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Swalwell, Speier Call for Airdrops of Food and Supplies to Remote Areas of the Philippines

November 22, 2013

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representatives Eric Swalwell (CA-15) and Jackie Speier (CA-14) today sent a letter to Department of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Raj Shah requesting that the U.S. Air Force administer airdrops of humanitarian supplies and food to the most remote and inaccessible areas of the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda. They were joined on the bipartisan letter by 36 Members of Congress.

The U.S. is currently delivering food to the Philippines primarily through distribution centers and via helicopter and V22-Ospreys, but have yet to use airdrops although many areas of the Philippines devastated by storm are remote. Airdrops in a disaster situation are not unprecedented. Following the earthquake in Haiti, the U.S. Air Force dropped over 55,000 pounds of food and water into difficult to reach areas. In their letter, the Members encourage use of an aid deployment strategy developed by the U.S. Air Force at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California, called the Tri-wall Arial Delivery System (TRIADS). TRIADS is a proven method which enables the dropping of food packages from high altitudes without parachutes.

"Typhoon Haiyan swept through the Philippines, creating unimaginable damage," said Swalwell. "I'm proud we've quickly provided assistance to our friends in the Philippines, but many in remote areas are still in desperate need of basic humanitarian supplies. I'm proud to represent a vibrant Filipino population in the East Bay, many of whom are worried about loved ones in the Philippines. Time is of the essence and I encourage the military and aid workers to use all existing methods to disperse aid so those in need have access to lifesaving supplies."

"With more than 4 million made homeless by the typhoon and millions more suffering in the aftermath we must do all we can to support those affected by this tragedy, especially those in the most remote regions of the Philippines who are harder to access," said Speier. "TRIADS is a proven approach to getting food packages safely to isolated areas such as Haiti and Afghanistan and must be given every consideration." The text of the letter is below.

A link to the letter is here.

November 22, 2013

Dear Secretary Hagel and Administrator Shah:

We are writing in support of assisting people in the hardest hit areas of the Philippines through airdrops of humanitarian supplies after Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda.

As you know, Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda struck the Philippines on November 8, 2013, creating unimaginable damage and devastation. Since this record storm made landfall, the United States and the international community have rushed to aid the people of the Philippines.

As of November 18, 2013, the United States Agency for International Development reported that Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda affected 10.3 million people, with four million being displaced. Today, many people remain in desperate need of basic goods such as food, water, and medical supplies. We are proud of the swift efforts by the United States to assist our friends in the Philippines by coordinating the distribution of food, water, and humanitarian goods.

Ideally our aid personnel on the ground would be available to directly distribute these goods to those in need. But, unfortunately, this is not a viable option due to extensive damage on the ground.

After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the U.S. Air Force dropped over 55,000 pounds of food and water to the areas that had been difficult to reach due to widespread damage. It is my understanding the United States is currently delivering food to the Philippines primarily through distribution centers and via helicopter and V22-Ospreys. Time is of the essence, and we hope you will use the U.S. Air Force to administer larger scale airdrops of humanitarian supplies to assist those in the most remote and inaccessible areas of the Philippines that were affected by the typhoon, to the fullest extent possible.

In particular, we wish to highlight an aid deployment strategy developed by the U.S. Air Force at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory called the Tri-wall Arial Delivery System, or TRIADS, which enables the dropping of food packages safely from high altitudes without parachutes. This technology has been effectively utilized to deliver millions of food packages in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Haiti, and Pakistan. We believe that this approach could be particularly useful in distributing food in isolated areas in the Philippines without unintentionally injuring people on the ground.

Thank you for your leadership and continued efforts to assist the people of the Philippines as they begin to recover from this horrific disaster. We look forward to hearing from you soon regarding the use of airdrops of food and supplies to assist people in the most unreachable areas of the Philippines.

Sincerely,

Eric Swalwell (CA-15)

Jackie Speier (CA-14)

Randy Weber (TX-14)

Donald Payne Jr. (NJ-10)

Jim Himes (CT-4)

Frederica Wilson (FL-24)

Colleen Hanabusa (HI-1)

Mark Pocan (WI-2)

Brad Schneider (IL-10)

Dina Titus (NV-1)

Janice Hahn (CA-44)

Tulsi Gabbard (HI-2)

Julia Brownley (CA-26)

Sam Farr (CA-20)

Jerry McNerney (CA-9)

Grace Meng (NY-6)

Steven Horsford (NV-4)

Zoe Lofgren (CA-19)

Joe Crowley (NY-14)

Tony Cardenas (CA-29)

Raul Grijalva (AZ-3)

Judy Chu (CA-27)

Chris Van Hollen (MD-8)

Michael Honda (CA-17)

Beto O'Rourke (TX-16)

Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18)

Brad Sherman (CA-30)

Keith Ellison (MN-5)

Barbara Lee (CA-13)

Yvette Clarke (NY-9)

Alcee Hastings (FL-20)

Charles Rangel (NY-13)

Jan Schakowsky (IL-9)

Luis Gutiérrez (IL-4)

Scott Peters (CA-52)

Dutch Ruppersberger (MD-2)

John Conyers (MI-13)

Doris Matsui (CA-6)