Haiti Economic Lift Program Extension Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in support of H.R. 6504, the Haiti Economic Lift Program Extension Act.

For over 15 years, Haiti HOPE/HELP programs have supported both U.S. and Haitian textile industries by granting Haiti duty-free access for apparel and textile products.

Building strong business ties between two neighboring nations, this bill, the Haiti Economic Lift Program Extension Act, reauthorizes the HOPE/HELP trade preference program for an additional 3 years, through December 2028.

The bill also restores eligibility for certain textiles that were initially eligible for duty-free treatment but became ineligible due to changes in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule.

I thank Ranking Member Neal, Chairman Smith, and Dr. Murphy, and I especially thank my longtime friend and fellow Georgetown University alumnus, Haiti's Ambassador to the United States, Lionel Delatour, for their leadership in keeping the light of Haiti HOPE/HELP alive here in the House of Representatives.

Many American manufacturers, as well as Haitian civil society, have pushed for the extension of trade relations with Haiti.

Of course, we thank the committee's Trade staff, led by Alexandra Whittaker, Mr. Rueda, Mr. O'Donovan, as well as former U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai, who have supported our work to reauthorize the program for many years.

We all know that Haiti faces overlapping humanitarian, political, and economic crises and needs both economic and political stability. The circumstances require immediate action. More than 60 percent of the people of Haiti are living below poverty lines, and over 25 percent of the population live in extreme poverty. The 37 percent youth unemployment rate, combined with declining female literacy and lower school enrollment rates, as well as the crime and gang violence we all know about, makes finding skilled work very difficult.

I include in the Record links to two articles. One is ``Locked in Transition: Politics and Violence in Haiti,'' by the International Crisis Group. The link can be found here: https://www.crisisgroup.org/ latin-america-caribbean/caribbean/haiti/107-locked-transition- politics-and-violence-haiti

The second is the ``World Report 2025: Rights Trends in Haiti.'' The link can be found here: https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2025/country- chapters/ haiti

Madam Speaker, the security crisis and political instability have been compounded by a dire humanitarian situation.

According to the World Bank, over 64 percent of Haiti's population of 11.7 million lived on less than $3.65 per day in 2024. The World Food Programme has identified Haiti as having one of the highest proportions of acute food insecure people in any crisis worldwide. In a report covering August 2024 to February 2025, about 5.5 million people require humanitarian assistance, and 4.5 million are facing acute food insecurity.

The apparel sector has incredible importance to Haiti's economy and is the foundation for the country's economic development. When we talk about the economic development of Haiti, let's not forget its history and the circumstances that have led to the crisis and compounded the situation that they are in.

Many of us here in this Chamber may be aware of Haiti's history, but I remind my colleagues of a critical fact: In 1825, for their freedom, France demanded that Haiti pay. The initial debt was 150 million in gold, later reduced to 90 million in gold, which equals approximately $560 million in today's currency. It took Haiti 122 years to pay off this ransom. Imagine the United States had been forced to compensate Britain for our independence.

It is estimated that between $21 billion and $115 billion in economic losses have occurred because Haiti had to pay this fee, a fee for freedom. That has instead, of course, led to Haiti's economic dire straits that we see today.

It is our support of Haiti, as well as the economic benefits to the United States that we receive through its apparel, which will help lift them. Given the cascading job losses and extreme security crisis, Haiti cannot afford to wait any longer for reauthorization of this vital program.

Haiti is our strategic ally. It is one of the few countries in the hemisphere that still recognizes Taiwan. U.S. support for Haiti's apparel sector is mutually beneficial. Haitian apparel utilizes a great deal of American-grown cotton, and when it is in place, it plays an essential role in shifting supply chains out of China and into the Western Hemisphere.

I thank my colleagues for supporting Haiti and its people, and I thank them for supporting the Caribbean hemisphere.

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Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Ms. Sewell).

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Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Alabama.

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Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore).
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Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.

Mr. Speaker, we have had some tremendously wonderful discussions during this debate period over this legislation.

Without reauthorization, companies will increasingly shift their production away from Haiti unless it is clear that HOPE/HELP will continue. We can't have that. I am so grateful that we have bipartisan support of Members who are interested in that. From all over our country--North Carolina, New York, Wisconsin--Members routinely understand our relationship with Haiti, one of our near neighbors.

There was discussion about Charlie Rangel, who was the former chair of Ways and Means, and was indeed in some ways the author of this legislation conceiving of it, representing Harlem, the Lion of Lenox Avenue.

He was also a veteran of the Korean war, and he would remind us that Haitian soldiers--we are in our anniversary now in this year of 2025 of our independence, our Declaration of Independence--fought with us under the Siege of Savannah in 1779, willing to fight for our freedom, willing to support us in our battle to become the great Nation that we became. It is now our imperative to help them, as well.

It is my hope that this short-term, 3-year extension will preserve production and jobs in Haiti while providing a runway for Congress to further strengthen this program.

As you can see, in 2024, more than $92 billion in exports were done to the Caribbean and $500 million in Latin America. Indeed, this is a region that the United States must be engaged in. It is mutually beneficial for us to have economic ties not only in Latin America but with our Caribbean neighbors, for them to be strengthened both politically and fiscally.

I thank my colleagues, again, for supporting Haiti and its people. I thank them for supporting the hemisphere. I particularly want to thank Chairman Smith for moving this legislation through regular order, committee markup, and now here on the House floor. I thank him for working with Ranking Member Neal as well as not just the Ways and Means members but members from other committees who also have jurisdiction over this matter.

Mr. Speaker, I thank everyone and urge support of this legislation, urge its passage as we move it through the Senate, and into reenactment. I yield back the balance of my time.

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