I am so grateful for your partnership. Together we continue to address the root causes of poverty, inequality, war, terrorism and migration.

When you read our 2018 year-end report, you'll read how we exceeded expectations in a challenging political environment. You'll see how we won new US and global debt, tax, trade and transparency policies that address the root causes of migration and poverty.

Remarkably, our efforts from Puerto Rico to NAFTA to the International Monetary Fund were covered in tens of thousands of news outlets. The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, global television and your local newspaper covered our thoughts and work.

Major funders, partners and journalists all tell me they think our annual budget is in the millions. They are floored when they learn that our policy, organizing and media impact happens on a budget of a few hundred thousand. It's why every gift really, really matters for us. 

Together over the last year we launched 5 new campaigns and we won 6 major victories. In our 2018 year-end report, you learn how we won more than $45 billion in rebuilding aid for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.   

Because of our strategic efforts together, we moved Republicans and Democrats to ensure that Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands can rebuild to withstand future storms. 

In the new NAFTA, we stopped “vulture funds” from collecting on old debt and organized major religious institutions to demand that all people should be able to access life-saving medicine. After years of pressure, we moved the IMF to acknowledge the new debt crisis in Africa and the importance of preventing the next global financial crisis.

In our 2018 year-end report, you'll see why a gift really matters.

When you read our 2018 year-end report you'll see how we are one of few organizations that will move the White House, Congress, G-20, IMF and United Nations in 2019. You'll read in our comprehensive year-end report that we are poised to address the root causes of migration, poverty, terrorism, war and inequality in the year to come.

We are so grateful for your support.

Gratefully,

Eric

Eric LeCompte
Executive Director

Twitter: @Eric_LeCompte

P.s. Please join me and make a tax-deductible gift to Jubilee USA today. Whether that gift is $5, $25 or $250 it goes a very very long way on our little budget.

Washington DC - A study released from the Federal Reserve Board notes that 70 percent of college students are graduating with more than $37,000 in debt.

"Student loan debt has reached crisis levels," noted Eric LeCompte who heads the religious debt watchdog, Jubilee USA Network. "Current graduates are carrying higher debts than any previous generation."

The Federal Reserve Board study found that college student debt levels in 2017 were twice as high as student debt in 2004.

Friends,

From my family and all at Jubilee USA, I wish you and your family every blessing as you celebrate Hanukkah.

In this time of terror, darkness and tumult, I struggle to simply send you a "Happy Hanukkah." Tree of Life weighs heavy on me. As a leader of an interfaith organization, I struggle with growing hate crimes against my Jewish mothers and fathers.

I'm a Catholic who celebrates on Sunday a "CliffsNotes" Shabbat. But, I reflect on the wicked king and we remember the resistance of the People of God and the light that this time celebrates.

This gives me hope. I am grateful to resist the sick wickedness with you. I am grateful to walk into the light with you. 

Chag Sameach,

Eric

Eric LeCompte
Executive Director

Washington DC - The G-20 releases their communiqué or "Leader's Declaration" at the close of their annual meetings held this year in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

"From a development perspective we agree with the G-20 that the current system of global trade is flawed. Trade dispute processes too often bypass a country's sovereign laws on labor and the environment. Reforms of the World Trade Organization and trade agreements are needed to protect vulnerable communities.

"We welcome the commitment for basic creditor transparency and for the IMF and World Bank to record public and private loans and debts.

"The G-20's commitment to tackle tax avoidance, tax evasion and corruption are important. We want to see the implementation of global tax and transparency laws as soon as possible. Currently the developing world loses nearly a trillion dollars annually due to tax evasion and corruption.

"The G-20 affirmation of the need to make voting more equal at the International Monetary Fund is critical.

"While the G-20 raises concerns about financial crisis, the G-20 as a whole is failing to push forward an international bankruptcy process. Without this process in place, we are failing to do all we can to prevent the next global financial crisis."

Read the full G-20 Leader's Declaration here: http://www.g20.utoronto.ca/2018/buenos_aires_leaders_declaration.pdf

Washington DC - President Trump arrived in Buenos Aires on Thursday for the annual G20 meetings. While trade, climate and tensions with Russia dominated press coverage ahead of the meetings, financial crisis concerns are taking center stage during the two-day meetings. The International Monetary Fund released a series of reports in October warning new financial crisis could be on the horizon.

"The concerns are whether or not we've done enough to prevent the next financial crisis," stated Jubilee USA Executive Director Eric LeCompte who monitors the G20 and serves on UN finance expert groups. "There is broad agreement that the debts of many countries are out of control and we've not done enough to stop risky market behavior."

Recent analysis from the IMF and the UN Conference on Trade and Development suggest that a growing number of developing countries are wrestling with debt crisis. Almost 20 African economies are mired in unsustainable debts, according to the World Bank and IMF. On Monday, the IMF hosted Caribbean Prime Ministers and Finance Ministers to discuss debt concerns after the devastating 2017 hurricane season.

"During this year's G20, world leaders are discussing how small islands in particular are struggling with high debt loads in the face of natural disasters," said LeCompte who participated in Monday's IMF Caribbean meeting. "We are pushing the G20 to support debt relief when poor small islands are hit by hurricanes or other natural disasters."

On "Giving Tuesday," please join me and make a gift that supports our current campaigns.

Any gift to Jubilee USA is tax-deductible and is doubled now. Whether your gift is $5, $50 or $500 it will be doubled and will support our campaigns that will see action before year-end. 

Your donation supports effective and strategic campaigns that address the root causes of poverty.

Your gift right now means:

• We will win debt and austerity relief for Puerto Rico and Caribbean islands wrestling with financial crisis. Our disaster-triggered debt relief processes will also gain momentum with your support
• In the new NAFTA, we will gain more ground on stopping vulture funds, settling trade disputes in favor of vulnerable communities and ensuring people can access life-saving medicines
• We will win more hurricane relief for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands
• We will prevent corruption from oil and extractive industries by implementing new reporting rules that will stop bribery, protect debt relief and curb tax evasion in the developing world
• At the G20 and the IMF, we can move forward the implementation of new global responsible lending and borrowing rules
• We'll continue to protect transparency rules in Dodd-Frank and protect the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from attacks
• We can raise the alarm and push solutions on the growing debt crises in Africa, the Caribbean, Asia and Latin America

Your support achieves success. Your contribution wins measurable results.

Please make your tax-deductible gift today. We are a small organization and your gift is critically needed now for us to be able to continue our work. 

Congressional Quarterly cites our Jubilee USA efforts as the last bipartisan efforts in Washington DC. Before the end of the year, we'll need you to join us as we take action. Several of the campaigns we are working on will see decisions in the coming weeks.

So grateful for your partnership,

Eric

Eric LeCompte
Executive Director

Washington DC - Financial institutions, experts and economists fear a new wave of financial crises hitting countries from Ghana to Italy. The IMF and World Bank warn that nearly 20 African economies are wrestling with debt crises and on Wednesday the European Union chastised Italy on its debt-laden budget.

"Growing debt crises and the inability of countries to meet the social needs of their people is very concerning," stated Eric LeCompte who serves on United Nation finance expert groups and is the Executive Director of Jubilee USA. Jubilee USA monitors the debts and budgets of governments across the world. "Governments aren't raising enough revenue, we are failing to prevent corruption and the exports and currencies of many countries are losing value."

In October the IMF released a series of reports raising concerns that policies are not in place to prevent future global financial crisis. Last year's hurricane season devastated Caribbean islands from Puerto Rico to Dominica that were not prepared because of debt crises.

"If we follow the data, the solutions are conclusive," said LeCompte. "We need stronger policies on responsible lending and borrowing. We need a functioning permanent bankruptcy process for countries to work out their debts. We must implement some basic rules that can curb the trillion dollar annual loss to developing countries from tax evasion and corruption."

Juzgará con justicia a los débiles,y sentenciará con
rectitud a los pobres de la tierra. Herirá al hombre
cruel con la vara de su boca, con el soplo de sus
labios matará al malvado..." Isaías, 11: 4

Desde el año 2015, hemos abogado para que la deuda de Puerto Rico sea reestructurada de modo tal que, incida en la disminución de medidas de austeridad, reduzca los niveles de pobreza entre los niños y las niñas de la isla y a su vez cree un crecimiento económico sustentable. En conjunto, con congregaciones religiosas hermanas de EE.UU., Puerto Rico y Jubilee USA, hemos reiteradamente hecho este llamado a nuestro gobierno, la Junta de Supervisión Fiscal de Puerto Rico y el gobierno de EE.UU.

Antes de los huracanes Irma y María, los planes fiscales proponían recortes en los pagos por concepto de la deuda, mayores a un 80% del monto adeudado.  

Estamos sumamente sorprendidos, por los acuerdos negociados entre la Junta de Supervisión Fiscal y algunos tenedores de bonos, que representan recortes menores a los anteriores. Antes de los huracanes, luchábamos con el hecho de que cerca de un 60% de nuestros niños y niñas vivían bajo niveles de pobreza. Luego de los huracanes, aún permanece una gran angustia a través de todo Puerto Rico. No obstante, vemos como ahora se llegan a acuerdos que son más onerososa los que originalmente se habían propuesto, antes de los huracanes.

Nosotros estamos firmemente opuestos al acuerdo negociado de la deuda de COFINA. Estamos preocupados por las acciones de nuestro gobierno, los tenedores de bonos y la Junta de Supervisión Fiscal. Nuestra gente, especialmente nuestros niños y niñas, quienes heredarán esta deuda de cara al futuro, merecen mejores acuerdos.

No menos importante, el acuerdo actual de COFINA, está fundado sobre proyecciones a corto plazo sumamente optimistas y sobre estimadas. Si se llegan a acuerdos similares con otros grupos de tenedores, bonos como los de las Obligaciones Generales, nuestros asesores de Jubilee USA nos indican que, nos veremos obligados a reestructurar, nuevamente, la deuda de Puerto Rico al cabo de pocos años.

 Las negociaciones actuales con los tenedores de bonos han fallado, al no tomar en consideración la pobreza infantil, reducir las medidas de austeridad y garantizar un crecimiento económico sustentable.   

El recién aprobado plan fiscal proyecta sobrantes en el presupuesto estimado. Para nosotros es moralmente inaceptable que, nuestro gobierno y la Junta de Supervisión Fiscal, mientras trabajan en un plan de ajuste fiscal, utilicen los sobrantes del presupuesto, para pagar la deuda de Puerto Rico. El plan de ajuste debe utilizar los sobrantes para la recuperación del huracán, reducir la tasa de pobreza infantil, limitar las medidas de austeridad y estimular el crecimiento económico del país a largo plazo.

 Si el gobierno de Puerto Rico y la Junta de Supervisión Fiscal no pueden llegar a un acuerdo sobre la deuda, que contenga recortes significativos en el monto adeudado, de modo que ubique a Puerto Rico en una ruta de crecimiento económico sustentable; les pedimos el favor de echarse a un lado y le abran paso al proceso de quiebras aprobado por el Congreso en el año 2016, para eliminar la carga inmoral que ejerce esta deuda sobre nuestro pueblo, en particular sobre el futuro de nuestros niños y niñas.

Mons. Roberto O. González Nieves OFM
Metropolitan Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico

Reverend Heriberto Martínez Rivera
General Secretary
The Bible Society of Puerto Rico
Coordinator
Ecumenical and Interfaith Coalition of Puerto Rico

Washington DC - Puerto Rico's Catholic Archbishop and an Evangelical leader who heads the island's bible society criticized a debt agreement and ongoing debt negotiations. "We are strongly opposed to the COFINA debt deal," wrote the religious leaders in a statement referencing a recently approved plan on a type of debt backed by sales taxes. The plan was approved by Puerto Rico's government and oversight board and covers about $17 billion of the total $72 billion debt of the US Territory. A year ago, Puerto Rico was decimated by two hurricanes.      

"Before the hurricanes, we wrestled with the fact that nearly 60% of our children lived in poverty. After the hurricanes great suffering persists across Puerto Rico. Yet, now we see debt deals that are worse than what was proposed before the hurricanes," wrote Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez and Puerto Rico Bible Society General Secretary, Reverend Heriberto Martinez. "If the government of Puerto Rico and the oversight board cannot reach debt deals with a high enough debt cut to put Puerto Rico on a sustainable path for growth, they should immediately step aside and allow the bankruptcy process approved by Congress in 2016 to arbitrate this immoral debt burden that weighs upon our people, especially on our children."

The leaders also took aim at negotiations around the General Obligation debt and expressed concern if a similar deal was reached, Puerto Rico would be restructuring their "debt in a few years time." The leaders also raised concerns about a fiscal plan approved by the oversight board.

"The current fiscal plan and ongoing debt negotiations are not doing enough to address child poverty, limit austerity and promote sustainable economic growth," stated Eric LeCompte who advises the religious leaders and is the director of the religious development group Jubilee USA.