Friends,
With mid-term elections upon us, we head to the ballot box as too many people suffer. We know how important voting, praying and acting is to address inequality and to ease suffering.
Soon after the elections, Congress could vote on a new "NAFTA" deal that impacts inequality, global debt policies and whether or not poor people can access life-saving medicine. Before a new Congress comes to Washington, the current White House and Congress needs to hear from us - before they act.
Here are two ways to join us:
1.) Sign-up your faith community to offer one prayer during your religious service the weekend of November 16th - 18th. Join Jewish, Christian, Muslim and other faith communities as we pray that trade agreements protect the vulnerable. When you sign up we will send you sample prayers and petitions to sign at your congregation.
2.) Please have your faith community endorse the interfaith trade statement that national religious leaders are signing. We will be sending your endorsements to the White House and Congress before they vote on a new NAFTA deal.
Over the last 7 years, Jubilee USA raised concerns on how trade agreements are used to favor predatory or "vulture" funds to collect on old debt. In Peru, a hedge fund is trying to use a trade agreement process to collect on old military dictatorship debt.
Because of our efforts together, the new "NAFTA" deal could severely limit these predatory actors from using trade processes to take advantage of vulnerable populations.
At Jubilee USA's core, we work on economic policies to ensure that resources get to the most vulnerable communities. It's why for years we've worked with and organized our national faith partners to promote trade agreements that ensure that vulnerable communities can access life-saving medicine. We still have a lot of work to win strong protections for vulnerable communities in a new NAFTA deal. It's why we need your faith community to endorse the interfaith statement and join Jubilee Weekend.
Already the leaders of the Lutheran, Methodist, Catholic, Presbyterian, Episcopal and United Church of Christ Churches signed our Jubilee trade statement. Please have your faith community endorse the statement too.
After the elections, our strategic campaigns on trade, transparency, debt relief and lifting Puerto Rico can continue to achieve results.
As your faith community offers a prayer for Jubilee November 16th-18th, we are also mindful of last year's hurricanes that ravaged Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Barbuda and Dominica. We expect additional votes on Puerto Rico relief as the island enters a new phase of debt negotiations and debt traps. Before the end of the year, we will also need to do more to make sure that Congress and the White House act for Puerto Rico.
Gratefully,
Eric
Eric LeCompte
Executive Director
Twitter: @Eric_LeCompte