Friends,

I pray that you and your loved ones are well.

Thanks to your partnership, we have the chance to fully win campaigns we've worked on for nearly 25 years. While our strategic efforts make significant gains every year - we are in a moment where world leaders are seriously reviewing our proposals to stop financial crisis, protect the vulnerable and address extreme poverty.

After weeks of meetings and strategic planning, on Monday morning Jubilee USA's leadership sent a letter to the head of the IMF detailing a plan to bolster healthcare for the world's poorest people and protect all of us from a financial crisis. Our multi-year advocacy and strategic high-profile efforts achieved a lot this week. In a time that is so challenging, we're grateful to be heartened by so many victories.

Will you please make a gift and support Jubilee USA today? All gifts are doubled now and support our life-saving, transformative work.

• Yesterday, the IMF agreed to our proposal to expand debt relief and provide grant-like aid, as the coronavirus spreads, to the world's poorest countries to bolster healthcare. They are using a mechanism we pushed for and created to deliver relief to Haiti after its earthquake 10 years ago and then transformed to deal with the 2014 Ebola epidemic
  
  
• This week, the IMF and World Bank took up our G20 call to suspend debt payments to the 76 poorest countries in the world
  
  
• The IMF announced it will double its capacity to provide emergency financing and aid to all countries that need it to prevent financial crisis in the face of the coronavirus
  
  
• On Wednesday, after two years of work, the IMF supported the plan to reduce Somalia's debt from $5 billion to $577 million
  
  
• This week our views appeared in tens of thousands of newspapers and outlets around the world like: Fox News, the New York Times, the Miami Herald, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS and the Associated Press

Your contributions now also help us work with and push Congress, the G7, G20, IMF, World Bank and the White House as we expand financial crisis and debt crisis resolution tools in the United States and at the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund. While we’ve made much progress since the 2008 financial crisis, now world leaders are looking more closely at full implementation of many of our proposals.

As our coronavirus campaigns move forward, Jubilee USA continues our campaigns to end extreme poverty and address inequality. In early February, we met with Pope Francis, the head of the IMF and a dozen finance ministers to move forward our campaigns on debt, tax, trade, corruption, transparency, climate and disaster aid. During our day together, we were concerned how shocks like the coronavirus can disrupt both wealthy and poor economies. When Pope Francis addressed our small group, he endorsed all of our campaign efforts.

Your tax-deductible gift now is also vital for us to continue our other campaigns at this time.

• Congress passed and President Trump signed our nearly $6 billion request in healthcare aid for Puerto Rico earlier this year. We also expedited the release of hurricane relief funds. As earthquakes continue to shake the island, we worked with the House to pass nearly $4 billion in aid. We need your help to move the Senate as we work to secure more disaster aid and assistance for Puerto Rico in 2020 as they also wrestle with the coronavirus. In the stimulus package we won more aid for Puerto Rico. With your support over the coming year, we must move forward tens of billions of dollars of additional aid
  
  
• We just won the next phase of debt relief for Somalia. After two years of work, the IMF approved debt relief and President Trump signed our legislation into law. We moved Congress and the International Monetary Fund to pass Somalia debt plans which mean building new roads, women's empowerment, kids going back to school and ending the tragic reality that 73% of people live in extreme poverty. Over the next months, we'll need your help to further move the White House, Congress, the IMF and the Paris Club to authorize and fund the debt relief
  
  
• Our work on climate debt and finance is critical now. Ahead of climate negotiations this year, Jubilee USA is organizing religious communities to ensure that our policies are included in the agendas
  
  
• Our interfaith, bipartisan NAFTA, US Mexico Canada trade campaign won all of our goals. We stopped predatory "vulture" funds from using trade deals to collect on old bad debts. We ensured that most abusive corporations can't exploit trade deals to take advantage of poor people or local laws. We removed the language that would keep medicines and drugs unaffordable for vulnerable communities and all of us. We organized the largest denominations in the US to work with us on this critical campaign and will continue these trade efforts in 2020. We were joined in this work by the leadership of the Presbyterian, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Methodist, Catholic and United Church of Christ Churches. Our work now focuses on 4 countries and a possible Congressional vote in May on access to medicines for all of us
  
  
• We won support from the White House and passed our Jubilee Corporate Transparency Act in the House of Representatives. Once we pass it in the Senate, this legislation helps stop human traffickers, protects debt relief and development aid and raises revenue in the developing world. We are close to a deal in the Senate and organized almost 100 faith communities to work with us to move this forward. We expect our Senate vote in the next few months and need your support to push this across the finish line
  
  
• We continue our strategic efforts on student debt and payday lending. Your support helps us weigh in at critical moments with state governments, Congress and the White House

Please make a tax-deductible gift and support our Jubilee work today. Your gift is needed, has a big impact and is doubled today.

Gratefully,

Eric

Eric LeCompte

Friends,

We are sharing some good news amidst these trying times.

Together - we just won three of our campaigns in the last 48 hours! And since we launched our coronavirus campaigns, we see mind-blowing progress every day.

•  Moments ago the IMF agreed to our proposal to expand debt relief, as the coronavirus spreads, to the world's poorest countries to bolster healthcare
  
  
• The IMF just announced it will double its capacity to do below market-rate lending to all countries to prevent financial crisis in the face of the coronavirus
  
  
• On Wednesday, after two years of work, the IMF supported the plan to reduce Somalia's debt from $5 billion to $577 million
  

Almost everyday this week we saw the IMF and world leaders endorse parts of our Covid-19 plans to lift the vulnerable and protect all of us from financial crisis. After weeks of preparation and engagement, Jubilee USA's leadership sent a three page letter outlining a detailed global coronavirus plan to bolster healthcare in the developing world by canceling debt and delivering aid, mobilize additional resources to help all countries prevent financial crisis, use debt moratoriums and better debt restructuring to help countries in distress and raise revenues by curbing corruption, tax evasion and risky market behavior. By Tuesday, you were signing our action alert and sending additional messages to the IMF. While we are winning - we still have more goals we need to move forward right away in our coronavirus fight - so if you haven't signed our petition to the IMF, please sign it now. African Finance Ministers were demanding to stop paying debt to free up $44 billion to fight the virus and Ecuador's congress was raising the alarm on debt payments.

On Wednesday the IMF and World Bank were repeating our calls to the G20 and wealthy countries to stop collecting debt payments because of the coronavirus emergency. The IMF and World Bank wanted debt payments suspended for the world's 76 poorest countries. More than 65% of those who live in extreme poverty call these 76 countries home. In the midst of this, Somalia's debt relief plan was made official. Then on Thursday, President Trump and the G20 had a virtual meeting and discussed parts of our emergency Jubilee USA Covid-19 plan.

Today the Miami Herald did a feature article with Jubilee's Executive Director Eric LeCompte on what our Jubilee Covid-19 plan means for the Caribbean and Latin America.

Just hours ago, the IMF leadership announced more good results from our campaigning. In a statement that was magnified in a press conference from IMF head Kristalina Georgieva, the Fund agreed to debt relief for poor countries and committed to doubling lending resources as 80 countries are requesting emergency financing.

Eric LeCompte's reactions to today's IMF press conference are featured in thousands of newspapers around the world today - read our views in the New York Times and Associated Press.

The Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust is our debt relief mechanism that can offer debt relief and healthcare grants for poor countries. The mechanism was last used to relieve debt and deliver healthcare grants to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea during the 2014 Ebola epidemic. In 2014, Jubilee USA and our Executive Director, worked with the White House, US Treasury, IMF and G20 to create the Ebola debt relief mechanism. Now that mechanism is being used for the poorest countries as they fight the coronavirus.

Our coronavirus campaigns are just getting going to lift the vulnerable and protect all of us from financial crisis. If you signed our petition, please share it with your friends, family and community.

Donations to support our coronavirus campaigns are doubled now and urgently needed so we can continue this work. Whether you make a gift of $5 or $500, your contribution is tax-deductible and needed and goes directly to supporting our coronavirus work.

We are so grateful to work on these critical efforts with you.

In hope,

Kate Zeller
Campaigns Director

Twitter: @katejbu
https://jubileeusa.org/support-us

P.s. In days, we'll release our Jubilee USA coronavirus action report. Please be on the look out for it and please consider a tax-deductible gift that will be doubled so we spread and promote our findings.

The Miami Herald interviewed Eric LeCompte on the impact of the coronavirus and global economic slowdown in Latin American and the Caribbean. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.

COVID-19 is hitting Caribbean and Latin American economies hard. Can they survive?

Washington DC -  Saudi Arabia chaired an emergency virtual G20 meeting for Presidents and Prime Minsters as the coronavirus wreaks havoc on the global economy. The leaders pledged to pump $5 trillion into the economy, cooperate on health efforts and address debt risks facing poor countries.

"World leaders are incredibly concerned about a crisis that is taking lives and could destroy our economy," shared Eric LeCompte, a United Nations finance expert and Executive Director of the religious development group Jubilee USA. "It's unfortunate that G20 leaders did not commit to the IMF and World Bank calls to suspend debt payments for the world's poorest countries."

Washington, DC -  The International Monetary Fund and World Bank announced that Somalia qualifies to receive debt relief. In three years time, Somalia's debt will be reduced from $5.2 billion to $557 million.

"Debt relief for Somalia is incredibly exciting news and can't come soon enough," said Eric LeCompte who leads Jubilee USA, a development group that advocated for debt relief for the African country. "Somalia is one of the poorest countries in the world and this relief is vital to confront extreme poverty in the country."

Washington, DC -  The International Monetary Fund asked G20 countries and other lending countries to stop collecting debt from poor countries due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"We urge lending countries to take up this call so billions of dollars can be freed up for poor countries dealing with impacts of the coronavirus," said Eric LeCompte who leads Jubilee USA. The religious development group sent a letter to the IMF on Monday urging debt payment moratoriums. "Debt payment moratoriums can get money to countries quickly."

Developing Countries Demand Debt Payments Stop

Washington, DC -  On Monday the heads of the IMF and World Bank stated support for debt relief for very poor countries as the coronavirus spreads. African Finance Ministers called for suspension of debt payments to free up $44 billion to fight Covid-19. Ecuador's Congress also demanded its government stop paying debt.

"Countries need to prioritize fighting Covid-19 and billions can be freed up right away by halting debt payments," stated Eric LeCompte who leads the development group Jubilee USA and serves on United Nations debt expert groups. "Both among lenders and borrowers, we see growing calls to stop paying debt to save lives during the pandemic."

Religious Development Group Proposes Solutions for Pandemic Economic Impacts

Washington, DC - The leadership of a religious development group wrote the head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, to help stop negative economic consequences of the Covid-19 virus.

“Economic forecasts warn that a possible financial crisis or depression, spurred by the coronavirus, could be worse than the 2008 financial crisis,” warned the letter sent on Monday to the IMF from Jubilee USA's executive officers, Celeste Drake, Reverend Steve Herder, Rabbi Matthew Cutler, Reverend Aniedi Okure and Eric LeCompte. “Nearly 100 million people, mostly women and children, were pushed into extreme poverty and 22 million jobs were lost worldwide in the 2008 crisis.”

Jubilee USA's Executive Committee released a letter today sent to IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva about the fund's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. See the full letter below or access a PDF of the letter here. 

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March 23, 2020

Kristalina Georgieva
The International Monetary Fund
700 19th St NW
Washington, DC 20431

"Then you will see and be radiant, And your heart will thrill and rejoice; Because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you, The wealth of the nations will come to you." --- Isaiah 60:5

Managing Director Georgieva,

Concerned about the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the vulnerable and our world, we write on behalf of our 700 plus faith communities, global religious institutions and national religious denominations. 

Economic forecasts warn that a possible financial crisis or depression, spurred by the coronavirus, could be worse than the 2008 financial crisis. Nearly 100 million people, mostly women and children, were pushed into extreme poverty and 22 million jobs were lost worldwide in the 2008 crisis. The International Labor Organization says the numbers of jobs lost could surpass 50 million as a result of a new, deeper financial crisis.

Developing countries will struggle to limit the death toll and boost ill-prepared health systems. In many cases, healthcare exists in a weakened state in many developing countries because of long periods of austerity policy.

Export and supply shocks, subdued demand and falling commodity prices are a chief concern for developing countries. Revenue loss for countries is a significant concern as the pandemic forces work leaves, closes factories and restricts travel and tourism. At the same time, governments must increase spending on social protection measures and to mitigate business loss. For developing countries, all of these effects are compounded because of high-levels of unsustainable debt. Before this pandemic, 40% of low-income countries already faced debt crisis or high risk of debt distress. High debt leaves little space for fiscal and monetary policy interventions. Treasuries also lack billions in lost revenue because of illicit financial flows, corruption and tax evasion and tax avoidance.

A well-designed, globally-coordinated response from the international community can go a long way to prevent and mitigate the impacts of the Covid-19 crisis and move us towards a recovery path. The International Monetary Fund recently announced that it has $50 billion available under rapid access mechanisms that members can draw upon. In turn, the World Bank announced the deployment of $14 billion on a fast track to help developing countries cope with the health and economic impacts. While welcome steps, the crisis at hand warrants additional vital action.

Jubilee USA Network calls for the following urgent actions:

- Expand debt relief and aid for developing countries impacted by Covid-19 through the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust and other processes

Jubilee USA worked with the IMF, the G20, US Treasury and the White House to establish the IMF's Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust during the Ebola epidemic in 2014. The trust provides debt relief and grant-like aid, which supported Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to bolster their health systems as the countries wrestled with Ebola. The trust only has about $400 million available and countries can only receive support after a high level of economic damage occurs. To fully realize the potential of this instrument in the Covid-19 crisis response, it is urgent to increase the funding, allow its application to cancel debt stocks and ease the level and conditions of disbursement. The IMF is encouraged to lead the way in other processes that offer debt relief, innovative financing and vehicles to bolster healthcare financing.

- Enhance debt restructuring, issue debt payment moratoriums and create expedient debt reprofiling processes for countries impacted by the Coronavirus

In the face of the budgetary implications of Covid-19, many countries cannot meet debt payments without putting the health of their people at risk. The IMF should lead the way in determining that Covid-19 qualifies as a public health emergency, issue debt payment moratoriums and create a process for fast reprofiling of all its outstanding loans in order to help improve debt sustainability outlooks for borrowing members. By taking this measure, it will also enhance its moral authority to call on private creditors to offer a substantial restructuring of their debt claims. The IMF can play a helpful role in facilitating the process of creditor coordination in the negotiation of debt restructurings. 

- Mobilize additional financing resources to support increased needs

As a growing number of countries resort to increased borrowing, market access will likely be too expensive and add to debt burdens. The IMF can lend at below-market rates but will not be adequately equipped to support the increased demand without a substantial resource increase of at least 50 percent over current capacity. Previous crises show that multilateral development banks are primary providers of countercyclical, long-term financing. Their shareholders should commit to additional lending in the amount of $200 billion. This is achievable with a mix of easing conservative lending standards and fast-tracked capital injections. Jubilee USA will work with IMF and World Bank members to achieve these increases in lendable resources for international financial institutions.

- Advise countries on public budget transparency, financial crisis prevention and raising revenues

While the above immediate short-term actions should be implemented, a coordinated response should empower countries to emerge from the pandemic with new resources to support future resilience and prevent further economic loss. IMF advice to countries should ensure strong, consistent advice on public budget approval and transparency, responsible borrowing, building more robust social protection floors and raising revenues to cushion countries from future crises. Beyond public budget transparency, revenue-raising measures include curbing illicit financial flows, corruption, tax evasion and tax avoidance. In recent years, the IMF adopted the adage, "Fix the roof while the sun is still shining." Unfortunately, it's raining and we haven't fixed the roof. The IMF should encourage countries and global institutions to enact agreements on responsible lending, financial transparency and limiting risky market behavior.

Ms. Georgieva, during this moment when the fragility and sanctity of life is forefront on the global stage - we hold you, all at the Fund and our world in our prayers. We look forward to continue working with you to lift the vulnerable and protect all of us from financial crisis.

Sincerely,

Reverend Steve Herder 
Co-Chair

Celeste Drake
Co-Chair

Reverend Aniedi Okure
Executive Officer

Rabbi Matthew Cutler
Executive Officer

Eric LeCompte
Executive Director

PDF Version available here

Pittsburgh Catholic reported on Eric LeCompte's recent thoughts on Pope Francis' Jubilee Meeting with world leaders and economists. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.

Vatican opens doors to leaders ready for economic reform

The leading “global decision-makers” all agree on the root causes of unsustainable inequality and are adamant about wanting to prevent yet another global financial crisis, said Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA Network and an observer invited to the Vatican gathering.

He told Catholic News Service the problem comes in finding consensus on the solutions, “the ways forward for countries to get out of debt crisis and financial crisis and also for building an economy that’s more inclusive and where there is less of a distinction between the haves and the have-nots.”

Read more here.