My thoughts and prayers and those of the entire Congress are with the people of Haiti. The United States government is committed to helping the Haitian people recover from this latest disaster and rebuild their homes, communities, and lives in the days and weeks to come. The the federal government has launched a swift, coordinated and aggressive effort to save lives and support the recovery in Haiti, including an immediate investment of $100 million to support the relief efforts for life-saving equipment, food, water and medicine that will be needed.

Our First Responders in Haiti
I also want to recognized the more than 70 members of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, specialists in cave-in rescue and recovery, who are already on the ground in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and have rescued at least one person from the rubble.  The elite group, known as Virginia Task Force 1 (VATF-1), is one of the urban search and rescue teams in the country certified to deploy internationally on behalf of the federal government, specifically, the United States Agency for International Development, (USAID). 
 
When the team or members of the team are activated, expenses are paid for by USAID, and not county tax dollars.  Training, equipment, and personnel costs of Virginia Task Force 1 are paid for by the federal government on a regular basis.  As Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova noted, the County reaps great benefits by having personnel trained in search and rescue operations as a result of our relationship with USAID and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, (FEMA). 

To those Fairfax first responders on the ground in Haiti, I say, stay safe.

Looking For Relatives
Families of Americans living in Haiti who are trying to find the status of their loved ones are encouraged to contact the State Department at 1-888-407-4747. This line is experiencing a high volume of calls at this time, so some callers may receive a recording. To better handle these requests, the State Department has established an e-mail address as well: Haiti-Earthquake@state.gov.

A top priority of the State Department is accounting for the thousands of American citizens who are currently in Haiti. US citizens in Haiti have been urged to contact the Embassy via email at ACSPaP@state.gov to request assistance or call the Embassy's Consular Task Force at 509-2229-8942, 509-2229-8089, 509-2229-8322, or 509-2229-8672.

The Red Cross has also set up a Family Links website managed by the ICRC, in cooperation with the tracing services of the Haitian Red Cross Society and of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies throughout the world, to assist in the process of restoring contact between separated family members:

• Family Links website for Haiti»
• Cette page en français»

More Resources

• White House»
• State Department»
• USAID»

Assistance for Haiti Relief Efforts
The State Department has established a dedicated web page that offers advice for anyone wishing to provide assistance to those affected by the earthquake:

• State Department Haiti Earthquake website»

The Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI) provides information and guidance in support of appropriate international disaster relief:

• Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI) website»

Haitian Earthquake Relief Fraud Alert
The FBI has issued a fraud alert, reminding Internet users who receive appeals to donate money in the aftermath of Tuesday’s earthquake in Haiti to apply a critical eye and do their due diligence before responding to those requests. Past tragedies and natural disasters have prompted individuals with criminal intent to solicit contributions purportedly for a charitable organization and/or a good cause. Therefore, before making a donation of any kind, consumers should adhere to certain guidelines, to include the following:

• Do not respond to any unsolicited (spam) incoming e-mails, including clicking links contained within those messages.
• Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as surviving victims or officials asking for donations via e-mail or social networking sites.
• Verify the legitimacy of nonprofit organizations by utilizing various Internet-based resources that may assist in confirming the group’s existence and its nonprofit status rather than following a purported link to the site.
• Be cautious of e-mails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached files because the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders.
• Make contributions directly to known organizations rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf to ensure contributions are received and used for intended purposes.
• Do not give your personal or financial information to anyone who solicits contributions: Providing such information may compromise your identity and make you vulnerable to identity theft.

Anyone who has received an e-mail referencing the above information or anyone who may have been a victim of this or a similar incident should notify the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.

Please do not hesitiate to contact my District Office at 703-256-3071 if you need assistance on seeking information on seeking information about relatives in Haiti or about how you can asistance the rescue, recovery, and relief efforts.