 As Haiti's economic situation had deteriorated during the second Aristide presidency, demonstrations proliferated everywhere throughout the nation and political dialogue broke down between opposition leaders and the Aristide government.Carney, who spoke at the inaugural event and later went on to become Chairman of the Board for the project, raised concerns about whether the United States government was paying attention to the gravity of problems that were beginning to affect Haiti's stability systemically.He criticized U.S. congressional leaders, particularly those in the Congressional Black Caucus, for a "do-nothing" attitude towards Haiti, much of which he had seen firsthand during his tenure as ambassador.