February 01, 2017
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA recently wrote an editorial that was published in The Hill and featured in Millennial Journal speaking on transparency. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.
Repealing Transparency Measure Hurts the Poor
By: Eric LeCompte
"On behalf of the hundreds of faith communities who supported Section 1504 or the “Cardin-Lugar amendment” to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, I’d encourage all Members of Congress to consider how weakening 1504 could impact vulnerable populations. Now is the time to hold hearings for Congress, not for hasty actions that prevent members from understanding why a post financial crisis world needs more accountability, not less."
Read more here.
Read More
January 28, 2017
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in teleSUR speaking on Puerto Rico. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.
Puerto Rico: Colonial Oversight Board Meets as Crisis Deepens
By: Staff
"'The board recognizes that Puerto Rico needs significant debt relief to rebuild its economy,' said Eric LeCompte, executive director of the development organization Jubilee USA, during testimony before the board in November. 'If negotiations with creditors fail to achieve a significant debt reduction, the board needs to authorize the court arbitrated bankruptcy process.'"
Read more here.
Read More
January 27, 2017
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in IPS speaking on tax. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.
Ecuador Revives Campaign for UN Tax Body
By: Thalif Deen
"Asked about the feasibility of the proposal against Western opposition, Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the Jubilee USA Network, one of NGOs backing the proposal, told IPS: 'In just a few years we’ve seen almost universal acknowledgment of the problems of tax avoidance, tax evasion and corruption.'
'At the same time we do see clear opposition from many wealthy countries on the idea of a global tax body as part of a solution'.
For this to be successful, he pointed out, there needs to be some re-envisioning of the proposal from the Addis Ababa conference. He said the G77 could also engage in bilateral agreements to move this forward.
'While the United Nations tries to operate by consensus, we could also see countries force a vote at the United Nations. While a vote would likely be successful under this method, without some re-envisioning of the concept, we’d likely see many wealthy countries refuse to participate in the process,' he warned.
Asked if Ecuador will be able to pull it off?, LeCompte told IPS: 'Ecuador seems to be operating out of a G77 consensus on these issues. Since the Financing for Development meetings in Addis Ababa, we’ve seen G77 countries like Ecuador strengthen their support for these efforts.'"
Read more here.
Read More
January 24, 2017
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in Devex speaking on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.
Could US Withdrawal from TPP have a Silver Lining for Developing Countries?
By: Lisa Cornish
"European ties may also encourage the TPP to tackle concerns flagged by NGOs during negotiations. Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA, told Devex the rising cost of pharmaceuticals under the TPP would negatively impact health care to developing countries, for example."
Read more here.
Read More
January 18, 2017
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in U.S. News speaking on the election, and the economic policies of the Obama Administration. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.
Financial Crisis the 'Specter Haunting' Obama's Economic Legacy
By: Andrew Soergel
"'On trade issues, I think the Obama administration failed on what they wanted to move forward,' says Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA faith-based financial reform non-profit, describing initiatives like the TPP as 'controversial across the left and the right.' 'And as we transition into a new administration, who we certainly expect to work with, it'll be really interesting to see how they handle the trade issues. Broadly, we know that President-elect Trump was very critical of the trade issues pushed by Obama.'
LeCompte's organization worked with and provided input to the Obama administration on debt, tax and trade policies over the past eight years, helping to orchestrate bankruptcy legislation for Puerto Rico and the stemming of illicit financial flows popularized in part by the release of the Panama Papers.
'One of the global challenges that really came to light under the Obama administration was illicit financial flows. We've seen those emerge as front page stories around the globe,' LeCompte says. 'There are criticisms that suggest he should have done more on these transparency and tax issues. But we've seen this move forward.'
But on a handful of issues, LeCompte points to the idea that Obama's efforts were at times hindered by opposition from both the right and the left – highlighting the difficult political environment of the Obama years."
Read more here.
Read More
January 13, 2017
A panel session on global tax regulation organized by Jubilee USA was recently featured in Devex. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.
The G77 Will Push for 'Tax Justice' Through a UN Tax Body, Says Ecuador's Foreign Affairs Minister
By: Sophie Edwards
"Speaking the day before Ecuador officially took over from Thailand as chair of the G77, Foreign Affairs Minister Guillaume Long said tackling tax havens would be a priority under Ecuador’s leadership and that it would seek to introduce a U.N. tax body with a state-level mandate to pursue 'tax justice.'
'The tax haven issue will have a very prominent position in our presidency of the G77,' he said during a panel session organized by Jubilee USA Network in Washington, D.C., on Thursday."
Read more here.
Read More
January 12, 2017
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in Huffington Post speaking on tax avoidance. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.
New Developing Nations Leader Has Big Plans To Crack Down On Global Tax Dodging
By: Daniel Marans
"Eric LeCompte, executive director of the faith-based anti-poverty organization Jubilee USA and moderator of a Thursday panel on tax havens for which Long delivered the opening remarks, nonetheless lauded Ecuador’s leadership on this issue.
'It is clear to me that the government of Ecuador has looked at how tax and trade issues impact vulnerable communities in their country,' LeCompte said earlier this week.
Short of a global body to combat tax havens, a coordinated push to reduce tax avoidance could involve providing greater resources to developing nations to monitor exports, LeCompte argued. Commercial goods that get past customs officials represent a major source of lost tax revenue, he noted."
Read more here.
Read More
December 30, 2016
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA recently wrote an op-ed for The Hill speaking on Puerto Rico. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.
Congress, Oversight Board and Stakeholders Must Take Next Steps to Resolve Puerto Rico Crisis
By: Eric LeCompte
"A balanced budget and economic growth in Puerto Rico depend on quick action from Congress on the recent bipartisan recommendations from the Congressional Task Force on Economic Growth in Puerto Rico. Congress should ensure that the same healthcare funding and child tax benefits that U.S. citizens receive who live in the 50 states is extended to U.S. citizens living on the island.
The Financial Oversight and Management Board of Puerto Rico also announced debt restructuring negotiations are moving forward. The board plans to review an updated fiscal plan from Puerto Rico’s new governor. As the oversight board continues its work, it must listen to the varied civil sectors in Puerto Rico, including those who experience some of the worst aspects of the crisis."
Read more here.
Read More
December 01, 2016
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA and colleague David Beckman of Bread for the World recently co-authored an op-ed in The Hill on true political leadership. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.
Spencer Bachus: True Leadership
By: Eric LeCompte and David Beckman
"At the U.S. Capitol recently, the faith-based anti-poverty coalition Jubilee USA was honored to celebrate House Financial Services Committee Chairman Emeritus Bachus as a 'Jubilee Champion' for his long-standing commitment to promoting economic opportunity and alleviating poverty in the world’s poorest nations. Jubilee USA Network, a coalition whose founders and members include more than 650 faith communities, has worked closely with Mr. Bachus on economic reforms to protect vulnerable people.
In 1999, many of the world’s poorest countries were saddled with unpayable debts to financial institutions and wealthier nations. Some were spending more money paying back debts incurred by former dictators than on the health and education of their own people. Drawing on the Biblical practice of Jubilee, people of faith all over the world called to forgive these debts if the funds were then used for social betterment. Religious groups across the United States advocated for debt relief."
Read more here [link here].
Read More
November 21, 2016
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in Public Finance International speaking on Puerto Rico. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.
Puerto Rico Advised Over Debt Crisis but Likely Shorn of US Support
By: Emma Rumney
"LeCompte also called for a clause in the debt restructuring agreements to take into account of Puerto Rico’s vulnerability to shocks, ranging from hurricanes to global financial crises.
This would work in a similar way to the ‘hurricane clause’ in a restructuring deal to Grenada, which suspends debt repayments when Grenada is hit by certain external shocks.
Debt restructuring should also differentiate between civil entities holding Puerto Rican debt and external creditors when it comes to haircuts, which the former might be less able to endure, and perhaps link repayments to GDP.
LeCompte said pegging returns for creditors to economic growth deters 'predatory behaviour' and establishes that success for Puerto Rico means success for everyone."
Read more here.
Read More
November 14, 2016
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in Catholic News Service, America Magazine, and Catholic Philly speaking on policies under the incoming Trump Administration. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.
How Catholic Advocates View the New White House
By: Dennis Sadowski
"In one sense, LeCompte hopes that the practices of predatory hedge funds, trade agreements that fail to consider the needs of workers, and corporate tax avoidance that his agency has addressed with Congress and past White House administrations will resonate with Trump's staff. They are issues Trump has touched on during his campaign rallies in states with large blue-collar communities.
'We expect all of our issues we work on in terms of how the global economic system works (will receive) a welcome from the White House,' LeCompte said."
Read more here.
Read More
November 11, 2016
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in Catholic News Service speaking about partners recently named Jubilee Champions. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.
Concept of Biblical Jubilee Comes to Life
By: Dennis Sadowski
"Archbishop Tomasi was one of four Jubilee Champions honored for their work on debt relief efforts at the dinner. Others were Spencer Bachus, a former Republican member of Congress from Alabama who ushered legislation through Congress that led to more than $130 billion in debt relief; Kent Spriggs, a Florida attorney who was the lead author of 'amicus curiae' brief spearheaded by Jubilee USA, signed by 80 faith-based organizations and filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in a 2014 case that helped Argentina block the predatory debt collection practices of a so-called 'vulture fund'; and Ruth Messinger, former president of American Jewish World Service and co-founder of Jubilee USA 20 years ago.
Eric LeCompte, Jubilee USA Network executive director, said the four honorees were crucial to the organization’s success, but more importantly showed that their commitment can serve as a strong example of solidarity with the world’s poorest communities."
Read more here.
Read More