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Please email your representatives and urge them to act today on Puerto Rico's humanitarian crisis by extending Medicare and the Child Tax Credit to the island. Go here for updates on our Puerto Rico campaign.

 

 

 

Latest News

Jubilee USA Executive Director Eric LeCompte speaking before the Puerto Rico "oversight" board.

July 26 - Jubilee USA’s Executive Director, Eric LeCompte issues letter to Members of Congress encouraging equal treatment for Medicaid, Medicare and tax credits.

July 25 - Congress votes to repeal the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Arbitration Rule, a critical bank and credit card protection that allows consumers to take joint legal action.

July 21 - Today marks the 7th anniversary of Dodd-Frank and the 6th birthday of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

July 21 - Members of Congress took aim at a new banking and lending rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

July 17 - The White House released objectives for renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement.

July 12 - Puerto Rico's government and its creditors begin mediation process.

July 9 - Jubilee USA celebrates 2 victories in 1 week just as the G20 ends.

July 6 - Call the White House as G20 begins. The G20 is prepared to vote on new guidelines for responsible lending and borrowing. Jubilee USA delivers 800 messages to White House urging the G20 to support guidelines to stop "vulture funds" and to protect poor economies facing crisis.‎ Read Eric LeCompte's statement ahead of the G20 Summit.

July 5 - Mozambique audit reveals corruption and shortfalls in financial system. President Trump and G20 leaders will review new guidelines to prevent debt crisis at G20 Summit.

July 3 - The European Union Parliament votes to tackle corporate corruption, bribery and tax evasion.‎ Read about Jubilee USA's efforts on this "country-by-country reporting" vote.

July 2 - After Puerto Rico's oversight board rejected a debt deal between Puerto Rico's power company‎ and creditors, the power company joins the Title III bankruptcy process. Read Eric LeCompte's statement.

June 30 - On the anniversary of the signing of Puerto Rico debt crisis legislation, PROMESA, Puerto Rico’s oversight board meets in San Juan.

June 28 - Jubilee USA supports the introduction of the Corporate Transparency Act. The‎ new transparency legislation combats the use of anonymous shell companies to launder money and steal from vulnerable communities. Jubilee USA is grateful for the leadership of Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Peter King (R-NY) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

June 23 - Eric LeCompte discusses trade agreements, debt relief and Puerto Rico with Monsignor Kevin Sullivan on JustLove Radio.

June 12 - Jubilee USA submits recommendations to the US Trade Representative on NAFTA renegotiation.

June 8 - House passes Financial Choice Act rolling back critical Dodd-Frank Measures and weakening CFPB. Email your Senator today.

June  7 - 76 countries and jurisdictions sign tax pact at the OECD. See Eric LeCompte’s views in Accounting Today and Public Finance International.

May 27 - G7 issues communiqué at the end of the summit, Jubilee releasesstatement.

May 26 - Leaders gather for G7 Summit in Taormina, Italy.

May 24 - President Trump meets Pope Francis, ahead of G7 Summit.

May 23 - UN Forum Focuses on Financing for Development Goals.

May 23 - Reverend Heriberto Martínez writes about Puerto Rico's crises and bankruptcy process.

May 17 - Puerto Rico's title III bankruptcy process begins. Follow @Eric_LeCompte and check out live tweets from the proceeding. Read more on CBC. San Juan's Catholic Archbishop and Evangelical Bible Society head write letter to the presiding Judge.

May 12 - Eric LeCompte speaks at the Puerto Rico Diaspora Summit. Read about it inEl Nuevo Dia and the CBC.

May 12 - Consumer bureau escapes congress action to remove the "Prepaid Rule".

May 7 - We Won, We Pray, We Still Must Act. Eric LeCompte releases an update after winning a process to deal with 100% of Puerto Rico’s Debt.

May 4 - Puerto Rico's religious leaders release a bankruptcy statement. Jubilee's views are featured in Value Walk, Daily Mail, NPR, Yahoo News/AFP, The Guardian.

May 3 - Puerto Rico's oversight board initiated the Title III bankruptcy process.

May 2 - Eric LeCompte speaks to Congress on Puerto Rico's humanitarian crisis. You can watch the forum, read Eric's remarks or see event details.

 

May 1 - Puerto Rico secures $295 million in Medicaid funding. Creditors are stoppedfrom taking away Puerto Rico's bankruptcy process.

See more on our Latest News page.

 

BLOG THE DEBT

Honoring Jubilee Champions

On November 10th, at a dinner at the US Capitol, Jubilee USA honored four bi-partisan champions who make our work possible. These heroes played key roles in winning and protecting more than $100 billion in debt relief for the world's poorest countries. They exemplify why Congressional Quarterly calls Jubilee USA's efforts some of the last successful bipartisan work in Washington. 

We honored:

The Honorable Spencer Bachus - Republican House Financial Services Chair Emeritus.

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi - Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace, Former Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations.

Ruth Messinger - Global Ambassador and Retired President, American Jewish World Service.

Kent Spriggs - Lead Attorney and Author, Jubilee USA's 2014 Supreme Court amicus brief.

Puerto Rico's Humanitarian Crisis

June 2016 – The Senate voted 68-30 to pass Puerto Rico debt crisis legislation and send it to President Obama for his signature.


This legislation would not have passed without the leadership of Puerto Rico's religious leaders - and your phone calls and messages to Congress. The bipartisan legislation stops predatory behavior and prioritizes the payment of pensions and social services ahead of debt payments. It seeks to reduce child poverty on the island and provides strong bankruptcy tools to return the debt to sustainable levels.


Our campaign with Puerto Rico's religious leaders launched in August 2015, when the island's religious leaders called for Jubilee - debt relief, budget transparency and investment in Puerto Rico's people. They called on Congress and the White House to intervene. We organized high-level meetings for those leaders with the White House and Congress and joined them at the United Nations to call on funds that own Puerto Rico's debt to negotiate with the government.

 

Passing this legislation was an important first step toward building Jubilee in Puerto Rico - but it is not the last step. As our executive director Eric LeCompte told the Washington Post after the vote:

 

"I think in terms of the real issues facing the island, we are just getting to the end of the beginning. This is not the beginning of the end."


Learn more about Puerto Rico's debt crisis and Jubilee USA's efforts. 


Read Archbishop Roberto González Nieves' thoughts on the legislation and the island's economic crisis in The Hill


Jubilee's efforts are featured in NBC NewsCBS NewsTIME MagazineReutersthe Associated Pressthe Los Angeles TimesCatholic News ServiceNational Catholic Reporter and thousands of news stories across the globe.

 

Jubilee for Students

July, 2016 -Young people in the United States continue to grapple with a growing student debt crisis - total student debt is now over $1.3 trillion. Jubilee USA works to stop predatory student lending practices and support policies that support students to get an education and enter the workforce.

Just this March, a California Superior Court judge ruled that Corinthian Colleges must pay over $1.1 billion in civil penalties due to false advertising and debt collection practices. 

Each year, Jubilee faith communities act and pray on student debt. This year, Jubilee for Students will be part of our annual Jubilee Weekend on October 14-16 as communities across the country act and pray for responsible short-term and student lending here in the US. Read more about Jubilee for Students Weekend 2015.

Read about Jubilee's past work on student debt in Yes! MagazineCatholic News Service and Eric's blog in Sojourners which talks about his visit to the White House to hear President Obama speak on student loans.

Winning a Fair Debt Deal for Grenada and other Caribbean Nations

October, 2015 - In Grenada, working with our religious partners in the region, we won more than $100 million in debt relief and critical budget transparency and anti-austerity reforms. This past October, we helped bring together Caribbean bishops, the Caribbean Conference of Churches, the regional Papal Nuncio and a range of other religious leaders to form Jubilee Caribbean and launch replicas of our Grenada campaign on nine other heavily-indebted Caribbean islands. Our campaign is setting precedents for resolving debt and financial crisis that could benefit millions of the poorest people around the world

Because of vulnerability to recurring natural disasters and corruption, Caribbean nations face high debt and poverty levels - but because they are not considered "low-income" nations by international financial institutions, most aren't eligible for traditional debt relief initiatives. According to Moody's, a debt rating service, twelve of the twenty countries in the region have unsustainable debt-to-GDP ratios. Jubilee USA and its regional partners created a model for reducing debt in the Caribbean while promoting long term structures that deter austerity and predatory financial behavior, reduce corporate tax avoidance and promote budget transparency and accountability. Read about Jubilee's work to win debt relief in Grenada in the Wall Street Journal and ValueWalk and read our director Eric LeCompte's opeds on the Caribbean in Inter Press Service in 2013 and 2014.

Pope Francis and Poverty

Jubilee Executive Director Eric LeCompte discusses Pope Francis' visit on MSNBC

September 2015 Pope Francis' historic US visit focuses on building bridges to end global poverty. At the United Nations, Pope Francis urges world leaders to address the specific debt, tax and trade policies that drive global poverty, including "oppressive lending systems."


Jubilee's views on the Pope's visit are featured by MSNBC, CNBC, the Miami Herald, Fox News Business, Reuters, Voice of America, and in thousands of news outlets around the country. 


Jubilee also published four op-eds on the Pope's visit  in 24 hours Jubilee Protects All of UsPope Francis Encourages Building Bridges to Address ChallengesThe Pope, Partisanship and the Common Good and Pope Francis in His Own Words.

 

In 2014, a global Jubilee delegation met Pope Francis and held extensive meetings with high-level Vatican officials. The delegation discussed debt, tax, trade and financial reform with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State and Cardinal Peter Turkson, the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Jubilee's work at the Vatican was featured in the National Catholic Reporter, Vatican News Network, Catholic News Service and  ValueWalk

Ebola Debt Relief Victory

February 5, 2015 - Jubilee USA won $100 million in debt relief for Ebola-impacted West African countries from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a new IMF debt relief fund for countries struck by natural disasters or health crises.

Our Ebola debt relief campaign began in the summer of 2014, when we released data showing that Guinea - where the epidemic began - was spending more on debt than on public health. That fall, we moved the White House to ask the IMF for $100 million in Ebola debt relief and pointed out that the IMF already had a trust fund set up to cancel debt in times of crisis. We moved the IMF to create that fund after Haiti's devastating 2010 earthquake. Ebola, we argued, was a good reason to use it again. In October, 150 Jubilee faith communities acted and prayed for Ebola debt relief.

The IMF expanded its Haiti fund to include countries struck by health crises and designated 38 of the world's poorest countries eligible for relief. This fund is the culmination of 15 years of Jubilee's work to end extreme poverty and create permanent social safety nets for countries in crisis.

The Wall Street JournalReutersNational Public Radio's MarketplaceVoice of America and Catholic News Service feature Jubilee's views.

 

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