Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in OSV News speaking on the costs of medical care and the cycle of debt. Read an excerpt below, or the full article here. 

‘This is a miracle to them’: How the church is helping to erase medical debt

By: Kimberley Heatherington

"Eric LeCompte — executive director of the Jubilee USA Network, a coalition of religious, development and advocacy groups that has secured more than $130 billion in debt relief for the world’s poorest economies — agreed.

“Knowing so many families who have struggled with being able to afford medical care, the No. 1 piece of advice that hospitals and pharmaceuticals and others are giving to people is, go start a GoFundMe in order to pay for your medical bills. I think that’s absolutely tragic — and in many ways, is actually sinful,” he said."

Read more here.

Washington, DC - Puerto Rico religious leaders sent a letter to Puerto Rico Governor Jenniffer González-Colón to avoid paying out billions in debt that creditors are suing the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority over.

Judge Laura Taylor Swain, who has jurisdiction on the island's bankruptcy proceedings, initially ruled that bondholders had $2.4 billion in secured claims but a superior court ruled that such claims amount to $8.5 billion.

“The level of repayment bondholders demand can only be achieved through the redeployment of committed federal aid, Commonwealth funds or future revenues, all of which are needed by the Puerto Rican people,” said Archbishop Roberto O. González Nieves, of the Archdiocese of San Juan, and Rev. Heriberto Martinez Rivera, General Secretary of the Puerto Rico Bible Society writing also in his capacity as coordinator of the Ecumenical and Interreligious Coalition on the Debt of Puerto Rico.

The US territory reels from a devastating debt crisis and a series of natural disasters including hurricanes and earthquakes. The Catholic Archbishop and Evangelical leader stressed that using public money to pay private debt would unravel Puerto Rico's bankruptcy agreement and the island's chance to tackle the 60% child poverty rate.

“These creditors are playing a game that abuses the people of Puerto Rico,” said Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious development organization Jubilee USA Network. "The creditors want to be bailed out by taking away social services from the people of Puerto Rico."

PREPA operates at a loss, which means that it does not have the funds to repay bondholders unless the central government of Puerto Rico transfers funds for that purpose or the utility increases user fees. The payments would also come at the expense of much needed investments on upgrading the electric infrastructure.

The letter reminds the governor that in 2025 Christians celebrate a Jubilee Year whose focus is on debt relief for the benefit of all people around the world.

"Puerto Rico's religious leaders are following the call of this special Jubilee Year," noted LeCompte who advises the Vatican and Catholic Bishops Conferences around the world. "These unjust debts must be cancelled and we must prioritize ending child poverty."

Read the full letter here.

Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in the National Catholic Reporter speaking on the push for debt relief during Jubilee 2025, amidst the hospitalization of Pope Francis and cuts to USAID. Read an excerpt below, or the full article here.

Despite pope's hospitalization and Trump's USAID cuts, Jubilee Year push for debt relief continues

By: Christopher White

Pope Francis may be hospitalized and U.S. President Donald Trump may be wreaking havoc on foreign aid, but one of the Catholic Church's leading crusaders for debt cancellation believes those factors are all the more reason to double down on efforts to alleviate poverty during Jubilee 2025. 

"The reality is that Pope Francis and the Catholic Church have already laid out the focus for the Jubilee Year on debt relief and economic relief to deal with poverty and climate issues," said Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA Network, an alliance of faith-based development and debt-relief advocacy organizations.

Read more here.

Kenyan religious leaders roped in to tackle the country’s rising debt

By: Anthony Langat

Islamic Relief Kenya is arming faith leaders with the necessary knowledge to better advocate for sustainable financial decisions by the government in a bid to stave away the worsening debt crisis.

Read more here

Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently cited in Devex speaking on U.S.’s role in the World Bank and IMF under the new Trump administration. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.

World Bank under Trump: Whats next for US Influence and funding? 

By: Adva Saldinger

Personnel choices will play a critical role in shaping U.S. policy towards the World Bank. During Trump’s first term, Malpass surprised many observers by not only negotiating a capital increase but later becoming the institution’s president.

Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA Network, which works on debt and poverty issues, noted that early appointees to key Treasury Department roles indicate a belief in the U.S.’s role in the World Bank and IMF. But some key roles may take time to fill.

“There may or may not be different kinds of challenges to multilateralism,” he said, adding that, as before, engaging with the IMF and the World Bank will be important for the Trump administration.

Another early indicator of funding will be Trump’s first budget request. While Congress often disregards presidential budget requests, it can signal priorities and policies. How much money the administration requests for IDA, and how much Congress eventually approves will be a first key test. The Biden administration pledged $4 billion over three years at the IDA replenishment in December.

Read more here

Eric LeCompte
Executive Director
Jubilee USA Network

[email protected]
www.jubileeusa.org/support-us

Aldo Caliari
Senior Director of Policy and Campaigns
Jubilee USA Network
[email protected]
www.jubileeusa.org/support-us

PS. Please make a tax-deductive donation to Jubilee USA before the year end. Your donation is doubled now.

Watch JUBILEE 2025 Press Conference: The Jubilee 2025 Pilgrimage to Tackle Debt, End Poverty, and Heal Our Planet

Vatican City – On Christmas Eve and Christmas day, Pope Francis begins the Jubilee 2025 Year and opens 5 Jubilee Doors. In June with a special address and recently for the World Day of Peace message, Francis laid out the themes for the Jubilee Year as debt cancellation for developing countries and reforms to the international financial system, including a new international bankruptcy process for countries.

“Most countries are dealing with debt and financial crises,” noted Eric LeCompte the Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network, a United Nations finance expert and an advisor to the Vatican and Catholic Bishops on debt and economic issues. “Pope Francis is calling for global debt relief and changes to the international financial system to protect the poor and our planet.”

This month, the World Bank reported that developing country debt payments reached almost $1 trillion, double the amount they were a decade ago.

Around the world, faith leaders and religious organizations of multiple denominations, together with development groups, plan to lift debt relief as the primary campaign objective in more than 160 countries.

“Historically, debt relief has been the most successful campaign of the Church,” shared LeCompte. "Debt relief and new processes to address poverty are essential for moving forward an economy that serves everyone."

In Church documents and speeches leading up to the beginning of the Jubilee year, Pope Francis consistently appealed to forgive unpayable debts and create rules for addressing debt crises.

Available for interview: Eric LeCompte, Executive Director
Contact: Salma Alokozai, Communications and Outreach Director
[email protected] / (202) 503-4372

Resources:

• Link for Pope Francis June 5th speech on debt being the focus for Jubilee 2025
• Link for Pope Francis World Day of Peace focusing on debt

Earthbeat, National Catholic Reporter quotes Eric LeCompte on the relationship between economic crises, high debt levels and debt relief and the climate crises. Read an excerpt below, or the full article here.

Forgive nations' debts in Jubilee Year, Pope Francis urges COP29 climate summit

By Doreen Ajiambo

With financing the major focus here at the United Nations climate change conference, Cardinal Pietro Parolin delivered directly to world leaders Pope Francis' appeal that wealthy nations use the upcoming 2025 Jubilee Year to forgive debts "as a matter of justice."

Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA, a network of religious and development groups that advocates for international debt relief, told EarthBeat in an email that economic crises and high levels of unsustainable debt have prevented many developing countries from putting resources toward climate solutions.

"We have reached a point where debt relief has to be part of the solution in dealing with the climate crisis," he said.

Read more here.

Hunger, Poverty, Climate, Debt and Economy on Agenda for Biden's Final G20 Meeting

IMF Calls Global Economy "Underwhelming" with Low Growth and High Debts and Prices

Finance ministers from all over the world close a week of talks focused on the global economy, unsustainable country debts and climate challenges. The IMF forecast global economic growth at 3.2% annually, a decades low and what the Fund called, "underwhelming." 

“We heard a lot of messages during the meetings that the economy was strong, but the weak economic growth projections haunted the meetings,” said Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious development group Jubilee USA Network and a United Nations finance expert who monitored IMF meetings since 2010. "The forecasts for Africa and the Middle East were awful and are coupled with high youth unemployment and food crises." 

The low growth and high debt is an “unforgiving combination,” said the IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva in her curtain-raiser speech.

“The IMF and G20 should not treat what is happening as a short-term debt payment problem. We are experiencing the most significant global debt crisis in decades,” added LeCompte. “Our failure to act now on debt crisis solutions means more difficult and expensive debt problems in the future.”

The World Bank reports that deficits in the average low-income country doubled, becoming the main driver of high indebtedness. In the poorest of those countries, average income remains 14% below their pre-pandemic levels.

G20 Finance ministers, in their last meeting under the Brazilian Presidency, endorsed a plan to expand the funding capacity of development banks. Reforms agreed this year will increase development bank finance by $35 billion a year, about one-eighth of what experts commissioned by the group said was needed.

"Brazil's G20 Presidency set a path to reach climate and development targets," shared LeCompte. "The questions are how long will it take for the G20 to follow that path and whether the world has enough time to wait."

While the G20 managed to deliver a consensus statement, the policymaking bodies of the IMF and the World Bank did not.

"War and conflicts continue to make it difficult for world leaders to forge agreements,” commented LeCompte. 

Decisions announced at the IMF meetings included increasing IMF zero-interest rate lending and the reduction of IMF interest rates on large, long-term emergency loans.

Read Jubilee USA's statement on the Development Committee meeting here. 

Read Jubilee USA's statement on the IMFC meeting here.

Read Jubilee USA's statement on the G20 ministerial meeting here.

Read Jubilee USA's statement on the World Economic Outlook report here.

Read Jubilee USA's press release on IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva's curtain-raiser speech here.