Bishop John Ricard, chairman of the U.S. episcopate’s International Policy Committee, thanked the measure’s sponsor, Senator Mike DeWine of Ohio, for his «consistent support for the human and economic development of the people of Haiti.»
The Haiti Economic Recovery Opportunity Act was introduced Thursday.
Specifically, the bill would grant duty-free status to apparel made in Haiti. DeWine sponsored similar legislation last year, but Congress adjourned before completing action on it.
«Not only could this bill, once enacted, create many new jobs in that depressed economy,» Bishop Ricard of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Florida, said in a letter to DeWine, «but equally importantly, it could stand as a beacon of hope to the people of Haiti, signaling the intention of the United States to follow through with essential economic assistance.»
