HR1114-119

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the L’Ouverture Economic Development Plan for Haiti Act of 2025.

3. Purposes The purposes of this Act are to promote and facilitate— development of the Haitian private sector, particularly micro, small, and medium businesses, the agriculture, biodiversity, construction, energy, finance, manufacturing, and tourism industries, and U.S.-Haitian joint ventures, including the Haitian-American diaspora; policies and practices conducive to Haitian private sector development through equity investments, feasibility studies, grants, guarantees, insurance, loans, technical assistance, and training; an economic environment conducive for an accountable, transparent, and sustained democratic system of governance in Haiti, inclusive for its people, in coordination with the Global Fragility Act of 2019 (section 501 of title V of division J of Public Law 116–94; Stat. 3060); and policies that engender conditions for an industrialized Haiti sufficient to ensure work at full employment levels meeting United Nations medium to high human development from human development index indicators for the people of Haiti, thereby reducing irregular migration flows from the country, a United States national security concern.

4. Statements of policy It is the policy of the United States to support the sustainable rebuilding and development of Haiti in a manner that— recognizes that the United States has longstanding historical, economic, and cultural ties to Haiti, with millions of Americans tracing their heritage to the country, and has a vested interest in Haiti’s stability and development; recognizes Haitian independence, self-reliance, and sovereignty; acknowledges that it is in the United States national and regional security interest to assist a stable, democratic and prosperous Haiti that will consequently reduce irregular migration, regional crime, narcotics proliferation, and insecurity; supports the restoration of democratic governance in Haiti through free, fair, and transparent elections as an essential condition for reestablishing lasting security, economic development, and the national interests of Haiti and the United States by— supporting the self-determination of the Haitian people and recognizing that the sovereign and national right of the citizens of Haiti must be exercised free of interference; acknowledging that any political transition must come from a Haitian-led solution; and opposing any efforts to destabilize the state of Haiti; supports democratic transition, the strengthening of institutions, good governance, and the rule of law in Haiti by— assisting in strengthening Haiti’s institutions, judiciary system, governance structures and mechanisms to better respond to the needs of Haitians; supporting anticorruption efforts; promoting press freedom; supporting the empowerment of Haitian civil society; improving transparency and the independence of the media; preventing favorable treatment or influence on behalf of any individual, entity, or party in the selection by the Haitian people of their future government; and reducing violence against women and children and addressing human rights concerns, including through the enforcement of sanctions imposed in accordance with the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 2656 note) on individuals implicated in human rights violations and corruption; improves Haiti’s security by— supporting the goals of the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability 10-Year Plan for Haiti report, a derivative of the Global Fragility Act of 2019; supporting continued funding of the Haitian National Police; supporting Haiti’s and international efforts to assist the Haitian National Police in combating internal insecurity, including gang violence; stemming the flow of illicit firearms trafficking from the United States to the Caribbean, including Haiti; encouraging the development of civilian oversight of the Haitian National Police; encouraging the Haitian National Police to respect human rights and uphold anti-corruption measures in its practices; and encouraging a Disarmaments, Demobilization, and Reinsertion program to reduce criminality and protect the youth; addresses humanitarian needs by providing appropriate forms of assistance, such as humanitarian assistance, to the people of Haiti by addressing urgent food security, health, and education needs as well as protecting women and children; spurs economic development by— leveraging public and private source funding to address Haiti’s long term development goal and achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goals; helping, creating, and enabling an environment that facilitates trade and investment in Haiti; assisting in building the resilient and supportive physical infrastructure sector required for a stable and prosperous country, including country-wide access to reliable electricity, passable roads, ports, railroads, water, sanitation and health programs and digital infrastructure; reducing poverty and building prosperity by providing capacity building support to promote entrepreneurship and support small and medium-sized enterprises, including participation of Haitian women and youth in governmental and nongovernmental institutions and in economic development and governance assistance programs funded by the United States; supporting trade preferences with Haiti, including the preferences created through the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity Through Partnership Act of 2006 (title V of division D of Public Law 109–432; 120 Stat. 3181) and the Haiti Economic Lift Program Act of 2010 (19 U.S.C. 2703 et seq.); assisting in building the long-term capacity of the Government of Haiti, civil society, local resource mobilization in Haiti, and the private sector to foster economic opportunities in Haiti; and fostering collaboration and activities between the Haitian diaspora in the United States, including dual citizens of Haiti and the United States, and the Government of Haiti, local resource mobilization in Haiti, and the business community in Haiti; encourages other countries, along with bilateral and multilateral organizations, to provide similar assistance and to work cooperatively with such countries and organizations to coordinate such assistance; and respects and helps restore the natural resources of Haiti and strengthens community-level resilience to environmental and weather-related impacts.

5. Haitian American Enterprise Fund for Haiti The President may designate a private, nonprofit organization (as described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such code) as the Haitian American Enterprise Fund for Haiti (in this Act referred to as the Enterprise Fund), if the President— determines that such organization has the ability to carry out the activities described in section 7; and has consulted with the Speaker and the minority leader of the House of Representatives and the majority leader and the minority leader of the Senate regarding such designation. Upon the designation of the Enterprise Fund under subsection (a), the Chief Executive Officer of the United States International Development Finance Corporation shall operate such Fund. The Chief Executive Officer may consult and coordinate with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development regarding the Enterprise Fund. Nothing in this Act may be construed to make— the Enterprise Fund an agency or establishment of the United States Government; or the officers and employees of the Enterprise Fund or members of the Oversight Panel officers or employees of the United States for purposes of title 5, United States Code.

6. Oversight Panel The Enterprise Fund shall be monitored by a Board of Directors Oversight Panel (hereafter referred to as the Oversight Panel) composed of 9 members. The Chief Executive Officer shall appoint to the Oversight Panel— 5 individuals who are not employed by the Federal Government and— are citizens of the United States; or are citizens of the Republic of Haiti who— primarily reside in the United States; and have demonstrated respect for democracy and a free-market economy; and 2 individuals who are citizens of Haiti who— are not citizens of the United States; have demonstrated respect for democracy and a free-market economy; and have— had a successful business career in private equity, banking, or finance in a developing economy; or experience comparable to service on the board of directors of a fund that is similar to the Enterprise Fund and which earned a positive return on the amounts under the control of such fund. The President shall appoint to the Oversight Panel 2 individuals who are citizens of the United States, who— primarily reside in the United States; and have demonstrated concern for and commitment to the economic development of Haiti. The Chief Executive Officer and members of the Oversight Panel are encouraged to consult extensively with— representatives of similar enterprise funds established by the United States Government, in order to learn best practices relating to the start-up phase and ongoing business of an enterprise fund; representatives of multilateral institutions, including the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, to coordinate support for infrastructure in Haiti; and leaders from the private sector, civil society, labor organizations, human rights groups, academia, and environmental organizations in the United States and Haiti.

7. Investments for certain programs and projects The Enterprise Fund may only provide investments in programs and projects that— promote development of the Haitian private sector, particularly with respect to— micro, small, and medium businesses; the agriculture, biodiversity, construction, energy, finance, manufacturing, and tourism industries; and joint ventures between the United States and Haiti or the Haitian-American diaspora, including joint ventures that empower women and youth; promote policies and practices that facilitate the development of the Haitian private sector through— equity investments; feasibility studies; grants; guarantees; insurance; loans; technical assistance; and training; facilitate an economic environment conducive for an accountable, transparent, and sustained democratic system of governance in Haiti, aligned with the Global Fragility Strategy required in section 504(a) of the Global Fragility Act of 2019 (22 U.S.C. 9803(a)); build the resilient physical infrastructure required for Haiti to be stable and prosperous, including— country-wide access to reliable electricity; electricity generation plants; passable roads and bridges; ports; railroads; hydrological dams; agriculture canals; storm water management systems; water infrastructure; and sanitation and health programs and infrastructure; create a report that includes— the cost to update the physical infrastructure described in paragraph (4) in Haiti to meet resilience standards; and an analysis of completed physical infrastructure projects; assist in leveraging public and private funding to address development needs in Haiti; or engender conditions for development and industrialization, create sustainable jobs, or reduce the root cause of irregular migrations in Haiti. The Enterprise Fund may make investments in and encourage— increased access to consumer credit in Haiti, including from consumer credit unions (also known as caisse populaires); the establishment of local agriculture cooperatives in Haiti; the establishment of major electricity generation facilities and complementary regional and national electricity grids in Haiti; the establishment of working global manufacturing facilities, including facilities manufacturing— food; beverages; tobacco; chemicals; pharmaceuticals; electronics; optical products; textiles; apparel; and leather; projects providing modern information technology infrastructure required to deliver and monitor development services to economically vulnerable populations in Haiti; and projects providing management and technical capacity training and development to promote private sector development, including training on effective management and governance. The Enterprise Fund shall, if practicable, establish financial instruments to enable individuals to invest in the Haitian private sector. If practicable, the financial instruments established under paragraph (1) shall— facilitate investment in projects that support development and humanitarian relief in Haiti; and support Haitian businesses and employees. In making investments under this section, the Enterprise Fund shall give priority to industries identified by the Government of Haiti as priorities for the economic recovery and growth of Haiti. The Enterprise Fund shall take into account— internationally recognized human rights, including the rights of workers; environmental factors; the effect of the activities of the Fund on the economy and labor market of the United States; and the likelihood that the activity receiving investments from the Enterprise Fund will be commercially viable.

8. Administration of funds The Enterprise Fund may use returns on the investments of the Enterprise Fund and payments to the Enterprise Fund to provide the investments described in section 7, without transferring such returns or payments to the Treasury and without further appropriation by Congress. The Chief Executive Officer shall provide investments in a manner that ensures that the Enterprise Fund will be able to repay the Treasury as required by section 11. The Enterprise Fund may conduct public offerings or private placements for the purpose of soliciting and accepting United States venture capital, which may be used, separately or together with funds appropriated to the Enterprise Fund, for any lawful investment purpose that the Chief Executive Officer considers appropriate to carry out this Act. Acceptance of private venture capital does not authorize private investors to have a role in the oversight of the Enterprise Fund. Financial returns on Enterprise Fund investments that include private venture capital may be distributed, at such times and in such amounts as the Chief Executive Officer considers appropriate, to the investors of such capital. No funds of the Enterprise Fund shall inure to the benefit of any Oversight Panel member, officer, or employee of the Enterprise Fund, except as salary or reasonable compensation for services. Not more than 20 percent of Federal funds made available to the Enterprise Fund may be used for investments in the form of grants. Not more than 15 percent, in total, of funds appropriated to the Enterprise Fund may be used for operating costs and feasibility studies to assess commercial viability of activities and projects funded by the Enterprise Fund.

9. Audits and recordkeeping The Chief Executive Officer shall ensure that the Enterprise Fund is audited annually by an independent certified public accountant or independent licensed public accountant certified or licensed by a regulatory authority of a State or political subdivision of a State, in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. With respect to any year during which the Enterprise Fund is in possession of funds received from the United States Government, the Comptroller General of the United States shall audit the financial transactions of the Enterprise Fund to identify waste, fraud, or abuse, in accordance with such principles and procedures and under such rules and regulations as the Comptroller General may prescribe. The Chief Executive Officer shall ensure that— each recipient of funds provided by the Enterprise Fund under section 7 keeps— a separate account for such funds; such records as may be reasonably necessary to fully disclose— the amount of such funds; the total amount of such funds received by such recipient; the total cost of the project or activity for which the Enterprise Fund provided such funds; and the amount of the cost of the project or activity supplied by sources other than the Enterprise Fund; and any other records that will facilitate an effective audit; and the Chief Executive Officer has access, for the purpose of audit and examination, to any record described in paragraph (1)(B).

10. Reports Not later than 180 days after the establishment of the Enterprise Fund and annually thereafter until the Enterprise Fund terminates, the Chief Executive Officer shall make publicly available on the websites of the Enterprise Fund, the United States International Development Finance Corporation, and the United States Agency for International Development a report describing the funds provided by the Enterprise Fund for activities and projects described in section 7, with a written explanation of the commercial viability of each such activity and project. Not later than 120 days after the end of the fiscal year during which the Enterprise Fund is established and annually thereafter until the Enterprise Fund terminates, the Chief Executive Officer shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that— describes the successes, failures, expenses, activities, funding, and forecasted projections of the Enterprise Fund; and includes the results of the audit required by section 9(a). In this section, the term appropriate congressional committees means— the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Financial Services, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter until the Enterprise Fund terminates, the Oversight Panel shall submit to Congress and the President a report on the implementation of the duties of the Oversight Panel during the preceding year, including a description of successes regarding implementation of the Enterprise Fund and challenges preventing the Enterprise Fund from meeting its full potential. Not later than 120 days after the last day of any year in which the repayment to the Treasury required by section 11 has not yet been completed, the Chief Executive Officer shall make publicly available a report that includes a comprehensive and detailed description of the operations, activities, financial condition, and accomplishments of the Enterprise Fund during such year.

11. Termination Not later than December 31, 2031— the Chief Executive Officer shall repay from the Enterprise Fund to the Treasury the full amount of funds the Enterprise Fund received from the United States Government; and the Enterprise Fund shall terminate.

12. Nonapplicability of other laws Notwithstanding any other provision of law, executive branch agencies may conduct programs and activities and provide services in support of the activities of the Enterprise Fund.