House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer Breaks Down Democrats' 2010 Agenda

By Laurel Brishel Prichard and Sofia Sanchez University of New Mexico/ Talk Radio News Service

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) gave an overview Tuesday on what to expect from Democrats in 2010, which according to Hoyer will include health care, jobs, and whether Haitians will be allowed short term refugee status in the United States.

“The failure [of health care reform] is a fact, and we have to learn from it if we want to do better,” said Hoyer in a statement.

While the state of the health care bill is still unknown, Democrats have several options at hand: do nothing, try to pass a lesser form of the bill, pass the senate bill as is, or pass the Senate bill with the understanding that there will be corrections to the bill in another piece of legislation.

Hoyer said the Senate bill in its current state is not viable.

Many Democrats are hoping that President Barack Obama will address the next move in his State Of The Union address Wednesday.

Hoyer told reporters that jobs have not been on the back burner to health care. One of the first bills passed in 2009 was in regards to jobs, as was the last piece of legislation that the house put through. Also, Hoyer said, health care reform would could spur job growth.

“If health care is passed, it will help create 4 million jobs in the next decade,” said Hoyer.

Hoyer expressed sympathy for the Haitian community when asked if special exceptions will be allowed for Haitian immigration into the United States.

“I don’t want to pre-judge what will happen,” said Hoyer.

The United States has assisted in rushing through some adoptions of Haitian children in the time since the earthquake hit Haiti.

House Pushing Legislation Encouraging Americans To Donate To Haiti Relief Fund

By Sofia Sanchez - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) on Thursday announced measures they are taking to help with the relief effort in Haiti.

CBC Chairwoman Rep. Maxine Waters (R-Calif.) said that the House has passed a bill offering immediate tax benefits to Americans who make charitable contributions to aid Haiti victims. The legislation, which passed unanimously, will allow individuals to claim any donations to the relief effort as an itemized deduction on their 2009 tax return.

“I have been moved and inspired by the outpouring of support from America for the Haitian people,” said Waters.

Waters also said she has introduced legislation to require the U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to “cancel all of Haiti’s debts.” Members of the Caucus believe that this will free up the country’s meager resources, allowing it to begin meeting its immediate and long-term needs.

Some Parts Of Haiti Could Be More Secure Now Than Prior To Quake, Says DoD Official

Parts of Haiti may be more safe today than prior to the 7.0 earthquake that ravaged the Caribbean nation last week, Colonel Dave Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters Friday.

U.S. officials on the ground in Haiti reported Thursday that security in the country remains stable.

There are currently 4,000 U.S. troops on-ground in Haiti, with an additional 9,000 in off-shore vessels.

Reach Out And Rebuild Haiti

Many of us have been glued to our television sets this week watching the earthquake disaster in Haiti. It is incomprehensible that the kind of devastation and damage could take place so close to the United States where we have so much. We hear from television anchors day in and day out how Haiti is the poorest country in our hemisphere. Some of the news people are saying that the damage would not have been as extensive if the buildings had been engineered and built to be earthquake proof. That may or may not be, as the United Nation's area was completely devastated. It was not hardened like a U.S. embassy, but it wasn't a poverty building, either. They lost many people including the secretary-general's main Haiti envoy.

Having seen the devastation firsthand after Hurricane Katrina, I know that it takes years to rebuild. Right after Hurricane Katrina, the Methodist bishop of Mississippi said it would be 10 days of emergency, 100 days of relief and 1,000 days of recovery. Most of what the bishop said has been true, although it has taken more than 1,000 days of recovery. The Hurricane Katrina disaster happened in our country, with relative wealth compared to Haiti. It is very clear that the emergency phase is going to be more than 10 days. The emergency phase will be more like 100 days. Relief will take many months. Recovery will take many years.

Many of us know how very long it has taken to rebuild one small patch of New York after Sept. 11. We know about the stories of loss and pain that families have had to endure. People in Haiti have to attend to rescuing who they can and, at the same time, deal with loss of friends and family. Having to function at that level, given the amount of loss, is a testament to human strength.

Because of how busy our lives are, we may forget Haiti relatively quickly. Having witnessed on a month-by-month basis recovery of our Gulf Coast, it will need concentrated effort and giving by many of us who have resources and those of us who don't have many resources at all. What is different about this disaster, because of the poverty, is that every little bit helps.

Getting people food, shelter and clothing is one piece of the current emergency work. Helping people to recover emotionally is something that is not being talked about. Post-Katrina, it has taken years for emotional recovery. The Lutheran Church came to the Gulf Coast the summer after the storm and made a huge difference in children's lives. They sponsored Camp Noah, which encouraged children to tell their stories to a stuffed animal they had chosen. The process of telling their stories allowed the staff at the camp to be able to find children who needed immediate intervention. Most of the staff were not trained in mental health or caring individuals from the community. It was relatively easy to find children who needed help and intervention to get their lives back on track.

What concerned Americans need to do now, is to raise money and send supplies, clothing and whatever else is needed. What needs to happen in the long run is that Americans, who care about our brothers and sisters in Haiti, come up with creative and long-term solutions. From a Camp Noah type of intervention to helping develop quick housing and perhaps micro-enterprise solutions, we need to develop ideas that can help the Haitian people. We have so many people out of work in this country that perhaps there is a way of taking some of their time and energy and having them spend time in Haiti developing the kinds of solutions that can make a difference.

Almost every faith-based group in this country has a volunteer effort. Unemployed people with skills can offer their help. Families can give up their vacations to help in Haiti, and even little children can have their lemonade stands send a few dollars to our southern neighbors. Americans are compassionate. With our understanding that the Haitian recovery is going to take years of our help and ingenuity, we can show the world how great America really is.

72 Survivors Found In Haiti, More Relief On The Way

By Benny Martinez - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

72 is the new official number of victims that have been rescued from the rubble in Haiti, U.S. officials told reporters Tuesday. Of these, 40 were rescued by American search and rescue teams.

43 international urban search and rescue teams are still searching Port-au-Prince and its surrounding areas for survivors that are trapped in the aftermath of last week’s earthquake.

Major General Dan Allyn, Deputy Joint Task Force Commander, said that nearly 2,000 more American soldiers are on their way to assist in areas west of Port-au-Prince, which have seen limited amounts of help since last week's earthquake. Allyn also said that 4,000 pounds of food and water are on their way, along with the USNS Comfort, a naval ship with full medical capabilities.

“We will continue to do that to expand our reach and reduce the suffering for the people of Haiti,” Allyn said.

Tim Callaghan, a leader for the Disaster Assistance Response Team, stressed that “non-food items” are continuing to make their way to Haiti via military aircraft. Some of the “non-food” items specified include: water containers, plastic tarps for makeshift shelters, mobile water treatment facilities and World Health Organization medical kits.

Callaghan said that the Haitian government is prioritizing the distribution of these relief items to areas they believe are in most need.