{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.curtis.senate.gov/press-releases/curtis-foreign-relations-colleagues-introduce-bipartisan-bill-to-address-gang-violence-in-haiti", "CURTIS, FOREIGN RELATIONS COLLEAGUES INTRODUCE BIPARTISAN BILL TO ADDRESS GANG VIOLENCE IN HAITI", "2025-05-23", "2025", "2025-05", "Republican", "Senate", "UT", "John R. Curtis", "C001114", "www.curtis.senate.gov", "curtis", "https://www.curtis.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator John Curtis (R-UT), Chair of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, joined Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Committee members Rick Scott (R-FL), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Chris Coons (D-DE) in introducing the bipartisan Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act, which would prioritize U.S. leadership in addressing the ongoing violence in Haiti. This bill will mandate sanctions against Haitian gangs, armed criminal actors, and their political and economic enablers. It will also require extensive interagency cooperation, identification, and reporting of criminal collusion and threats to U.S. national interests, including through an annual report submitted to Congress by the Secretary of State.\n\n\u201cHaiti\u2019s deteriorating security situation threatens America\u2019s national interests in the region,\u201d said Senator Curtis. \u201cBy mandating targeted, strategic sanctions on Haitian political and economic elites who are colluding with criminal gangs, our bipartisan legislation will help address a growing humanitarian, economic, and national security crisis.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis bipartisan bill is a meaningful and logical next step towards addressing and preventing criminal collusion and violence in Haiti,\u201dsaid Senator Shaheen. \u201cThe ongoing gang violence has displaced more than a million Haitians\u2014including women and children, creating a dire humanitarian catastrophe mere hundreds of miles from U.S. shores. The measures laid out in the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act will ensure the U.S. is properly equipped to protect our national security interests and ensure stability and security in the region.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe people of Haiti have suffered for too long at the hands of violent gangs and corrupt elites who put their own power over their people,\u201d said Senator Scott. \u201cThis bill will shine a light on the collusion between criminals and those in power, makes clear that the United States will not stand for this violence and prioritizes our national security interests in the region. I am proud to lead this bipartisan effort and look forward to its passage as the Trump administration advances peace through strength around the globe.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe widespread violence perpetrated by criminal gangs in Haiti has internally displaced over one million Haitians and created a dire humanitarian crisis,\u201d said Senator Kaine. \u201cThis bill would help address the deteriorating conditions in Haiti by sanctioning Haitian gangs and other individuals with ties to them, and require a comprehensive analysis regarding how this crisis impacts our security and the stability of the region.\u201d\n\n\u201cAmericans are safer and more prosperous when Haiti is stable and secure,\u201d said Senator Coons. \u201cThe criminal gangs and their enablers acting with impunity and terrorizing civilians throughout the island are endangering the Haitian people and destabilizing a country in our own backyard. The Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act will help bring them to account, making both Haiti and the United States more secure.\u201d\n\nKey provisions of the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act include:\n\nMandating sanctions against Haitian gangs and political and economic elites;\n\nRequiring extensive interagency reporting on the scale and nature of criminal collusion in Haiti, including identification of the most prominent gangs in Haiti and political and economic elites with direct and significant ties to criminal gangs; and\n\nRequiring an assessment of threats to U.S. national interests, democratic governance in the country and the provision of assistance to the Haitian government caused by criminal collusion between gangs and elites.\n\nCompanion legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman Gregory Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (D-NY), and passed out of the Committee in April 2025.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:20:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.curtis.senate.gov/press-releases/curtis-foreign-relations-colleagues-introduce-bipartisan-bill-to-address-gang-violence-in-haiti"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 4.839878994971514, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}