Haitian Educational Empowerment Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 666 To establish a scholarship program in the Department of State for Haitian students whose studies were interrupted as a result of the January 12, 2010, earthquake, or the October 4, 2016, hurricane, Hurricane Matthew. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 17, 2019 Mr. HASTINGS (for himself, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. FUDGE, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. SOTO, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, and Ms. WILSON of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To establish a scholarship program in the Department of State for Haitian students whose studies were inter- rupted as a result of the January 12, 2010, earthquake, or the October 4, 2016, hurricane, Hurricane Matthew. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Haitian Educational 4 Empowerment Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Feb 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H666.IH H666 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 666 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) On October 4, 2016, Hurricane Matthew 3 devastated Haiti, killing over 1,000 people, and di- 4 rectly affected 2.1 million people, including the in- 5 ternal displacement of 175,000 and 1.4 million peo- 6 ple in need of urgent humanitarian aid. 7 (2) The storm damage has been estimated to be 8 $1,000,000,000, or about 11.4 percent of the gross 9 domestic product of Haiti. 10 (3) Hurricane Matthew was the worst hurricane 11 to hit Haiti in over 50 years. 12 (4) Haiti is the poorest country in the Western 13 Hemisphere. 14 (5) Eighty percent of the population lives below 15 the poverty line, and approximately 45 percent of 16 the population is illiterate. 17 (6) On January 12, 2010, a 7.0-magnitude 18 earthquake struck the country of Haiti. 19 (7) The earthquake caused massive devastation 20 across Haiti, destroying government buildings, hos- 21 pitals, schools, and vital aid offices, including the 22 headquarters of the United Nations mission to 23 Haiti. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Feb 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H666.IH H666 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 666 IH (8) An estimated three million people were di- 1 rectly affected by the earthquake in Haiti, nearly 2 one-third of the country’s population. 3 (9) Many universities suffered significant struc- 4 tural damage, including the State University of 5 Haiti, the country’s main public university, which 6 had 80 percent of its buildings destroyed. 7 (10) The earthquake claimed the lives of many 8 students and several prominent academics. 9 (11) A more highly educated population is vital 10 to Haiti’s long-term development. 11 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR 12 CERTAIN HAITIAN STUDENTS. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, acting 14 through the Assistant Secretary of State for Educational 15 and Cultural Affairs, shall establish a scholarship program 16 for Haitian students whose studies were interrupted as a 17 result of the January 12, 2010, earthquake, or the Octo- 18 ber 4, 2016, hurricane, Hurricane Matthew. 19 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a scholar- 20 ship under this section, a Haitian undergraduate or grad- 21 uate student shall— 22 (1) have been enrolled as a full-time or part- 23 time student in a Haitian university or institution of 24 higher education in the United States at the time of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Feb 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H666.IH H666 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 666 IH the January 12, 2010, earthquake, or when Hurri- 1 cane Matthew hit Haiti on October 4, 2016; and 2 (2) submit to the Assistant Secretary of State 3 for Educational and Cultural Affairs an application 4 at such time, in such manner, and containing such 5 information as the Assistant Secretary may require. 6 (c) DURATION.—A scholarship under this section 7 shall be awarded to a Haitian student for one academic 8 year and may be renewed in accordance with subsection 9 (d). 10 (d) RENEWAL.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—A scholarship awarded 12 under this section may be renewed for an additional 13 academic year upon demonstration to the Secretary 14 of State of satisfactory academic achievement in the 15 prior academic year. 16 (2) MAXIMUM RENEWALS.—A scholarship 17 awarded under this section may not be renewed for 18 more than six academic years. 19 (e) PREFERENCE.—Preference in the awarding of 20 scholarships shall be given to the following categories of 21 Haitian students: 22 (1) Haitian students who are studying subjects 23 of importance to Haiti’s long-term social, economic, 24 or political development. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Feb 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H666.IH H666 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 666 IH (2) Haitian students who were enrolled in pro- 1 grams that were forced to cease operations as a re- 2 sult of the January 12, 2010, earthquake, or the Oc- 3 tober 4, 2016, hurricane, Hurricane Matthew. 4 (f) RETURN.—Upon completion of an undergraduate 5 or graduate degree at an institution of higher education, 6 a Haitian student who has received a scholarship under 7 this section shall return to Haiti for not less than two 8 years, and to the extent possible, find employment in an 9 economic sector of importance to Haiti’s long-term social, 10 economic, or political development. 11 (g) SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT.—A scholarship awarded 12 to a Haitian student under this section may not exceed 13 an amount equal to the total costs related to the tuition 14 and fees for one academic year at an institution of higher 15 education in which the student is enrolled as a full-time 16 student. 17 SEC. 4. GRANTS TO UNITED STATES COLLEGES AND UNI- 18 VERSITIES. 19 The Secretary of State, acting through the Assistant 20 Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, 21 may make grants to institutions of higher education that 22 have enrolled a significant number of Haitian students 23 who have been enrolled as full-time or part-time students 24 in a Haitian university at the time of the January 12, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Feb 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H666.IH H666 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 666 IH 2010, earthquake, or the October 4, 2016, hurricane, 1 Hurricane Matthew. Such grants shall be used to provide 2 social and educational support services to such students. 3 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 4 For purposes of this Act: 5 (1) FEES.—The term ‘‘fees’’ means— 6 (A) fees normally assessed a full-time stu- 7 dent, as determined by an institution of higher 8 education, including— 9 (i) costs for the rental or purchase of 10 any equipment, materials, or supplies re- 11 quired of all students in the same course 12 of study; and 13 (ii) an allowance for room and board 14 at such institution; and 15 (B) travel expenses to such institution 16 from Haiti and, upon the completion of a de- 17 gree at such institution, from such institution 18 to Haiti. 19 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 20 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 21 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High- 22 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 23 (3) SCHOLARSHIP.—The term ‘‘scholarship’’ 24 means an amount awarded to a Haitian student 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Feb 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H666.IH H666 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 666 IH under this section that shall only be used to pay 1 costs related to the tuition and fees at the institu- 2 tion of higher education in which the student is en- 3 rolled as a full-time student. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Feb 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H666.IH H666 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS