{
  "id": "98-1030",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "98-1030",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 105041,
      "date": "1999-10-12",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:41:54.420941",
      "title": "Central America: Reconstruction After Hurricane Mitch",
      "summary": "On February 16, the Administration transmitted an emergency supplemental request for $955.5\nmillion to provide reconstruction assistance to the Central American countries devastated last Fall by\nHurricane Mitch. The supplemental did not include any of the trade expansion provisions which the\nAdministration has proposed previously, and which the Central American countries include as their\nhighest priority. The Senate supplemental appropriations bill ( S. 544 ) passed the Senate\non March 23 and the House bill ( H.R. 1141 ) passed the House on March 24. The final\nlegislation, P.L 106-31, increased the funding to $999.9 million. Trade expansion provisions were\nincluded in the Central American and Caribbean Relief Act ( S. 371 ), introduced on\nFebruary 4 by Senator Graham of Florida and 9 cosponsors and its companion bill ( H.R. 984 ) introduced on March 4 by Congressman Crane and 3 cosponsors. The Administration bill,\n H.R. 1834 , was introduced on May 18. \n  \n  Hurricane Mitch left a swath of destruction in its path across Central America from October 26\nthrough November 5, 1998. The storm, which dumped torrential rains on the region, devastated\nHonduras and caused severe damage in Nicaragua. It produced lesser destruction in El Salvador,\nGuatemala, Belize, and Costa Rica. In addition to killing thousands and displacing many from their\nhomes, the floods and mud slides also threaten the economy of the Central American countries\nthrough destruction of crops, cropland, and infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, and electric power\nequipment. The United States and international donors began providing emergency relief once access\nto the area became possible. By mid-December, the U.S. government had pledged or provided $304\nmillion. By mid-November, the immediate emergency was over, and donors began to focus on\nlonger term recovery. \n  The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the World Bank sponsored a donors'\nmeeting on December 10 and 11 in Washington to examine the damage assessments being made by\nthe regional governments and U.S. and U.N. experts and to develop a multilateral reconstruction\nprogram. USAID sponsored a meeting for private sector donors on December 14. At a May 25-28\nfollow-up meeting in Stockholm, donors pledged about $9 billion, including $5.3 billion from the\nInterAmerican Development Bank and World Bank over the next four years and over $3 billion by\nbilateral donors. \n  The Administration has clearly stated its intention to use the opportunity provided by the\n disaster\nand the necessity for reconstruction to bring about significant changes in Central America. The\nreasons given for this emphasis are the trade potential of the region, support for the growing\nmovement toward democracy, and concern that a slow response might trigger instability in the region\nor encourage large numbers of disaster victims to migrate to the United States. The President traveled\nto the region on March 8 to 11. \n  This report describes the situation within the region, and the U.S. and international response to\nthe disaster. It also discusses the longer term needs so far identified and the U.S. and international\nresponse to these needs.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/98-1030",
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      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Appropriations",
    "Domestic Social Policy",
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "Latin American Affairs"
  ]
}