1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Haitian Educational Empowerment Act of 2017 . 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) On October 4, 2016, Hurricane Matthew devastated Haiti, killing over 1,000 people, and directly affected 2.1 million people, including the internal displacement of 175,000 and 1.4 million people in need of urgent humanitarian aid. (2) The storm damage has been estimated to be $1,000,000,000, or about 11.4 percent of the gross domestic product of Haiti. (3) Hurricane Matthew was the worst hurricane to hit Haiti in over 50 years. (4) Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. (5) Eighty percent of the population lives below the poverty line, and approximately 45 percent of the population is illiterate. (6) On January 12, 2010, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck the country of Haiti. (7) The earthquake caused massive devastation across Haiti, destroying government buildings, hospitals, schools, and vital aid offices, including the headquarters of the United Nations mission to Haiti. (8) An estimated three million people were directly affected by the earthquake in Haiti, nearly one-third of the country’s population. (9) Many universities suffered significant structural damage, including the State University of Haiti, the country’s main public university, which had 80 percent of its buildings destroyed. (10) The earthquake claimed the lives of many students and several prominent academics. (11) Before the earthquake, at least 85 percent of Haitians with a university degree left the island. (12) A more highly educated population is vital to Haiti’s long-term development. 3. Establishment of scholarship program for certain Haitian students (a) In general The Secretary of State, acting through the Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, shall establish a scholarship program for Haitian students whose studies were interrupted as a result of the January 12, 2010, earthquake or the October 4, 2016, hurricane, Hurricane Matthew. (b) Eligibility To be