Come get briefed on the Jubilee Act (H.R. 1130), which expresses a much broader vision for debt cancellation than the deal reached at the 2005 G-8 summit and would commit the U.S. to work for debt cancellation for 50 impoverished nations without devastating economic conditions; to write letters to our representatives encouraging support of the Jubilee Act, and to eat breakfast. When: 7:30 a.m. Where: The Broken Egg, 221 N. Main St., Ann Arbor

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We need to send the message that the G-8 deal was only the first step on a long journey toward global economic justice. Unlike the G-8 agreement, the JUBILEE Act would commit the U.S. to work for debt cancellation for 50 impoverished nations without devastating economic conditions. Moreover, the Act requires that debt cancellation be paid for from the IMF/World Bank’s own resources.

Please call, write or meet with your Member of Congress and ask him or her to co-sponsor the Act. To co-sponsor the bill the Member’s staff should call Kathleen Sengstock in Representative Maxine Waters’ office at (202) 225-2201. Representative Dingell is not a co-sponsor at the moment.

What is the Jubilee Act?

Representatives Waters (D-CA), Leach (R-IA), Frank (D-MA), Bachus (R-AL), Lee (D-CA), and Maloney (D-NY) re-introduced the JUBILEE Act (H.R. 1130) on March 3, 2005. The JUBILEE Act is groundbreaking legislation that would require the U.S. Treasury Department to work in appropriate multilateral settings to achieve 100 percent cancellation of the debts of 50 nations by international financial institutions. Debt cancellation will free up desperately needed resources for impoverished nations to fight HIV/AIDS, fund education, and provide clean water to their people. The bill urges that debt cancellation be funded through the international financial institutions’ own resources and that it comes without harmful economic conditions attached.

Background:

A Critical Moment on Debt! The 2005 G-8 debt cancellation agreement resulted from the public outcry against the growing global poverty gap. Debt cancellation is desperately needed – in 2005 alone three million people in Africa died due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Yet countries on the African continent still send an estimated $15 billion in debt service to the IMF, World Bank, and wealthy creditor nations each year. It is urgent that debt cancellation be extended to all African countries, along with every other impoverished nation. This is a critical moment in the campaign for debt cancellation. And the JUBILEE Act is a critical vehicle to help us to achieve our goal.

In order to pass the JUBILEE Act, we need additional Congressional co-sponsors to join the 82 current co-sponsors. The more co-sponsors we have, the sooner the bill will be brought to a vote on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.