MIAMI -- A delegation of Republican and Democratic lawmakers from South Florida traveled to Haiti Monday to meet with Haiti's president to discuss a range of issues, including the country's preparations for hurricane season.

Reps. Kendrick Meek and Mario Diaz-Balart are leading the trip. Joining them are Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

This trip to Haiti is unprecedented because all five members of the South Florida delegation are attending the Congressional Delegation together for the first time.

"When Haiti does well, South Florida does well," Meek said. "We hate to see Haitians take the seed and try to make it to South Florida, looking for safety and stability, so we want to make sure Haiti is as stable as possible," Meek said.

The lawmakers plan to discuss with Haitian officials the long-lasting problems of poverty, crime and corruption in the Caribbean nation. They also will discuss newer challenges, like recovery from the 2008 hurricane season, during which storms left waist-high floodwaters and leveled an already weak infrastructure.

"Some folks are going to watch this and say, 'Hey, we've got needs at home.' We understand we've got needs right here, but we're a bigger country than that. It doesn't mean we can't lend a helping hand to those in need," Ros-Lehtinen said.

"We need to make sure that we can be the responsible neighbors that we know we can be," Schultz said.

The agenda also includes talk of preparations for this year's hurricane season and drafting a critical plan on how to spend more than $300 million in aid that has already been promised but not yet delivered to Haiti.

"We want to make sure that those funds, whether it's from other countries or particularly the funds coming from the United States of America, get to the Haitian people and are well-utilized and are well-administered," Mario Diaz-Balart said.

Former President Bill Clinton was recently named special envoy to Haiti, a nomination that Haitian Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis said seems promising. The prime minister visited the Local 10 studios for an interview with Michael Putney last week.

"I believe President Clinton will be helpful in trying to be the interface between us the government of Haiti, the donors community and perhaps even get more than was pledged in Washington, D.C."

Last year, Haiti was slammed by back-to-back storms, crippling the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. The Haitian prime minister said it would help if the $347 million that the U.S pledged in aid for Haiti could finally be delivered.

Another important request was temporary protective status for Haitian immigrants. President René Preval requested the status from former President George W. Bush but there was no response.

"We were badly hit by four hurricanes, so he took a letter to President Bush but never got any answer. He was told it was a transition period, the elections were going to take place, we wait for the next administration," Pierre-Louis said.