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On Tax Day, Jubilee was featured on Voice of America on African corporate tax avoidance and debt

May 22 - European Ministers address international tax evasion and back Obama plan for global information sharing. See Jubilee's press statement.

May 10 - Thank President Obama for working to stop vulture funds.

May 1 - Tell Congress, to cosponsor the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act (HR1554). This legislation addresses a systemic cause of poverty - the fact that many multinational corporations don't pay taxes to developing and poor countries. A key way this legislation curbs tax avoidance is by requiring country-by-country reporting of corporate payments to governments.  Read Jubilee's press statement on Common Dreams.

April 22 - Read Eric LeCompte's OpEd in Yes! Magazine on vulture funds versus Argentina and how the case will impact the world's poorest people. After a series of court deadlines we now await the final ruling of this 2nd Circuit Court proceeding. Jubilee's Director, Eric LeCompte observed February's oral arguments in the New York Federal Court, the last stop before the US Supreme Court. You can see some of Jubilee's positions on the case in the Agence France-Presse and the Financial TimesMore details on the case can be found on our vulture funds page.

April 18 - At the International Monetary Fund spring meetings, Eric LeCompte and Jubilee USA was quoted in the Washington Post, NBC, CBS, the Miami Herald, the Associated Press, Agence France-Press and thousands of other outlets. During the IMF meetings, G20 financial ministers met to discuss debt and tax issues. Eric LeCompte's reactions were shared globally in French and Spanish in an Agence France-Press article. See it at El Espectador.


Read more of Jubilee's latest news.

BLOG THE DEBT

Pope Francis and the Poor

Jubilee's One on One Interview with National Canadian Public Television

April 11, 2013 - Jubilee's Director, Eric LeCompte was quoted on the election of the new Pope in the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Bloomberg and more than 20,000 other news outlets.

According to inside reports, Pope Francis is specifically concerned how money laundering and illicit financial flows hurt the poor. It seems Pope Francis's current review of the Vatican Bank is based out of this concern for the poor. Read more in Jubilee's press statement

Bipartisan Amendment on Corporate Offshore Tax Loopholes Passes

Senator Levin and Jubilee's Eric LeCompte discuss legislation to protect poor countries from corporate tax avoidance

March 25, 2013 - Thanks to you, the bipartisan Levin(D)/Hatch(R) Amendment 708 passed the Senate Budget Resolution! The passage is part of a global movement to ensure that corporations are accountable to the most vulnerable. Read more in our press release  Jubilee's work brought Senator McCain to the table as well. Earlier in the year, Senator Levin introduced the Cut Unjustified Loopholes Act which proceeded the budget action.

Jubilee Meets with White House

Jubilee USA's leadership meets with Senior NSC Director Gayle Smith at the White House on December 20th

December 20, 2012 - Jubilee USA's leadership went to the White House to meet with Gayle Smith, Senior Director of the National Security Council and President Obama's Special Assistant. They moved forward specific recommendations to build an international economy that serves, protects and promotes the participation of the most vulnerable.

Stopping the Blackout Coverage of the LIBOR Scandal

October 5, 2012Today, the Sisters of Charity of New York delivered thousands of Jubilee petitions to NBC Nightly News and ABC World News to urge them to stop their blackout coverage of the LIBOR banking scandal.  Read about the story in the Wall Street Journal.  The bank manipulation of a critical interest rate that impacts all of us - from home mortgages to credit cards, its effects are wide-ranging, especially for the poor and most vulnerable. Jubilee USA Network, the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility and the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate sent these letters to NBC Nightly News and ABC World News.

 

We Won Nearly $4 billion for the World's Poorest

September 28, 2012 - Today, the Executive Board of the IMF approved the final amount of nearly $4 billion from their windfall gold sale profits to support concessional lending to low-income nations through the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) and extend a 0% interest rate that will make this trust available for future generations beyond 2014.  This momentous move has been two years in the making and we are very excited to see our work translating into real relief for some of the world's poorest people.  Click here to read our press release.  Click here to learn more about our efforts around IMF Gold.

Victory to Protect Our Debt Gains Against Big Oil

Dodd-Frank Act - Cardin-Lugar Amendment

August 22, 2012 - A victory for transparency and anti-corruption was won when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ruled in our favor to implement the Cardin-Lugar Rule of Dodd-Frank. This ruling promotes greater transparency in the dealings of oil, coal and extractive industries in the developing world. Our efforts in moving the SEC were even highlighted in their final public ruling! Earlier this year, we collected over 110,000 petitions with the ONE campaign to deliver to the Securities and Exchange Commission. These petitions asserted that the SEC should implement this legislation and reject the lobbying of the oil industry to weaken the rule.

Passed over a year and a half ago, this Amendment required that companies reveal what they pay for extraction of oil, gas and minerals in foreign countries to the SEC. The SEC was slow to set these rules, mainly because big oil has been lobbying against it. The Cardin-Lugar Amendment was a coup for transparency in international finances and a step to help curb corruption.  Click here to learn more.

Jubilee for Students

July 9, 2012 - The President signs the bipartisan legislation to promote college affordability and protect low-interest college loans through the Transportation Bill.  Jubilee applauds the bipartisanship in Congress and we thank the President for his leadership and Republicans and Democrats who reached across the aisle to make this happen. Read Jubilee's statement on the vote to protect college students and their families.

Months before, Jubilee was mobilizing supporters and engaging Congress Members to protect low-interest rates for students and minimize future debt burdens on students before time runs out on July 1st, 2012. We sent a letter to Senators and had a weekend of action and prayer.  Over 40 Jubilee Congregations and Faith Communities prayed and acted for students. Over 1,600 supporters sent letters to their Senators.  Find out more about communities that participated in the weekend of action and prayer. 

Read about Jubilee's work around the student loan issue in Yes! MagazineCatholic News Service and Eric's blog in Sojourners which talks about his visit to the White House to hear President Obama speak on student loans.  And read our blog.

We Kept Vulture Funds Out of New York State Laws

June 24, 2012 - Jubilee USA stopped Vulture Funds and won a major victory for international debt relief in the New York State Legislature!  We mobilized thousands of our New York Jubilee members to take action to stop Vulture Funds from using New York State Laws to prey on impoverished countries. See our action here.

Read our press release featuring American Jewish World Service President Ruth Messinger and Jubilee's work on stopping these funds in the Wall Street Journal.

Vulture Funds are predatory funds that buy poor countries' defaulted debt for pennies on the dollar, then sue for huge profits once the country gets debt relief.  Learn more here.

Argentina's Sovereign Debt

Jubilee USA's co-sponsored event with the Embassy of Argentina on Argentina's economic recovery and sovereign debt.

June 11, 2012 - Jubilee USA co-sponsored an event with the government of Argentina on Argentina's economic recovery and sovereign debt. 

Jubilee USA's Executive Director, Eric LeCompte and Argentina's Treasury Secretary, Hernan Lorenzino, spoke on Vulture Funds and Responsible Lending. See Jubilee's recent work on Vulture Funds highlighted in the Wall Street Journal. 

Watch the full discussion.

Read more about the event on our blog.

We Passed the Doha Accord

May 1, 2012 - In Doha, Qatar at the UNCTAD meetings on trade and development, Jubilee USA, alongside governments and international partners, secured a strong mandate on debt and responsible lending and borrowing.  This major victory allows us to build an international consensus on responsible lending and borrowing.  Read Jubilee's thank-you letter to President Obama for joining us in our efforts to win in Doha.  

Jubilee's Executive Director, Eric LeCompte, was hosted for the negotiations by UNCTAD to moderate a panel with 11 financial ministers and treasury heads from around the globe to speak in support of UNCTAD's principles on Responsible Lending and Borrowing. Watch and hear the full panel discussion here.  Read the UN press release on the panel here. Learn more about Jubilee's work to end the debt crisis and promote responsible lending and borrowing by reading our report launched in March.

Jubilee Won Legislation to Stop Tax Havens

March 8, 2012 - The Levin Amendment passed the Senate - creating a huge victory for the world's poorest!  Because of the work of Jubilee USA and the FACT Coalition, this Amendment will create accountability to stop tax havens and tax avoidance - ensuring the money will go where it belongs - to help the people that need it the most in low-income countries.  Learn more here.

Director of Jubilee Kenyan Counterpart Named One of Newsweek's 150 Fearless Women

Wahu Kaara outside the White House for Jubilee's Drop the Debt Speaking Tour

March 8, 2012 - Wahu Kaara, director of Kenya Debt Relief (Jubilee USA's Kenyan Counterpart), was recently named one of Newsweek's 150 Fearless Women from around the world. She joined other figures ranging from Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey,  three 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winners and Egyptian revolutionary, Samira Ibrahim.  

Kenya Debt Relief has a pairing relationship with Jubilee San Diego. Wahu Kaara was born during the height of Kenya's independence struggle and was our featured speaker for Jubilee USA's Drop the Debt Tour in 2010.

The Responsible Lending and Borrowing Imperative

Jubilee USA released the "Responsible Lending and Borrowing Imperative: Addressing the Root Causes of Poverty."

March 1, 2012 - Jubilee USA Network released its principles on responsible lending and borrowing to Congress in a briefing given by Jubilee Board and Network Council Member, Aldo Caliari, director of the Rethinking Bretton Wood Project of the Catholic Center of Concern.  Caliari was a contributor to Jubilee's new report.

Sovereign Debt Workout Mechanism

Sovereign Debt Mechanism Panel - Panelists from left to right: Kent Hughes (Woodrow Wilson), Mansur Muhtar (World Bank Group), Jo Marie Griesgraber (New Rules for Global Finance), Gorges Pineau (IMF), Anres de la Cruz (Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, LLP), and Eric LeCompte (Jubilee USA)

Fall 2011 - Jubilee, along with partner organizations, held a round table discussion on what we have learned from past experiences with restructuring sovereign debts, and what options are (or should be) available to today's and tomorrow's sovereign debtors.

To learn more and listen to the full discussion, click here.

Voices of Esther Campaign

Order Our New Voices of Esther Postcards

Spring 2011 – Join us in launching our newest campaign, the “Voices of Esther.”  Like Queen Esther did for the Israelites, Jubilee activists will use their access to powerful decision-makers to raise our voices for the most vulnerable.  As United States citizens, we should use our privilege of living in a democracy to bring the stories of the poor whose concerns are often overlooked.   Urge your elected officials to expand debt relief and support responsible finance today. 

1,000 Faith Leaders Initiative

Join the Jubilee Movement legacy by taking action with our new, diverse faith initiative

Spring 2011 - Jubilee USA is launching a new campaign to bring the voices of diverse faith traditions to the halls of the White House.  Through the 1,000 Faith Leaders Initiative we will deliver a letter with more than 1,000 signatures of faith leaders from across the country to President Obama.   The letter urges President Obama to expand life-saving debt cancellation and ensure responsible finance for the world’s poorest countries.

Break the Chains March for Economic Justice a Success

Thousands of paper chains were hung on the White House fence October 8th - raising the call for economic justice to President Obama. Photo Courtesy of Pablo Benavente

Fall 2010 - Jubilee USA brought thousands of multicolor paper chains from around the country and marched around the IMF and World Bank to the White House. 

Stories and photographs from our march and rally have covered the globe – AFP, AP, and Reuters have used images of your paper chains for their wire stories, a diverse group of bloggers have written on the event, and NBC, ABC, and FOX news stations included the march in their nightly newscast. 

Why did we mobilize?  On October 5, just before our incredible action, Jubilee USA hosted a standing room only Congressional Briefing on how the IMF should reform its practices.

Debt Cancellation for Haiti

Summer 2010 - Jubilee USA Network welcomes the International Monetary Fund Executive Board’s decision to cancel Haiti’s $268 million debt to the institution in response to the January 12 earthquake, but is concerned over the IMF’s decision to provide $60 million in financing support as a new loan. Read the press release here

After January's devastating earthquake,  Jubilee USA Network led the call for complete debt cancellation for the country. Thanks to efforts from supporters around the world, all of Haiti's donors have committed to debt cancellation. We are continuing to work to make sure that Haiti is freed from the chains of debt once and for all.

Fall 2010 - On September 17-19, Jubilee USA participated in Stand Up! Take Action!, a weekend in which millions worldwide stand up to demand world leaders keep their promises to end poverty and inequality. The following week on September 23, President Obama recognized the need to keep our commitments to the world's poorest citizens.  In response to the President's speech, Bishop Neil Irons of the Methodist Church published an Op-Ed in the Washington Post.

Fall 2010 – 48 Members of the House of Representatives sent a letter to President Obama urging him to include expanded debt cancellation and responsible finance in his plan to achieve the Millennium Development Goals

Fall 2010 - Just before Christmas, Senators Lugar and Casey were joined by Senators Kerry, Menendez, Dodd, Durbin, Cardin and Sherrod Brown in sending a letter to President Obama advocating for the world’s poorest.  The letter urges the Administration to provide grants, not loans for poor countries, increase transparency and accountability in the international financial system, and fight corruption. 

Meeting with the Honorable Lael Brainard, US Under Secretary of the Treasury

Jubilee USA and religious leaders meeting with the Honorable Lael Brainard

July 7, 2010 - Jubilee USA Network and religious leaders met with the Honorable Lael Brainard, Under Secretary for International Affairs, US Treasury Department.  In the meeting, we thank the Administration for their work on cancelling Haiti's debt and had a robust dialogue on Jubilee USA's priorities including full funding of the U.S.'s debt relief commitments for the world's most vulnerable.

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