Friends,

Last week Congress left town without voting for relief and recovery aid for disaster struck Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Florida, Texas and California. 

Please send a message to your Senators and Representative and tell them Puerto Rico needs recovery funding to rebuild to withstand the next storm. Let Congress know that Puerto Rico needs debt relief. Tell them that US Citizens living in Puerto Rico should be able to receive the same level of access to Medicaid, Medicare and child tax benefits that citizens can access who live in the States.

Because of the pressure we put on Congress in recent weeks, we stripped the tax package of an "excise" tax on Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Our collective actions make a big difference. In the days and weeks to come, Congress will make several decisions that will impact the people of Puerto Rico.

Unfortunately, Congress left town before agreeing on a recovery package for Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Texas, Florida and California.

E-mail Congress now. Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands need recovery funding to rebuild to withstand the next storm. Tell them Puerto Rico needs debt relief. US Citizens living in Puerto Rico should be able to access Medicaid, Medicare and child tax benefits that citizens can access who live in the States.‎

Last week, Puerto Rico's Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez joined Jubilee USA's Director Eric LeCompte to meet with the teams of Speaker Ryan and Leader McConnell. 

Afterwards, Jubilee USA and our partners hosted a prayer service in a Congress office building for Puerto Rico. Supporting and participating groups included the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, United Church of Christ, Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, Franciscan Action Network, the National Association of Evangelicals, Muslim Public Affairs Council and Islamic Relief.

Archbishop Gonzalez reflected as we waited for Congress to vote on recovery aid:

"Puerto Rico desperately needs a complete debt relief, funding for rebuilding, and equal access to Medicare, Medicaid and child tax benefit funding. [...] Today we pray with the persistence and tenacity of the widow of the gospel; we pray full of hope that the miracle of compassion, openness toward and solidarity with Puerto Rico may come true."

Please click on this link and send a message to your Members of Congress now.

Thanks for taking action,

Kate Zeller
Campaigns Director
Twitter: @JubileeUSA
www.jubileeusa.org/support-us

    

Jubilee USA Network's Prayer Vigil for Puerto Rico was recently mentioned in Crux. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.

Catholic expert calls Puerto Rico recovery “a tale of two islands”

By: Christopher White

"On Wednesday, the archbishop of San Juan, Roberto Octavio González Nieves, led a prayer vigil at the United States Capitol in an effort to remind congressional leaders of the plight of Puerto Ricans.

[Monsignor Kevin] Sullivan participated in the interfaith service sponsored by Jubilee USA, and said there should be a two-pronged focus going forward, with a focus on both the present needs, but also the future of the island."

Read more here.

Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently cited in National Catholic Reporter speaking on the Prayer Vigil for Puerto Rico and the need for rebuilding and debt relief of the people of the islands. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.

Capitol Hill prayer vigil draws attention to Puerto Rico's disaster relief needs

By: Julie Bourbon

“Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee, articulated several priorities for Puerto Rico, including debt relief and a debt moratorium, a better building provision, and allowing residents of the island full access to Medicare and Medicaid benefits as well as the child tax credit.

Under the Stafford Act, LeCompte said, aid must be sufficient to rebuild infrastructure as it was. Jubilee and others are calling for the better building provision so that the island’s already failing infrastructure will be improved.

‘We know in Puerto Rico, if we rebuild what was, when the hurricane comes next year, what is rebuilt will not stand,’ LeCompte said. ‘The reality is the situation was tragic before the storm. What was a tragedy before has become a full blown humanitarian crisis.’”

Read more here.

Friend,

Congress will vote today or tomorrow on a recovery package for Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Florida, Texas and California. Please call your Senators and Representative now and tell them Puerto Rico needs recovery funding to rebuild to withstand the next storm. Tell them Puerto Rico needs debt relief. Tell them that US Citizens living in Puerto Rico should be able to receive the same level of access to Medicaid, Medicare and child tax benefits that citizens can access who live in the States.

Already, because of your phone calls and e-mails, we stripped the tax package of an "excise" tax on Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. This happened because of the calls and e-mails we generated to Congress. While there still are some parts of the tax package that hurt Puerto Rico, we've made progress and we are getting commitments to fix this in the new year. Your continued action is so important.‎ Our actions as of now have secured provisions in the upcoming aid package to ensure that infrastructure will be built stronger than before.

Congress will vote on recovery funds for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands as part of their vote to keep the government open.

Please call your Members of Congress now.

Yesterday, Puerto Rico's Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez joined Jubilee USA's Director Eric LeCompte to meet with the teams of Speaker Ryan and Leader McConnell. Afterwards, Jubilee USA and our partners hosted a prayer service in a Congress office building for Puerto Rico. Supporting and participating groups included the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, United Church of Christ, Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, Franciscan Action Network, the National Association of Evangelicals, Muslim Public Affairs Council and Islamic Relief.

Archbishop Gonzalez presided over the service and he reflected:

"Puerto Rico desperately needs a complete debt relief, funding for rebuilding, and equal access to Medicare, Medicaid and child tax benefit funding.  Puerto Rico, in spite of its colonial history with Spain and the United States for more than 500 years, with all the inequalities and humiliations that entails, has exemplified a Christian spirit of reconciliation towards Spain and the United States in its quest to live in dignity, freedom, equality and peace in the world community.

"Today, all of us, clergy, religious,  people representing many faiths and denominations, government officials, lay people and people of good will, gathered in this prayer service organized by Jubilee USA to pray for the people of Puerto Rico and for an awakening of the hearts of the Representatives and Senators in Congress and to give thanks to God for the precious God-given gifts of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Today we pray with the persistence and tenacity of the widow of the gospel;  we pray full of hope that the miracle of compassion, openness toward and solidarity with Puerto Rico may come true."

Your calls are urgently needed. Call Congress and say that Puerto Rico needs recovery funding to rebuild to withstand the next storm. Tell them Puerto Rico needs debt relief. Tell them that US Citizens living in Puerto Rico should be able to receive the same level of access to Medicaid, Medicare and child tax benefits that citizens can access who live in the States.

Thanks for taking action,

Lydia C. Andrews
Deputy Director
Twitter: @JubileeUSA | www.jubileeusa.org/support-us
212 East Capitol St NE - Washington, DC 20003
(202) 783-3566 - [email protected]
 
 
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 19, 2017

Archbishop and Religious Groups Hold Puerto Rico Prayer Vigil at US Capitol

Washington DC - As Congress considers recovery and relief packages for hurricane-hit Puerto Rico, the island's Archbishop and national religious on Wednesday will hold a prayer vigil in a Congressional office building.

"Puerto Rico needs a Congress that is sensitive to the pain of the people of Puerto Rico," noted Roberto González, Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico. Gonzalez will be the primary presider at the service. "It needs a Congress that respects Puerto Rico's right to reconstruct with dignity."

San Juan's Archbishop will be joined at the prayer vigil by a number of major religious groups including: the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the United Church of Christ, the National Association of Evangelicals, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, Catholic Charities USA, the Franciscan Action Network, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York and Jubilee USA Network.

The various groups will be praying and calling for adequate rebuilding aid, debt relief and financing for healthcare and child benefits on par with what US States receive.

"Puerto Rico desperately needs adequate rebuilding aid so its power grid and infrastucture is strong enough to withstand the next storm," noted Eric LeCompte of the religious development group that is organizing the event, Jubilee USA Network. "Puerto Rico needs debt relief and equal access to Medicare, Medicaid and child tax benefit funding."

The event will be held at noon on December 20th from noon-1 pm in room 121 of Congress' Cannon House Office Building

Available for Interview: Eric LeCompte, Executive Director
Contact: Lydia C. Andrews, Deputy Director
[email protected] / (o) (202) 783-3566 x109 (m) (847) 772-2305

Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently cited in National Catholic Reporter speaking on the repeal of Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank law. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.

Republican attacks on the FBI are despicable

By: Michael Sean Winters

“Some bad things garner less press coverage but set back efforts to fight poverty around the world. Also on Dec. 13, the House Financial Services Committee voted to repeal Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank law, the section that required U.S. oil and mining corporations to report how much they give to foreign governments. I wrote about this issue earlier this year. ‘It's a sad day when basic anti-poverty and transparency initiatives are repealed,’ said Jubilee USA executive director Eric LeCompte after the vote.”

Read more here.

As the Senate and House tax plans head to conference committee to reconcile tax plan differences, major religious leaders from Puerto Rico are asking Congress to protect the island from new proposed ‎taxes. Metropolitan Archbishop Roberto O. González Nieves, OFM of the Catholic Archdiocese San Juan de Puerto Rico and Puerto Rico Bible Society Secretary, Reverend Heriberto Martínez-Rivera wrote to Congress with their concerns.

"If Congress treats American citizens living in Puerto Rico differently than American citizens living in the 50 States by treating our island as a foreign jurisdiction, we believe recovery for our island home will be nearly impossible," wrote González and Martínez-Rivera in their letter to Congress.  "We respectfully request that all Members of Congress ensure that a final tax reform plan does not impose new excise taxes on Puerto Rico."

Working with Jubilee USA and US religious groups, the Archbishop and Evangelical leader have engaged Congress for nearly two years to move policies that promote economic growth and reduce the island's crippling debt load and high child poverty rate. In the recent letter they wrote to Congress, they ‎noted that tens of thousands of American jobs could be lost in Puerto Rico if the Senate and House conference committee did not strip the excise tax from final legislation.

"If Congress fails to remove this excise tax in their final tax package, it is just like hitting Puerto Rico with another hurricane," said Jubilee USA Director Eric LeCompte who advises Puerto Rico's religious leaders and serves on United Nation expert groups. "Before the hurricanes, we were dealing with a severe financial crisis and almost half of all Puerto Rican kids were living in poverty. We are now dealing with a full blown humanitarian crisis that Congress can make better or even worse."‎

Read Archbishop González and Reverend Martínez-Rivera's letter to Congress. 

The Senate could vote later on Friday on a tax reform package. If a package passes the Senate, the House and Senate will likely use the conference committee process to reconcile differences between the final House and Senate tax packages.

Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious development organization, Jubilee USA, releases the following statement:

“Any final tax reform package should support and protect vulnerable communities. I’m concerned that portions of the current tax plans will harm poor populations.

"A final tax package should not shifts greater tax burdens to the poor or constrict our budget from providing adequate foreign development assistance or disaster relief.

"We could see more developing countries borrowing more money and becoming more indebted as a result of less foreign assistance because of current tax plans.

“Current tax reform legislation moves the US to a so-called territorial tax system that encourages the use of tax havens and permits corporations to avoid paying US taxes and taxes in developing countries. Such a plan has a human cost and negatively impacts poor people at home and abroad.‎

“Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands are still struggling to recover from the aftermath of this hurricane season and they should not be subject to additional excise taxes that US states are not subject to. While Congress considers tax policies to promote jobs for Americans in the 50 States, those policies must also ensure that US citizens living in Puerto Rico and the Territories are treated the same. Puerto Rico and the US Territories will lose tens of thousands of jobs if Congress passes a final tax package with new excise taxes for the Territories.”

 As the Senate pushes tax reform, the head of a religious development group expressed concern over parts of the House and Senate proposals that could harm low income people in the United States and people in the developing world.

“Any final tax reform package should support and protect vulnerable communities. I’m concerned that portions of the current tax plans will harm poor populations,” said Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA. “A final tax package should not shift greater tax burdens to the poor or constrict our budget from providing adequate foreign development assistance or disaster relief.”

The House and Senate will likely use the conference committee process to reconcile differences between the final House and Senate tax reform packages.

“Current tax reform legislation moves the US to a so-called territorial tax system that encourages the use of tax havens and permits corporations to avoid US taxes and taxes in developing countries,” noted LeCompte. “Such a plan has a human cost and negatively impacts poor people at home and abroad.”

Jubilee USA has worked with Congress for nearly two years on US financial policies regarding Puerto Rico. Portions of a final tax package could impact Puerto Rico and other US Territories according to LeCompte.

“As Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands are still struggling to recover from the aftermath of this hurricane season, they should not be subject to additional excise taxes that US states are not subject to,” stated LeCompte. “While Congress considers tax policies to promote jobs for Americans in the 50 States, those policies must also ensure that US citizens living in Puerto Rico and the Territories are treated the same. Puerto Rico and the US Territories will lose tens of thousands of jobs if Congress passes a final tax package with new excise taxes for the Territories.”

Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently interviewed by Bond Buyer to discuss relief efforts in Puerto Rico. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.

Humanitarian Advocates Optimistic on Aid to Puerto Rico

By: Brian Tumulty

Laura Esquivel, director of national Advocacy for the Hispanic Federation, and Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA Network, told The Bond Buyer they are hopeful Congress will rework the administration’s request and provide more funding[...]

LeCompte stressed the urgency of stepping up the recovery effort.

“I think Congress will step up and we will see in the coming weeks and months more packages around both relief and recovery and rebuilding aid as well as some financing issues addressed,” LeCompte said.

LeCompte said his organization supports having the oversight board established under PROMESA review contracts that are signed for spending federal funds in the recovery effort.

“There appears to be a need for some transparent and accountable way that contracts are reviewed," he said. “We just want it to be expedient and fast.” 

Read more here.