The purpose of this official Congressional travel mission (CODEL) to the island nation was to meet with Haitian government officials and U.S. Embassy officials. In addition, she spoke with dozens of women about a microcredit loan program that provides capital to open small businesses in their community. The trip coincided with an AME-SADA (www.ame-sada.org) mission where the Congresswoman brought food to be distributed to hundreds of families in an AME-SADA Mother’s Club program.

"Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest countries in the developing world, and its per capita income of approximately $530 is outright deplorable," Brown said. "To me, this is entirely unacceptable. It is unacceptable that our island neighbor, just 700 miles from Miami, has a population that lives in these conditions, while our nation, and in particular, the Bush administration, spends hundreds of billions of dollars to wage war in Iraq while our neighbors to the South are deported in droves from our nation's shores."

As a key Member of the Transportation Committee, Congresswoman Brown is especially interested in working to improve Haiti's infrastructure, which is in dire condition. During her trip she had meetings with numerous parliamentary representatives, the airports and ports directors, ministers of public works, economy and finance, and the president of the island nation, Rene Preval. She also spoke with representatives of HOPE, a trade program that provides duty-free access to the U.S. market for woven and knit clothing made in Haiti.

Conversation with the President Preval and U.S. Ambassador Janet Sanderson covered infrastructure improvements, improving air and sea access, and the possibility of developing a rail system throughout the island. Congresswoman Brown also sent a letter urging the State Department to transfer the property currently being occupied by the United States Embassy in Port-au-Prince to the Haitian Parliament. Such a gesture would not only assist their Parliament to alleviate critical space needs, but would also provide immeasurable assistance to their governing body as it works towards becoming a more effective, responsive and representative institution.

"Certainly, infrastructure improvements could lead to greater economic prosperity, and allow for a better standard of living for the general population, most of who live in severe poverty," said Brown, who is the Chair of the Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials subcommittee.