[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 23 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 23
Recognizing the catastrophic impact of the 2022 monsoon season in
Pakistan and the devastation inflicted upon the Pakistani people.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 11, 2023
Ms. Jackson Lee submitted the following resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee
on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the catastrophic impact of the 2022 monsoon season in
Pakistan and the devastation inflicted upon the Pakistani people.
Whereas, in June 2022, catastrophic monsoon rains began in Pakistan and
intensified to Biblical proportions by August, leaving over one-third of
the country under water and directly impacting the lives of 33,000,000
Pakistanis;
Whereas despite flooding having subsided by 56 percent from the July-August
peak, over 1,700 people have lost their lives, one-third of whom were
children, 12,900 people were injured, 20,600,000 currently require
humanitarian assistance, and 7,900,000 have been displaced;
Whereas over 5,500,000 Pakistanis currently do not have access to clean drinking
water, flood waters in many areas remain stagnant, and waterborne
diseases remain a major concern as the floods left the country's most
economically vulnerable regions imperiled and struggling with a
humanitarian catastrophe;
Whereas over 7,000,000 women and children are in desperate need of nutrition and
immediate lifesaving support, with food shortages causing pregnant women
to be at heightened risk of having low birthweight babies, and 1 in 9
Pakistani children suffering from acute malnutrition;
Whereas accelerated glacier melt, brought on by climate change, descending from
the Hindu Kush, Karakoram, and Himalaya mountain ranges in northern
Pakistan, is a major contributing factor to the Indus River's
unprecedented level of overflow and the enormous destruction that
resulted;
Whereas a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment by the Pakistani Ministry of Planning
and Development estimated that the country's economy has sustained a
$15,200,000,000 loss;
Whereas an estimated 2,300,000 homes were damaged or destroyed by the floods,
many of which were swept away, demolished, or rendered uninhabitable,
leaving the housing sector with financial losses estimated to be upwards
of $5,600,000,000;
Whereas the total cost of damage to transportation infrastructure is estimated
to be $281,000,000, 13,000 kilometers of roads were damaged or
destroyed, and about 3,100 kilometers of in-service railway tracks were
damaged, around 40 percent of the country's total in-service railways;
Whereas damage to fiber optic transmission lines, feeder cables, and
transmission towers threatens the performance of Pakistan's
telecommunications infrastructure;
Whereas the floods have resulted in approximately 1,200,000 livestock deaths,
and damaged 9,400,000 acres of agricultural land around the country,
including a 35-percent loss of this year's Kharif season cash crops
including rice and cotton, which are among Pakistan's major exports;
Whereas the flooding's economic implications to the country will long outlast
the persistent standing water, which the World Bank evaluated and
estimated that 2.2 percent of the fiscal year 2022 gross domestic
product was lost as a direct impact of the floods;
Whereas the Pakistani government's ``2022 Post-Disaster Needs Assessment''
suggested that the flooding will cause the country's poverty rate to
increase by up to 4 percentage points, pushing up to 9,000,000 people
newly into poverty;
Whereas Pakistan is a longtime ally and strategic partner of the United States
linked by strong diplomatic relations since Pakistan's independence in
1947;
Whereas, from September 4 through 6, 2022, a congressional delegation visited
the areas in Pakistan that were most severely plagued by the floods;
Whereas the congressional delegation met with Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif,
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, United States Ambassador Donald
Blome, and the United States Deputy Chief of Mission Andrew Schofer to
assess the damage, receive a briefing from Pakistani military rescuers,
and discuss short-term relief efforts;
Whereas the congressional delegation met with the National Disaster Management
Authority Chairman, Lieutenant General Akhtar Nawaz Satti, who presented
dozens of images of schools, hospitals, bridges, thousands of miles of
roads, and entire towns decimated by the flood water;
Whereas the congressional delegation met with representatives from the Pakistan
Red Crescent and met with Pakistani Climate Minister, Sherry Rehmen, who
provided her assessment of measures necessary for rehabilitation efforts
in the flood-affected areas;
Whereas the congressional delegation flew over the most severely impacted areas
and witnessed devastating human and territorial destruction, with water
extending in every direction, women and children racing to be rescued by
helicopters, and displaced people everywhere who, having been on the
frontlines of the floods, suffered tragic losses;
Whereas the perils in Pakistan have made it unsafe for Pakistanis to return to
their home country amid this crisis, and on September 8, 2022, 19
Members of Congress co-authored a letter to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
urging the Department of Homeland Security to grant Temporary Protected
Status to eligible Pakistani nationals residing within United States
borders;
Whereas the United States Government has appropriated $83,543,866 in
humanitarian funding for the Pakistan flood response in fiscal years
2022-2023, of which the United States Agency for International
Development has provided Pakistan with $35,924,587 in humanitarian
assistance since August 30, 2022;
Whereas the Governments of France, Japan, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey, and other
nations have provided Pakistan with food and other emergency relief
assistance and the European Commission deployed personnel to support
logistics and supply chain management needs; and
Whereas the House of Representatives supports Pakistan, a longtime friend and
ally of the United States, for moral humanitarian reasons, strategic
reasons, and the importance of maintaining favorable diplomatic
relations: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives
that--
(1) the United States is a world leader in providing
humanitarian assistance to those in need, and amid the recent
flooding and devastation, will continue to support Pakistan and
its people for humanitarian, diplomatic, and strategic reasons,
and to reinforce the resplendent friendship between our
peoples;
(2) the Biden administration should act expeditiously to
grant Temporary Protected Status to eligible Pakistani
nationals who currently reside in the United States;
(3) the American people stand in solidarity with the people
of Pakistan and share their emotions of sadness during this
grave time and will continue to support Pakistan during the
arduous rebuilding efforts; and
(4) the Pakistani-American community is a treasured and
intrinsic component of American society that feels Pakistan's
tragedy personally, and with whom all Americans are united.
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