house Resolution No.303
Reps. Hammoud, Brixie, Manoogian, Camilleri, Pagan, Liberati and Cherry offered the following resolution:
Whereas, On August 4, 2020, a cache of the chemical substance ammonium nitrate which was being stored in a warehouse on the Port of Beirut in Lebanon caught fire, resulting in an explosion that killed more than 150 people and wounded over 5,000 others. According to experts, the blast registered on seismographs at 3.3, and the blast was the third most powerful explosion in history after Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan during World War II; and
Whereas, In addition to the tragic loss of life, the explosion has largely destroyed the port and its infrastructure, which was responsible for 60 percent of Lebanon’s imports and was one of the largest and busiest ports on the eastern Mediterranean Sea. As a result of the explosion, most of the city’s grain reserves and food imports were destroyed, which is likely to cause widespread food insecurity for years to come. In addition, the city of Beirut is suffering billions in damages, with the explosion shattering glass as far as 15 miles from the scene. In response to the widespread devastation from the blast, a two-week state of emergency has been declared; and
Whereas, The people of Lebanon were already suffering from daily power outages, a lack of safe drinking water, food and fuel shortages, and limited public health care before the explosion. The COVID-19 Pandemic exacerbated these issues, resulting in Lebanon’s worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 Civil War. Now with the devastation from the explosion, it has become nearly impossible for the Lebanese people to obtain basic human rights without humanitarian aid; and
Whereas,
Rescue efforts have been hampered by the lack of electricity, and medical
professionals are stitching the wounded in the streets under their cellphone
lights. Public Health Minister Hamad Hassan said Lebanon's health sector is short
of beds and lacked the equipment necessary to treat the injured and care for
patients in critical condition. Meanwhile, many
buildings and homes have been reduced to an uninhabitable mess of glass, leaving
as many as 300,000 people homeless. Furthermore, the toxic gases released from
the explosion, combined with the impact of COVID-19 and the thick Mediterranean
summer air, have created a deeply oppressive atmosphere where the people of
Beirut cannot breathe; and
Whereas, Lebanon's Prime Minister Hassan Diab and his government have stepped down after citing mass corruption that contributed to the disaster. Before the resignation, Prime Minster Hassan Diab made a plea to other countries for aid. France, Russia, Iraq, and Iran have sent planes full of doctors, medical supplies, medication, and more to help Lebanon through this crisis; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge the Congress and President of the United States to send humanitarian aid in the form of medical supplies, medications, and emergency funding to Lebanon in the wake of the Beirut Port Explosion; and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President of the United States Senate, and the Michigan congressional delegation.