Recognizing the catastrophic impact of the 2022 monsoon season in Pakistan and the devastation inflicted upon the Pakistani people.

IV 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 juris- diction 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 Au- gust, 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; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jan 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR23.IH HR23 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HRES 23 IH Whereas over 5,500,000 Pakistanis currently do not have ac- cess to clean drinking water, flood waters in many areas remain stagnant, and waterborne diseases remain a major concern as the floods left the country’s most eco- nomically vulnerable regions imperiled and struggling with a humanitarian catastrophe; Whereas over 7,000,000 women and children are in desperate need of nutrition and immediate lifesaving support, with food shortages causing pregnant women to be at height- ened risk of having low birthweight babies, and 1 in 9 Pakistani children suffering from acute malnutrition; Whereas accelerated glacier melt, brought on by climate change, descending from the Hindu Kush, Karakoram, and Himalaya mountain ranges in northern Pakistan, is a major contributing factor to the Indus River’s unprece- dented level of overflow and the enormous destruction that resulted; Whereas a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment by the Pakistani Ministry of Planning and Development estimated that the country’s economy has sustained a $15,200,000,000 loss; Whereas an estimated 2,300,000 homes were damaged or de- stroyed by the floods, many of which were swept away, demolished, or rendered uninhabitable, leaving the hous- ing sector with financial losses estimated to be upwards of $5,600,000,000; Whereas the total cost of damage to transportation infra- structure is estimated to be $281,000,000, 13,000 kilo- meters of roads were damaged or destroyed, and about 3,100 kilometers of in-service railway tracks were dam- aged, around 40 percent of the country’s total in-service railways; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jan 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR23.IH HR23 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HRES 23 IH Whereas damage to fiber optic transmission lines, feeder ca- bles, 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 agri- cultural 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 percent- age 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 Min- ister 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; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jan 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR23.IH HR23 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HRES 23 IH Whereas the congressional delegation met with the National Disaster Management Authority Chairman, Lieutenant General Akhtar Nawaz Satti, who presented dozens of images of schools, hospitals, bridges, thousands of miles of roads, and entire towns decimated by the flood water; Whereas the congressional delegation met with representa- tives from the Pakistan Red Crescent and met with Paki- stani Climate Minister, Sherry Rehmen, who provided her assessment of measures necessary for rehabilitation ef- forts in the flood-affected areas; Whereas the congressional delegation flew over the most se- verely impacted areas and witnessed devastating human and territorial destruction, with water extending in every direction, women and children racing to be rescued by helicopters, and displaced people everywhere who, having been on the frontlines of the floods, suffered tragic losses; Whereas the perils in Pakistan have made it unsafe for Paki- stanis to return to their home country amid this crisis, and on September 8, 2022, 19 Members of Congress co- authored a letter to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas urging the Department of Homeland Security to grant Tem- porary Protected Status to eligible Pakistani nationals re- siding within United States borders; Whereas the United States Government has appropriated $83,543,866 in humanitarian funding for the Pakistan flood response in fiscal years 2022–2023, of which the United States Agency for International Development has provided Pakistan with $35,924,587 in humanitarian as- sistance since August 30, 2022; Whereas the Governments of France, Japan, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey, and other nations have provided Pakistan with VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jan 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR23.IH HR23 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HRES 23 IH food and other emergency relief assistance and the Euro- pean 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 impor- tance of maintaining favorable diplomatic relations: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep- 1 resentatives that— 2 (1) the United States is a world leader in pro- 3 viding humanitarian assistance to those in need, and 4 amid the recent flooding and devastation, will con- 5 tinue to support Pakistan and its people for humani- 6 tarian, diplomatic, and strategic reasons, and to re- 7 inforce the resplendent friendship between our peo- 8 ples; 9 (2) the Biden administration should act expedi- 10 tiously to grant Temporary Protected Status to eligi- 11 ble Pakistani nationals who currently reside in the 12 United States; 13 (3) the American people stand in solidarity with 14 the people of Pakistan and share their emotions of 15 sadness during this grave time and will continue to 16 support Pakistan during the arduous rebuilding ef- 17 forts; and 18 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jan 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR23.IH HR23 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HRES 23 IH (4) the Pakistani-American community is a 1 treasured and intrinsic component of American soci- 2 ety that feels Pakistan’s tragedy personally, and 3 with whom all Americans are united. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jan 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR23.IH HR23 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB