions, and maybe into trillions, correct?
SECRETARY CLINTON: I don’t think so, and here is why. I think every disaster is different. There is no doubt that what has happened to Haiti is extraordinarily damaging. If we do this right, though — the countryside was largely unaffected — if we can get economic activity going in the countryside, the farmers able to once again plant and harvest and have markets for their food, there is an opportunity here which is unique, because Haiti has been studied to death. Everybody has an opinion about what needs to be done in Haiti. The problem has been there has never been the political will matched with the resources and the pressure to follow through, as there is now.
So, that’s why 10 years is a time when we will be able to assess how much has happened. Of course, there will continue to be problems and challenges beyond that. But Haiti had those before the earthquake. And part of what we have to do here is to create a different mind set among Haitians themselves. The people in the establishment in Haiti have to understand that their country and their fellow men and women can do better if they are more generous, and share the results of success. The people out in the country have to grasp education as a true vehicle for personal achievement.
So, there is a lot to be done. But I am always struck by how, when Haitians leave their country, come to the U.S. or Canada or France, they are very successful. They are doctors and nurses and teachers and business leaders. And there is no reason that they cannot see that success back in Haiti, if we get the attitudes of people to match the development agenda.
QUESTION: You talked about the countryside. Let’s go beyond Port-au-Prince. What is happening now to help those who are beyond the Port-au-Prince borders who are affected right now? We know that roads are still impassible. But what is this administration doing to help those?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, actually, we are helicoptering in food, water, supplies into areas where there has been an increase in population because people are leaving Port-au-Prince. Many experts, including the prime minister, Prime Minister Bellerive, today said that this is an opportunity that should not be missed.
Port-au-Prince got too big for the size of Haiti, in part, because previous governments did not invest in the countryside. And, therefore, if we can reverse some of that in-migration to Port-au-Prince, and as people are leaving Port-au-Prince to go back to their family homes, if we can provide opportunity back there, then we will have a better chance to develop Port-au-Prince in a more thoughtful way.
QUESTION: Well, let’s talk about migration. You have heard the calls. Many people, to include the NAACP, CBC, they are looking for an extension into the temporary status, the protected status, for many that are here for 18 months. And they are saying it may need to happen beyond. What are your thoughts?
SECRETARY CLINTON: I certainly think we have to stay open to that. I think that the immediate need to provide temporary protected status to the people who are here without documentation was necessary, and the Obama Administration did it. But we have to watch this carefully. You cannot return people until there is some sense of stability and security and opportunity. And I don’t think 18 months is a magic number. So we are going to have to evaluate this as we go forward.
QUESTION: And also, Congresswoman Maxine Waters wants the United States to forgive or help the — get the help from the United States to forgive the debt to the IMF, the World Bank. Is that something that is feasible, especially now, since they need you, they need all your money, all your support?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Absolutely, it’s feasible. We are looking at that. We heard presentations today from all three of those — those two organizations, plus the Inter-American Development Bank. They all recognize the need that they face in trying to work through a program for the forgiveness of debt. It’s just unrealistic to think that Haiti would ever, in the far foreseeable future, be able to repay that.
QUESTION: And lastly, housing and security. What are you going to do on the ground there? And how is the U.S. really going to get involved with security over time? Because that is a major issue. And the housing, trying to house these people as they are rebuilding to a new standard, a new building code standard?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, two things. One, as you know, we have sent thousands of our troops — soldiers and Marines — to assist in the delivery of humanitarian supplies, and also to support the UN troops on the ground in providing security. The UN troops have done a good job. The UN mission, led by a Brazilian general, has really made enormous progress in providing law and order, in working on corrections, and many of the other aspects of law enforcement. But they are overwhelmed, and the UN personnel probably will, when it’s all said and done, suffer more than 300 losses. So, this is a big burden for them to assume. But the Security Council has expanded the number of forces that they can take, in both the police training and the units of soldiers to support those that are already there.
So, we are going to work closely with them, because security is paramount, and it has to be in the streets. And, as I said, we have all these people who broke out of the penitentiary. So we have, unfortunately, more than our share of dangerous criminals wandering around now that have to be disarmed and subdued and returned to a prison. But we are really committed to working on the immediate needs of shelter and housing.
We talked today in our meeting about how we can come up with 200,000 tents so that people will have some shelter. We are racing against the clock, because the rainy season starts in a couple of months, and the hurricane season will also return. So we just have to do everything we can, and everyone is committed to that.
QUESTION: And lastly, have you been able to talk to some of these leaders here about what many around the world are saying, this heavy-handedness by the United States in helping? They don’t want the military there, a strong military presence. It’s almost like you’re hearing the same thing with the African Union when there was a concern about bringing AFRICOM there. People don’t want the U.S. military there. What are your thoughts about that? And have you talked to these world leaders about that?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I have not only talked with them, I have followed the international press very closely. That’s a minority opinion. The much greater majority opinion is that the United States is using its power in a way that everyone can see helps people. We have made it clear we are not there for the long term, this is solely to assist the Haitian Government and the international community and support the UN.
But, boy, are people glad to see us. And I have lots of pictures of Haitians embracing our soldiers, waving at our helicopters, expressing their thanks. So we know that some want to draw some historical parallel that is not applicable, but we are not paying any attention to that. Our goal is to help as many Haitians as possible, and our military is absolutely instrumental in doing that.
QUESTION: Last note, last word from you?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Just thank you for following this. This is something that, just as it’s a long-term effort on the ground, we need Americans involved for the long term. And there will be roles and opportunities for people to volunteer, to contribute, to do the kinds of things that America does better than anyone. When we come out with our heart showing in the face of these kinds of catastrophes, it’s the best example of who we are, and the values that we live by.
QUESTION: Thank you so much, Secretary Clinton. You are awesome. Thanks for having me with you, and doing this interview. You keep your promises.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Yes, ma’am. I try. As you know, we have known each other a long time, April.
Over 122 people have been rescued from the rubble in Haiti since the 7.0 earthquake more than a week ago. 40 plus of those rescued were saved by American rescue personnel. Those who have traveled to the disaster scene contend there is death and destructions amid a hope for life and a city flourishing after rising from the rubble and ash in Port-Au-Prince. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, at the White Hous, connected the dots between Haiti and New Orleans.
Meanwhile, President and Mrs. Obama mailed a 15 thousand dollar personal check to the Clinton Bush Haiti fund to help with the relief and rescue efforts there. Former President George W. Bush gave 10 thousand dollars from his pocket during the Tsunami for rebuild, relief and rescue efforts when that natural disaster hit. He dispatched his father and former President Bill Clinton to raise funds to help the humanitarian efforts there.
