Washington, DC – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), Congressional Black Caucus Haiti Task Force Co-Chair, today introduced H.R. 3919 the TRUTH (The Responsibility to Uncover the Truth about Haiti) Act today, which calls for an independent bipartisan commission to uncover the facts about the Bush Administration’s involvement in the recent coup d’etat  in Haiti.  The bill was co-sponsored by CBC Haiti Task Force Co-Chair John Conyers and 23 other Members.

The TRUTH Act calls for the commission to investigate, among other questions, the following: 1) Did the U.S. Government impede democracy and contribute to the overthrow of the Aristide government? 2) Under what circumstances did President Jean-Bertrand Aristide resign, and what was the role of the United States Government in bringing about his departure?  3) To what extent did the U.S. impede efforts by the international community, particularly the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, to prevent the overthrow of the democratically-elected Government of Haiti? 4) What was the role of the United States in influencing decisions regarding Haiti at the United Nations Security Council and in discussions between Haiti and other countries that were willing to assist in the preservation of the democratically-elected Government of Haiti by sending security forces to Haiti? 5) Was U.S. assistance provided or were U.S. personnel involved in supporting, directly or indirectly, the forces opposed to the government of President Aristide? 6) Was U.S. bilateral assistance channeled through nongovernmental organizations that were directly or indirectly associated with political groups actively involved in fomenting hostilities or violence toward the government of President Aristide?

Following the makeup of the WMD commission called for in H.R. 2625 legislation by Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) last year, the TRUTH commission would be made up of ten members, five chosen by the Democratic congressional leadership and five by the Republican congressional leadership.

“The Bush Administration’s efforts in the overthrow of a democratically-elected government must be investigated,” said Lee. “All of the evidence brought forward thus far suggests that the Administration has, in essence, carried out a form of ‘regime change,’ a different variation than it took in Iraq, but still regime change. The American people and the international community deserve to know the truth, and this bill will offer the opportunity to investigate the long-term origins of the overthrow of the Haitian government and the impact of our failure to protect democracy.”

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