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Kewen Li published Reuters Quotes Eric LeCompte on Meeting with Secretary Yellen and Faith Leaders in Press 2021-03-17 11:31:00 -0400
Reuters Quotes Eric LeCompte on Meeting with Secretary Yellen and Faith Leaders
Reuters quotes Eric LeCompte on Jubilee USA's meeting with Treasury Secretary Yellen along with many religious faith leaders. Read an except below, and click here for the full story.
Yellen vows to use 'full power' of U.S. government to tackle climate change
By Andrea Shalal
Yellen also said she saw a potential new allocation of the International Monetary Fund’s emergency reserves, or Special Drawing Rights, as part of a broader package of assistance to low-income countries, but gave no details.
Yellen’s support, first announced last month, reversed the opposition of the Trump administration, paving the way for a likely SDR allocation this year. U.S. support is critical because it is the IMF’s largest shareholder.
Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA Network, said the discussion made clear that climate policies were a growing focus of the G7 and G20 major economies.
“Treasury is looking at climate issues in very deep ways,” he said.
Read the full article here.
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Kewen Li published Bloomberg Covers Jubilee USA Network's High-Level Meeting with Treasury Secretary Yellen in Press 2021-03-17 11:20:03 -0400
Bloomberg Covers Jubilee USA Network's High-Level Meeting with Treasury Secretary Yellen
Bloomberg covers Jubilee USA Network's historic meeting with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on international debt and COVID response. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.
Yellen Tells Faith Leaders Poor Nations Need Help on Covid-19
By Eric Martin
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told a group of religious leaders on Tuesday that low-income nations needed continued international support to deal with Covid-19.
Yellen told the leaders that she views the possible creation of new International Monetary Fund reserve assets called special drawing rights, or SDRs, as part of wider aid for poor countries, the Treasury Department said in a statement. That includes IMF financing, multilateral development bank grants and loans, debt rescheduling and relief through the Group of 20’s common framework, the Treasury said.
Read the full article here.
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Kewen Li published Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Jubilee USA Network Roundtable Agenda in Press 2021-03-16 12:12:51 -0400
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Jubilee USA Network Roundtable Agenda
Tuesday, March 16th, 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM ET
(Roundtable closed to public)
I. Jubilee USA Network's Eric LeCompte Moderates, Welcomes and Thanks Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
II. Opening Prayer and Statement: Rabbi Jonah Pesner, Senior Vice President of the Union for Reform Judaism and Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
III. Jubilee USA Agenda Presentations
A.) Special Drawing Rights - Most Reverend Bishop David Malloy, Chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace
B.) Common Framework, Private Sector and Middle-Income Countries - Cathy Feingold, International Director of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), Vice President of the International Trade Union Confederation
C.) Climate Change, Climate Finance and Decisions from G7/G20 and IMF - Most Reverend Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America
D.) Puerto Rico Debt and Treasury Analysis - Most Reverend Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez of the Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico and Reverend Heriberto Martinez, General Secretary of Puerto Rico's Evangelical Bible Society
E.) Increased Concessional Lending and Boosting Development Bank Support - Reverend John C. Dorhauer, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ
F.) Preventing the Next Crisis, Promoting Transparency, Improved Permanent Debt Restructuring Processes and International Financial Architecture - The Reverend Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network
G.) Working with Treasury and Administration on Jubilee Coronavirus Response - The Rev. Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe, General Secretary of General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church
IV.) Secretary Janet Yellen Address
V.) Interactive Roundtable Discussion
VI.) Closing Prayer - Most Reverend Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America
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Kewen Li published Reuters, New York Times, Fox Feature Jubilee USA’s High-Level Meeting with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in Press 2021-03-16 09:55:54 -0400
Reuters, New York Times, Fox Feature Jubilee USA’s High-Level Meeting with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
Reuters, the Times, Fox, and other outlets quote Eric LeCompte on Jubilee USA's high-level meeting with Secretary Yellen. Jubilee USA are joined by major religious and labor leaders from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, Presbyterian Church USA, Union for Reform Judaism, Puerto Rico Catholic Church, Puerto Rico Bible Society, and the American Federation of Labor. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.
Yellen to meet religious leaders, NGO group pushing for debt relief
By Andrea Shalal
The online meeting will focus on ways to increase resources to help poor and middle income countries contain the COVID-19 pandemic, permanent debt restructuring and climate change, said Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA Network.
LeCompte said it was common for religious leaders to meet once with a U.S. president during a term, but a meeting with a Treasury secretary was unusual.
“What’s unique is that the major religious institutions are coming together to solve the current pandemic crisis and prevent future crises,” he said. The World Bank estimates the pandemic will push as many as 150 million people into extreme poverty.
He said the meeting reflected Yellen’s focus on the global nature of the pandemic, and her willingness to engage with a range of U.S. leaders to hammer out solutions.
Read the full article here.
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Kewen Li published Reuters and US News Feature Joint USCCB-Jubilee Letter to President Biden in Press 2021-02-24 09:50:25 -0500
Reuters and US News Feature Joint USCCB-Jubilee Letter to President Biden
Reuters and US News feature Jubilee and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' joint letter to the Biden Administration for global debt relief. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.
U.S. Catholic leaders urge Biden to lead drive for more aid to poor countries
By Andrea Shalal
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and an alliance of faith groups urged President Joe Biden on Tuesday to back a big boost in the International Monetary Fund’s emergency reserve funds to help poor countries devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.
In a letter to Biden, the governing body of the church said the United States should take urgent action to help the poorest countries on humanitarian grounds, but also to shore up its own economic interests and bolster trade with the developing world.
“The U.S. government is vital to ensuring the world emerges from this pandemic with greater resilience,” the groups wrote, citing a World Bank estimate that the pandemic would push as many as 150 million people into extreme poverty this year.
Read the full article here.
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Kewen Li published Devex Highlights Joint USCCB-Jubilee Letter to President Biden in Press 2021-02-24 09:50:00 -0500
Devex Highlights Joint USCCB-Jubilee Letter to President Biden
Devex highlights Jubilee and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' letter to the White House for global debt relief expansion. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.
In Brief: Catholic bishops call on Biden to expand debt relief, aid
By Adva Saldinger
The G-20 group of countries is nearing a consensus for an issuance of about $500 million worth of SDRs, but it is unclear if the Biden administration will support the move. Former President Donald Trump’s administration had opposed it. A $3 trillion issuance would require congressional approval, adding a hurdle that could be avoided with the smaller issuance.
The letter, sent by USCCB and the Jubilee USA Network, also calls for debt relief to be extended beyond the lowest-income countries and made available to middle-income nations. The G-20’s “Common Framework” debt process should “include the private sector, be timely, and cut debts to sustainable levels while lifting social protections and reducing poverty,” the letter states.
Read the full article here.
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Kewen Li published National Catholic Reporter Features Eric LeCompte on the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships in Press 2021-02-16 11:17:04 -0500
National Catholic Reporter Features Eric LeCompte on the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
National Catholic Reporter features Eric Lecompte on the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships' reestablishment. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.
Biden reestablishes White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
By Christopher White
The announcement that the office would be reestablished comes nearly a month after 50 faith organizations signed an open letter urging Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to reestablish the office.
"A fully functioning faith-based office (whatever the name) with appropriate funding is critically important to facilitate fruitful partnerships with faith and civil society organizations, and to ensure that members of your Administration have substantial and timely communication with the faith community," they wrote.
Among the Catholic organizations that signed the open letter were the Catholic Labor Network, Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach, Franciscan Action Network, Jubilee USA Network, Leadership Conference of Women Religious, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Network, Lobby for Catholic Social Justice and Pax Christi USA.
Read the full article here.
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Kewen Li published Refinitiv Quotes Eric LeCompte on Ivory Coast, DSSI in Press 2021-02-12 12:01:40 -0500
Refinitiv Quotes Eric LeCompte on Ivory Coast, DSSI
Refinitiv quotes Eric LeCompte on the Ivory Coast's return to capital markets and the DSSI. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.
Ivory Coast shows up debt relief flaws
But the ambiguities of how to help highly indebted sovereigns through the pandemic remain, with Ivory Coast's issuance, according to some critics, symptomatic of deeper flaws in the financial system.
"Unfortunately, this situation with the Ivory Coast represents all that needs to be fixed with the financial system. Taking on more debt and debt relief are symptoms of an economic system where struggling countries wrestle with corruption, budget transparency and not getting accountable aid streams that can end poverty," said Eric LeCompte, executive director at Jubilee USA Network, a non-profit financial reform organisation.Read the full article here.
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Kewen Li published Reuters and Financial Post Feature Eric LeCompte on Zambia Debt Restructuring Under G20 Framework in Press 2021-02-10 14:40:35 -0500
Reuters and Financial Post Feature Eric LeCompte on Zambia Debt Restructuring Under G20 Framework
Reuters and Financial Post quote Eric LeCompte on Zambia's request to restructure its debt under the G20's new common framework. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.
Zambia seeks debt restructuring under G20 common framework
By Joe Bavier
But some have accused private creditors of not doing their bit in debt relief efforts. World Bank chief David Malpass criticized them for hitching a “free ride” on DSSI relief.
“As the G20 works out this process, it’s essential that they compel the private sector to participate,” said Eric LeCompte of Jubilee USA, which lobbies for debt relief for poor nations.
Zambia’s $3 billion in outstanding Eurobonds is not its only debt. It owes $3.5 billion in bilateral debt, $2.1 billion to multilaterals and $2.9 billion to other commercial lenders.
Read the full article here.