Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in Public Finance International speaking on debt and interest rates. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.

Fed Increases Interest Rates as US Economy Gains Momentum

By: Emma Rumney

"Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA, which advocates for a fairer financial system for developing countries, said: 'Over the last few years, poor countries took out more loans from wealthy countries because interest rates were so low.

'As the Fed raises rates and the dollar becomes stronger, many poor countries will see debt payments going up. Too many poor countries are still struggling to recover after the global financial crisis and I’m worried about their increasing debt burdens.'"

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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 Debt Control Board Orders Harsh Austerity Measures

By: Staff

"'A deep cut in Puerto Rico's debt is now needed as the oversight board previously noted,' Eric LeCompte, executive director of the religious development group Jubilee USA, said in a statement Monday. 'Without enough debt relief to bring the debt back to sustainable levels, no fiscal plan can be enough for economic recovery.'

'As any fiscal plans are implemented, special attention must be paid to protecting vulnerable communities,' he added."

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Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in Financial Advisor speaking on tax and transparency. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.

Treasury Eyes Money Laundering In Luxury Real Estate

By: Thomas Kostigen

"The reason title insurance companies are being drawn into regulations is because cash transactions of real estate aren’t monitored. Banks and mortgage companies, however, do have controls for detecting money laundering activities.    

'Luxury real estate transactions can be used to launder money,' affirmed Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA, a nonprofit that lobbies for financial reforms, in a prepared statement. Further, such purchases can support tax evasion and drive up real estate prices, he said."

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Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in The Guardian speaking on tax and transparency. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.

Donald Trump Lifts Anti-Corruption Rules in 'Gift to the American Oil Lobby'

"Eric LeCompte, executive director of the religious development organization Jubilee USA, said: 'In the short term, we lost a tool that can help track the billions of dollars lost to corruption and tax evasion in the developing world. Now we need to be sure that the new rule that the Securities and Exchange Commission writes will be a rule that can still stop corruption.'

Jubilee USA, which represents over 650 faith groups, fought for the passage of the Cardin-Luger rules in 2010 as a way of tackling bribery and corruption in developing countries that it argues exacerbate conflict and poverty. 'Improving financial transparency and ending global poverty are two sides of the same coin,' said LeCompte."

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Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in The Guardian speaking on transparency. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.

Campaigners Fear Trump Resolution Could Hit Coffers of Poor Countries

By: Ben Quinn

“'It really was in many ways a new model for being able to monitor illicit financial flows and why so much revenue was being lost in resource-rich countries in the developing world,' said Eric LeCompte, executive director of the religious development group Jubilee USA and one of the original drafters of the provision.

“'Equatorial Guinea is a place where you can really see the impact of this and why Cardin-Lugar is needed. It’s actually one of the most resource-rich countries in the world. It should be like Singapore in terms of how they have dealt with their resources, yet three-quarters of their population live in poverty.'"

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Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in National Catholic Reporter speaking on transparency. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.

Trump's 'Forgotten Man' Turns Out to be Goldman Sachs

By: Michael Sean Winters

"'This deeply saddens me and our national religious partners," LeCompte continued. "Our interfaith religious community continues to influence a bipartisan agenda. Unfortunately, I fear‎ we are all facing more obstacles in the short term. The financial issues we work on impact our lives almost as much as the very oxygen we breathe. JubileeUSA's religious leaders have been successful in bridging all political divides we face. Ultimately, I know in the long-term, we will again be successful in overcoming the special-interest groups who are trying to divide us. But I am disappointed by this current setback because we failed by two votes to protect some of the most vulnerable people on our planet. I know we will win, but it will take several more years of focused and consistent work.'"

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Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in Public Finance International speaking on transparency. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.

Dodd-Frank Reform Could Increase Corruption in Developing Nations, NGOs Fear

By: Emma Rumney

"Section 1504 enabled citizens and civil society to track whether companies were paying their taxes, paying their workforces properly or paying bribes, said Eric LeCompte, of the Jubilee USA Network, which advocates for a fairer financial system to benefit the world’s poorest.

It had become a 'critical revenue building measure' he told PFI. He added that, while it was still in the early stages of existence, its potential benefits were clear from the success of similar legislation such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act."

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Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in Quartz speaking on transparency. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.

Republicans Want US Oil Companies to Keep their Payments to Corrupt Governments Secret

By: Tim Fernholz

“'Americans are demanding greater transparency in public and private institutions,' Eric LeCompte, director of the faith-based NGO JubileeUSA, wrote in a letter to Congress. 'Now is not the time to roll back measures that fight corruption and promote transparency and good governance.'"

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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. 

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.