Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Sounds the Alarm on Haitian Relief

During her tenure as chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., joined ranking Democrat U.S. Rep. Howard Berman of California to ask the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate relief efforts in Haiti which is still recovering from a major earthquake in 2010. On Tuesday, after the GAO released a critical report of efforts led by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Ros-Lehtinen released a statement on the lack of progress.

Im deeply concerned about the findings of the most recent GAO report on U.S. assistance for reconstruction efforts in Haiti, Ros-Lehtinen said. More than three years after the devastating earthquake of Jan.12, 2010, we find that much of the assistance that the U.S. has provided Haiti for reconstruction efforts has suffered from ineffective stewardship on the part of USAID. This level of performance is unacceptable, and the people of Haiti deserve better.

The people of Haiti have suffered greatly and remain in great need of our assistance, so I urge this administration to ensure that our reconstruction efforts bring about the positive results that are intended, she added. A key finding of this report is the lack of forthcoming information from State and USAID officials regarding the inadequate use of U.S. taxpayer dollars. It is imperative that programs supported by U.S. taxpayers receive the appropriate oversight and accountability in order to achieve maximum results.

Ros-Lehtinen noted that efforts to create a port, which was supposed to be finished by 2015, have not even begun and pointed out USAID planned to build 15,000 houses but has created less than 2,650. She also insisted USAIDs reporting to Congress has been spotty.