Reuters quotes Eric LeCompte on Yellen's support for a new Special Drawing Rights allocation to help poor countries. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.

Yellen backs new allocation of IMF's SDR currency to help poor nations

By Andrea Shalal and David Lawder

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday threw her support behind a new allocation of the IMF’s own currency, or Special Drawing Rights, but said broad parameters were needed to boost transparency on how the reserves are used and traded.

Yellen said an SDR allocation and steps to boost low- and zero-interest lending by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank would boost efforts to contain the pandemic and mitigate its devastating impact, particularly in poor countries.

Yellen also encouraged G20 members to use excess SDRs to support recovery efforts in low income countries, along with continued bilateral aid. She said she looked forward to discussing potential modalities for deploying SDRs.

Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA Network, which has coordinated letters backing an allocation, said Yellen’s letter was “incredibly positive news.”

Read the full article here.

Devex quotes Eric LeCompte on Yellen's letter to G20. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.

In Brief: US Treasury indicates support for SDRs in letter to the G-20

By Adva Saldinger

The likelihood of a new issuance of International Monetary Fund Special Drawing Rights providing liquidity to low-income countries rose dramatically Thursday as the U.S. signaled its support.

In a letter to members of the G-20 group of nations, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that a new allocation of SDRs could facilitate “much-needed health and economic recovery efforts” for low-income countries and that the U.S. looks forward to “discussing potential modalities for deploying SDRs.”

Reuters features the open letter Jubilee and over 200 organizations sent to the IMF urging a new allocation of special drawing rights. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.

More than 200 groups urge G20 to back IMF issuance to help poor countries in pandemic

By Reuters Staff

In an open letter to the International Monetary Fund and G20 finance ministers, the groups said a new allocation of SDRs would boost the reserves of all countries and avoid pushing low- and middle-income countries further into debt distress.

G20 finance ministers and central bankers will discuss a possible SDR issuance - a move akin to a central bank printing money - when they meet by video conference on Friday. Proponents note that such a move will not add cost for the IMF members.

Italy, which leads the G20 this year, is pushing for a smaller $500 billion allocation of SDRs, which can be converted to hard currency by IMF members - a move backed by France, Germany and others, but still lacking support from Washington.

Read the full article here.

"A new and significant allocation of SDRs would bring liquidity that countries urgently need and help stabilize their economies," explained Patricia Miranda, Advocacy Coordinator of the Latin American network LATINDADD, another drafter of the letter.

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.

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.

The Record, Catholic Spirit and Catholic News Service feature 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.

Religious leaders urge Biden to support global coronavirus aid, debt relief

By Dennis Sadowski

Two religious leaders, including the chairman of a U.S. bishops’ committee, urged the Biden administration to support the release of $3 trillion in global reserve funds to help developing countries respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

Writing Feb. 23 to the White House, the leaders also called on the Group of 20 nations, or G-20, and private groups to cancel all debt and increase aid for the poorest developing countries, stop tax avoidance and create a permanent global bankruptcy process to prevent future economic crises.

“The letter lays out a road map on how to deal with the structures that cause poverty, inequality and the challenges we now face in this great economic crisis,” said Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA, an alliance of faith-based development and advocacy groups that spearheaded the effort.

The letter to Biden comes after the president attended the Group of 7, or G-7 virtual summit of major industrialized countries Feb. 19, during which he pledged the United States would return to a multilateral approach in tackling global challenges.

Read the full article here.

Download the letter as a PDF here. 

$3 Trillion in Global Reserve Funds Should be Released to Support Developing Countries, Encourage Faith Leaders

Washington DC – The Biden Administration should support the release of $3 trillion in global reserve funds to support developing countries confront the COVID pandemic, say the US Catholic Bishops and Jubilee USA Network in a letter to President Biden. The letter also encourages the G20 and private groups to cancel debts for suffering developing countries, stopping tax avoidance, increasing aid and creating a permanent global bankruptcy process to prevent future economic crises.

"The U.S. should support policies that include public budget transparency, raising revenues in the developing world through stopping corruption and tax evasion, responsible lending and borrowing, common good trade agreements and implementing a global bankruptcy or crisis resolution process," wrote Bishop David J. Malloy, Chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network. 

The letter to Biden comes after he attended last week's G7 Summit and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen meets this week with G20 finance ministers on pandemic response. The G7 and G20 are currently debating debt relief and the size of a creation of general reserve funds or Special Drawing Rights.

"Given the pandemic’s effects in developing countries, the U.S. Government must lead the world in accessing emergency reserve funds, or what’s known as the creation of the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). These generated funds were crucial in supporting economies to survive the 2008 financial crisis," noted Malloy and LeCompte. "We welcome the emerging consensus in the G20 to create $500 billion in SDRs. We urge your Administration to lead a response with the G20, IMF and Congress, that would generate a $3 trillion SDR issuance that would immediately deliver $1 trillion to all developing countries."

The letter on behalf of the largest US religious group, the Catholic Church, and the interfaith religious development group, Jubilee USA detailed concerns of the pandemic's impact on poverty and inequality, "...more than 495 million jobs are lost across the global economy, and the World Bank says that as many as 150 million people will fall into extreme poverty this year." The letter also thanked the Biden Administration for commitments on debt relief and for making changes to the financial system.

"The Catholic Bishops and Jubilee USA are urging both short-term solutions to resolve the current crisis and long-term solutions to prevent the next one," stated LeCompte. "We need more aid and debt relief now for developing countries. We need a bankruptcy process, better trade agreements and to stop tax avoidance and corruption to prevent the next crisis."

Read the joint US Conference of Catholic Bishops/Jubilee USA Network Letter to President Biden here. 

Washington DC – The Senate confirms Linda Thomas-Greenfield as the US Ambassador to the United Nations.

Eric LeCompte, the Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network and a United Nations expert, releases the following statement on the confirmation of Linda Thomas-Greenfield as US Ambassador to the UN:

“From climate change to the health and economic crises spurred by the coronavirus, Thomas-Greenfield has the right experience to help solve the urgent challenges facing the United Nations.

"She has a strong and proven diplomatic background. 

“At a time when the UN focuses on African countries struggling with access to vaccines, skyrocketing poverty and debt crises, her knowledge of the region will be an asset.”

Biden Commits $4 Billion for Vaccine Distribution in Developing Countries

Washington DC – G7 presidents and prime ministers, hosted by the United Kingdom, met virtually on coronavirus recovery plans. The G7 Summit focused on vaccine access, debt relief, curbing tax avoidance and climate change. President Biden pledged $4 billion to bring vaccines to poor countries at his first international summit.

“G7 vaccine commitments are essential. Without global access to vaccines, we don't have a path out of the health or economic crisis,” said Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious development group Jubilee USA Network. Jubilee USA Network tracked G7 meetings for the last 20 years. “Developing countries will need more aid and significant debt relief to be able to fully combat the health and economic shocks caused by the pandemic.”

The G7 leaders picked up from last week's G7 finance ministers discussion on a process to reduce debts of poor countries and using global reserve funds or Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). The leaders endorsed the full and transparent implementation of a G20 process to reduce debt for poor countries, the "Common Framework for Debt Treatment beyond the Debt Service Suspension Initiative."

"For countries to get through this crisis, they need to have debts cancelled," noted LeCompte, a United Nations finance expert. "Debt reduction processes must include the private sector and be expanded to more developing countries who need relief."

The current G20 debt relief process, authorized last year, is available to the 77 poorest countries. However, development groups argue many developing countries cannot access the current process. Further on the economic front, the summit agreed to move forward stronger international tax plans later in the year.

Climate was another priority focus during the G7 meeting. The US recently rejoined the Paris Agreement, a global agreement on climate, and the UK hosts a climate summit at the end of the year.

“Given the influence of the G7, strong G7 commitments on combating climate change can translate into stronger global climate policies,” stated LeCompte.

President Biden committed to come in person to Great Britain in June for the G7 Summit, planned to take place in the seaside town of Cornwall. In addition to the US and UK, the G7 includes Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Japan.

Read about the Feb. 19th G7 finance ministers meeting and agenda here.

Read the G7 Summit communiqué here.

National Catholic Reporter quotes Eric LeCompte on the analysis of Luis Miranda's trajectory and the importance of his advocacy efforts to support Puerto Rico. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.

Luis Miranda: He gets the job done

By Christopher White

Luis began as a special adviser for Hispanic affairs to Koch in the 1980s where he learned to both organize and use data to his advantage. A decade later, he founded the Hispanic Federation, a nonprofit organization that would champion the needs of the city's Latinos. New York politicians soon learned they couldn't win without the Latino vote, and most realized that if they were going to have any luck securing it, they couldn't win without Luis.

As Luis works his way through the halls of Congress, the streets of Manhattan, and jets back and forth to Puerto Rico, there's tireless movement and chaos in his orbit. The one constant, centering force: his family. Luis' daughter, Luz Miranda-Crespo, serves as the chief financial officer of the MirRam Group, the political and nonprofit consulting and communications firm he founded with Roberto Ramirez in 2000. Long before "Hamilton," Luis was involved in marketing Lin's theatrical endeavors and connecting him with potential agents and investors. And for the entire Miranda family, all of their endeavors are intertwined with Luis' beloved homeland 2,600 miles from New York.

In 2015, when Puerto Rico's Gov. Alejandro Padilla announced that the island could no longer pay its debts, much of the world ignored the financial devastation facing the island. "The Mirandas were really some of the only people paying attention," Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA Network, an interfaith advocacy coalition, told me. Lin took to the pages of The New York Times to issue a plea for help, and both father and son lobbied Congress for emergency debt relief.

"The word 'hero' is appropriate," LeCompte said in describing their efforts. "Luis has a profound sense of justice. Lin grew up seeing his father confront social injustices and it inspired him, and now Lin is following Luis' lead."

Read the full article here.