Washington, March 25: US President Barack Obama is asking Congress for USD 2.8 billion in emergency funding for the reconstruction effort in Haiti following January’s devastating earthquake.
The president’s request comes one week before a UN donors’ conference on March 31 in New York. Haitian officials plan to ask for USD 11.5 billion in reconstruction assistance.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry says the Senate is close to introducing legislation to meet Obama’s request.
The January 12 earthquake that ravaged the capital of Port-au-Prince killed an estimated 230,000 people and left more than one million homeless.
The White House released a copy of letter Obama sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi yesterday.
–PTI