That is what the Haitian PM is saying. It is almost certainly prudent to be skeptical of that number. But one fears it may not be so outrageous. Tyler Cowen offers a few hypotheses as to why Haiti is so poor. Ben Smith notes a story about Florida legislators looking to grant undocumented Haitians Temporary Protected Status. And sums up the politics of the disaster:
The crisis comes in the context of rising Haitian-American influence in U.S. politics, something that will encourage sustained relief efforts. The Haitian-American community is an increasingly influential one, for instance, in places like Miami and New York. Major unions, like SEIU, have large Haitian memberships. And the Obama White House includes the most senior Haitian-American official in history, political director Patrick Gaspard.