U.S. bishop urges congressional leaders to pass Haitian trade bill

Published: 2005-12-13

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The chairman of the U.S. bishops' international policy committee urged congressional leaders to pass trade legislation that would increase U.S. investment incentives in Haiti. "We consider this HOPE Act legislation a critical first step toward offering greater incentives for investment in Haiti," Bishop Thomas G. Wenski of Orlando, Fla., said in a letter released Dec. 8 in Washington. The HOPE Act, also called the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity Through Partnership Encouragement Act, would give textile assembly companies in Haiti preferential access to the U.S. market. Bishop Wenski said he hoped that the legislation would "bring encouragement to the long-suffering Haitian people." He made his remarks in the letter addressed to House Majority Leader Roy Blunt, R-Mo.; House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.; and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

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