US pledges $1.15B to earthquake-stricken Haiti

[March 31, 2010]  NEW YORK (AP) -- A senior U.S. official says the Obama administration will pledge $1.15 billion over the next two years to help with Haiti's post-earthquake reconstruction.

The official says Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will announce the pledge on Wednesday at a U.N. donors conference that is expected to raise $3.8 billion in initial assistance to rebuild schools, hospitals, courthouses and neighborhoods destroyed in the Jan. 12 quake.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the formal announcement at the conference that Clinton is co-chairing with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon (Bahn kee-MUHN'). Representatives of more that 130 countries are expected to attend the meeting.

[Associated Press; By MATTHEW LEE]

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