WHAT: Join us for a discussion about one of Puerto Rico's pressing challenges, how it affects its economic future and sustainability and what Congress can do. Hosted by the House Natural Resources Committee and featuring its Chairman Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and Committee Member Rep. Jenniffer Gonzalez (R-PR) as opening speakers. 

WHO: Dr. Maria E Enchautegui, Director of Research and Policy, Youth Development Institute of Puerto Rico; Mr. Brayan Rosa, Public Policy Manager, Youth Development Institute of Puerto Rico; Mr. Eric LeCompte, Executive Director, Jubilee USA Network; Mr. Bruce Lesley, President, First Focus; Mrs. Natividad Flores, Community Leader; Moderator, Mrs. Amanda Rivera, Executive Director, Youth Development Institute of Puerto Rico. 

WHEN: 2: 00 PM ET Tuesday, February 11, 2020

WHERE: Longworth House Office Building
Capitol Hill, Washington DC

Jubilee USA Network is an alliance of more than 70 US organizations and 700 faith communities working with 50 Jubilee global partners. Jubilee builds an economy that serves, protects and promotes the participation of the most vulnerable. Jubilee USA has won critical global financial reforms and more than $130 billion in debt relief to benefit the world's poorest people. www.jubileeusa.org

Washington, DC - The leaders of the World Bank and IMF discussed concerns of global debt levels at an event held today at the World Bank Preston Auditorium. 

"World Bank and IMF data asserts debt levels and vulnerabilities are at worrying levels," noted Eric LeCompte who leads the religious development coalition, Jubilee USA Network. "It seems impossible for developing countries to raise money for development and simultaneously wrestle with unsustainable debt levels."

Vatican - Pope Francis addressed a small group of Finance Ministers, the head of the IMF and noted economists urging the creation of new global debt and tax policies that can reduce inequality and end poverty.

"Pope Francis asserts that to live in a world with so much wealth, when there is so much poverty, is sinful," stated Eric LeCompte who leads the religious development group Jubilee USA. LeCompte serves on United Nations finance expert groups. "Inequality and extreme poverty are the results of current debt and tax policies that concentrate wealth in too few hands."

Washington DC - IMF Head Kristalina Georgieva warns of a return of the Great Depression driven by inequality and financial sector instability in a speech delivered at the Peterson Institute of International Economics. Georgieva highlighted new IMF research and she compared the current economy to the "roaring 1920s" economy that culminated in the great market crash of 1929.

"The IMF delivered a stark message about the potential for another massive financial disaster that we last experienced during the Great Depression," noted United Nations finance expert and Jubilee USA Director Eric LeCompte. "With inequality on the rise and concerns of stability in the markets, we need to take this warning seriously."

Washington DC - The Senate passed the United States Mexico Canada Agreement today in a 89 to 10 vote. The agreement takes effect if President Trump signs the law and Canada approves the agreement.

"If this new trade pact is signed into law by President Trump and approved by Canada, it will stop the previous trade arbitration process that enabled abusive corporations to skirt labor laws and protections for poor people.

"The new agreement removes harmful language that in past trade agreements prevented vulnerable people from accessing medicines.

"I commend the agreement for stopping predatory hedge funds from collecting on old bad debts.."

Read Jubilee USA's statement with the Catholic, Episcopalian, United Methodist, Presbyterian, Evangelical Lutheran and United Church of Christ Churches calling on the US Government to enact trade agreements that protect vulnerable people here

Friends,

Wishing that your New Year is full of blessings.

Eric

Eric LeCompte
Executive Director

Friends,

We're ending 2019 on a lot of good news.

A week and a half ago, we won the first phase of debt relief for Somalia. After two years of work, President Trump signed our legislation into law. We moved Congress and the International Monetary Fund to pass Somalia debt plans that 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 weeks and months in 2020, we still have a lot of work to do to move Congress, the White House and the IMF further, but now the debt relief process can begin.

So we can continue this work into 2020, please make a donation now to support our bipartisan efforts on Somalia, Puerto Rico, new trade deals, corruption and financial secrecy. Before January 1st, your tax-deductible gift to Jubilee USA Network is matched and doubled.

Beyond winning debt relief for Somalia, these last few weeks for Jubilee USA is full of victories. Now we need to carry those victories into 2020:

• Congress passed and the President just signed, nearly $6 billion in healthcare aid for Puerto Rico. We need your help as we work to secure tens of billions of more disaster aid and assistance for Puerto Rico in 2020.
  
  
• 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. Our legislation passed in the House last Thursday. We organized the largest denominations in the US to work with us on this critical campaign. With your help, we'll win our goals in the Senate in 2020.
  
  
• 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 stops 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 100 faith communities to work with us to move this forward. We expect our Senate vote in February and need your support to push this across the finish line and have the President sign it into law.

Your gift now supports vital and strategic campaigns that tackle the root cause of poverty and inequality. Whether your gift is $250, $50, $1000, $500, $100 or any amount - your tax-deductible donation really matters and is doubled before January 1st.

With many donors prioritizing donations to elections and the tax reform impacting contributions - your gift matters now more than ever.

We are so grateful for your partnership.

Happy New Year,

Eric

Eric LeCompte
Executive Director

Friends,

From TIME to the Associated Press to Quartz to your local newspaper - tens of thousands of newspapers, television and radio shows covered Jubilee USA's efforts in 2019.

See a sampling of Jubilee USA's news coverage below.

Happy Holidays,

Kate

JUBILEE IN THE NEWS 

Illicit Financial Flows, Tax Evasion and Transparency

Pacifica's Background Briefing (Dec 27)
MACROSCOPE (Dec 19)
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (Dec 18)
National Catholic Reporter (Sept 9)
National Catholic Reporter (Sept 6)
Agence France-Presse (Oct 23) 
Yahoo! News (Oct 23) 
Accounting Today (Oct 23) 
The Business Times (Oct 23)
Quartz (July 25)
Devex (April 23)


US State, Territory and Puerto Rico Disaster and Recovery Aid

Alabama Political Reporter (June 4)
El Nuevo Dia (June 3)
The Fence Post (May 24)


Climate and the Environment

MACROSCOPE (Dec 19) 
Crux (Nov 4)
National Catholic Reporter (Nov 4)


The IMF, World Bank, UN, Debt and Financial Crisis

MACROSCOPE (Dec 19) 
National Catholic Reporter (Dec 9)
Associated Press (Oct 19) 
Chicago Tribune (Oct 19)
US News and World Report (Oct 19) 
Business Report (Oct 16)
The Guardian (Oct 12)
Albany Times Union (Oct 7) 
Investor Daily (Sept 27)
CTV News (Sept 26)
The Baltimore Sun (Sept 26)
Chicago Tribune (Sept 26)
Agence France-Presse (Sept 25)
The Daily Trust (Sept 26)
The Irish Examiner (Sept 26)
The Jakarta Post (Sept 26)
Agence France-Presse (Sept 25) 
Brietbart (Sept 25) 
TIME (Sept 25)
Associated Press (Sept 25) 
ValueWalk (April 23)
Market Watch (April 2)


Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands

Pacifica's Background Briefing (Dec 27)
MACROSCOPE (Dec 19)
The American Prospect (July 29)
National Catholic Reporter (July 27)
Alabama Political Reporter (June 19)
National Catholic Reporter (June 18)
Pensions & Investments (June 14)
Telemundo Puerto Rico (June 16)
National Catholic Reporter (May 10)
Latin American Advisor (Feb 15)
Nonprofit Quarterly (Feb 11)
Pensions & Investments (Feb 5)
El Nuevo Dia (Feb 5)
El Nuevo Dia (Jan 18)


Somalia

Pacifica's Background Briefing (Dec 27)
Jubilee USA Network (Dec 20)
MACROSCOPE (Dec 19) 
Jubilee USA Network (Dec 18)


2019 Overview

Pacifica's Background Briefing (Dec 27)
MACROSCOPE (Dec 19)
Jubilee USA Year-end Report

Friends, 

We are so excited to share that we won the first phase of debt relief for Somalia. Last night, President Trump signed our debt relief legislation into law.

Also, thanks to our efforts together, the International Monetary Fund just agreed to a plan that will relieve their share of Somalia's debt. Over the next weeks and months, we still have a lot of work to do to move Congress, the White House and the IMF further, but now the debt relief process can begin.

Relieving Somalia's debt means building new roads, women's empowerment, kids going back to school and ending the tragic reality that 73% of people in Somalia live in extreme poverty.

So we can continue this work into 2020, please make a donation now to support our efforts on Somalia, Puerto Rico, new trade deals, corruption and financial secrecy. Now your tax-deductible gift to Jubilee USA Network is matched and doubled.

Beyond winning debt relief for Somalia, these last few weeks for Jubilee USA is full of victories:

• Congress passed and the President just signed, nearly $6 billion in healthcare aid for Puerto Rico
  
  
• Our interfaith, bipartisan NAFTA, US Mexico Canada 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 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 stops human traffickers, protects debt relief and development aid and raises revenue in the developing world

Your gift now supports vital and strategic campaigns that tackle the root cause of poverty and inequality. Whether your gift is $10, $100, $1000 or any amount - your tax-deductible donation is doubled and really matters.

We are so grateful for your partnership,

Eric

IMF Approves Somalia Debt Plan

Washington DC - President Trump signed a year-end spending bill which authorizes the first phase of debt relief for Somalia. Earlier in the week Congress passed the spending package which included $35 million to begin paying the principle of $1.1 billion in US held Somalia debt.

"Relieving Somalia's debt could mean building new roads, women's empowerment, kids going back to school and moving forward measures to end extreme poverty," stated Eric LeCompte, the Executive Director of the religious development group Jubilee USA. Jubilee USA worked on debt relief for Somalia for the last two years.