* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember Holton
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
title
To Encourage Humanitarian Aid to Haiti
FOR the purpose of urging all citizens of Baltimore City to give what they can to aid the victims of the January 12, 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti, to express support for bipartisan legislation in Congress that encourages Americans to donate to the Haitian recovery, and to entreat all those who give aid to continue their efforts even after the disaster has been displaced in media headlines.
body
Recitals
The massive January 12th earthquake that struck the nation of Haiti, causing catastrophic damage inside and around the capital city of Port-au-Prince, exacerbated unimaginably horrific conditions in one of the least developed countries in the world, which has struggled in recent years with problems ranging from near-constant political upheaval, intractable health crisis, extreme environmental degradation, and a yearly barrage of hurricanes, including one last year that killed some 800 people and caused vast damage to the infrastructure.
That earthquake, which registered 7.0 on the Richter scale, reduced much of Haiti's capital to rubble, and killed an estimated 50,000, was followed by a powerful new earthquake just over a week later that registered 6.1 on the Richter scale. The new quake sent thousands of people into the streets of Port -au-Prince, striking as the official death toll from the first quake hit 70,000 - although it is widely estimated that the actual toll could top 200,000 or more.
The President of the United States, promising the people of Haiti that "you will not be forsaken; you will not be forgotten", mobilized resources and manpower to aid in the "whole of government" relief effort that provided nearly $171 million in humanitarian assistance and contributed directly in the areas of international coordination, health/medical services, airports and ports security and operation, evacuation and rescues, food and water, and adoption of orphaned and abandoned children.
The U.S. Congress is moving to encourage Americans to increase monetary donations to the earthquake relief effort in Haiti, by approving bipartisan legislation that will enable Americans to make generous cash contributions to the charities of their choice through March of 2010 and deduct the funds as charitable contributions from taxes for 2009, which are due April 15th.
Following the guidance of the Center for International Disaster Information, cash donations are requested as an alternative to in-kind donations such as clothing and canned goods. Cash donations have the triple advantage of stimulating the local economy, ensuring that supplies arrive as quickly as possible, and reducing transport and storage costs.
Although we in Baltimore City have experienced lean financial times in the past few years, our plight cannot compare to the pain our brothers and sisters in Haiti are experiencing. Baltimore City's citizens must rely on that hardy and resilient spirit that has gotten us through hard times to reach deep into our souls and deep into our shallow pockets to contribute to the relief effort.
As stated by the President: . ."this is the time we are reminded of the common humanity that we all share. With just a few hundred miles of ocean between us and a long history that binds us together, Haitians are neighbors of the Americas and here at home. So we have to be there for them in their hour of need."
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That this Body hereby urges all citizens of Baltimore City to give what they can to aid the victims of the January 12, 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti, to express support for bipartisan legislation in Congress that encourages Americans to donate to the Haitian recovery, and to entreat all those who give aid to continue their efforts even after the disaster has been displaced in media headlines.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Honorable Members of the Maryland Delegation to the 111th Congress of the United States, the Mayor, the organizations as listed in the Planning Department Directory of Community Organizations, and the Mayor's Legislative Liaison to the City Council.
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