Sponsors (11)
Introduced February 7, 2025 by Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick · Last progress February 7, 2025
The bill channels substantial U.S. public and private resources to rebuild Haiti, support businesses, and reduce migration pressures while increasing federal spending and taxpayer exposure and creating trade‑offs around oversight, politicization, and human‑rights risks.
Taxpayers and the public get more regular, independent oversight (annual reports, audits, GAO reviews and an oversight board) that improves transparency about how the Fund spends U.S.-linked dollars.
Haitian communities and U.S. diaspora entrepreneurs gain a predictable funding stream and ability to mobilize public and private capital (including a $1 billion/year authorization and a DFC‑linked nonprofit structure) to support economic recovery and investment in Haiti.
Small businesses, startups, and micro/small/medium enterprises in Haiti (including joint U.S.–Haiti and diaspora ventures) get expanded access to financing, credit, and technical assistance to grow and create jobs.
U.S. taxpayers face substantial new spending and potential financial risk (the statutory funding authorization and possible grants/loans/guarantees plus exposure if investments underperform), increasing fiscal obligations and downside exposure.
The structure reduces congressional control and increases executive flexibility (non‑federal staff, ability to retain and spend returns without further appropriation, and provisions that allow agencies to bypass some statutes), weakening traditional oversight safeguards.
The program risks prioritizing private profit and well‑connected investors (including diaspora or foreign investors) over poorest communities, creating conflicts of interest and politically influenced selections that may produce unequal benefits.
Based on analysis of 13 sections of legislative text.
Creates a U.S.-backed private Enterprise Fund to invest in Haitian businesses and infrastructure, authorizes $1B/year FY2026–FY2031, requires repayment and Fund termination by Dec 31, 2031.
Creates a U.S.-backed private Enterprise Fund to invest in Haitian private-sector growth and resilient infrastructure, authorizes $1 billion per year for FY2026–FY2031, and requires the Fund to repay all U.S. government funds and terminate by December 31, 2031. The DFC Chief Executive Officer will operate the Fund, which can be designated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, accept private venture capital, make equity/loan/grant/guarantee/insurance investments, and must follow limits on grants and operating costs. Requires recurring public and congressional reporting, an independent annual audit plus GAO review when U.S. funds are held, and creation of a nine-member Oversight Panel. The legislation sets investment priorities (MSMEs, agriculture, energy, infrastructure, tourism, finance, U.S.-Haiti joint ventures), ties economic goals to governance and security objectives, and includes findings on historical harms and U.S. policy toward Haiti.