Turn Up the Heat This Summer with Jubilee USA…

This is A Critical Moment on Debt

At the G-8 summit in early June, world leaders considered for the first time a proposal that would provide 100% multilateral debt cancellation for impoverished nations. Debt cancellation is desperately needed – this year alone, 3 million people in Africa will die due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Yet countries on the African continent will send an estimated $15 billion in debt service to the IMF, World Bank, and wealthy creditor nations this year.

In April of this year, hundreds of UMW participated in Jubilee USA’s Happy Un-Birthday Card campaign, which sent 11,000 cards to the World Bank and IMF to draw attention to the global debt crisis. The work to bring economic justice to the heavily indebted countries of the developing world continues, and the next few months are critical in the struggle for freedom from debt. Though they failed to take action at the June summit, G-8 leaders directed their finance ministers (including the U.S. Treasury Secretary) to consider additional measures in the coming months. Their next meeting will take place on OCTOBER 1, 2004, just before the Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington, DC.

We have from now until early October to turn up the heat, pull out all the stops and put the pressure on our government and other G-7 governments to announce 100% debt cancellation!

The JUBILEE Act is a critical vehicle to help us achieve our goal. Representatives Maxine Waters (D-CA), Spencer Bachus (R-AL), Barney Frank (D-MA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), and James Leach (R-IA) have introduced the JUBILEE Act (HR 4793), which calls on the IMF, the World Bank, and regional development banks to use their existing resources to cancel 100% of the debt of 50 impoverished nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

TAKE ACTION!

Here are a few easy and critical ways you can turn up the heat with Jubilee this summer. More information and talking points are available on the Jubilee website at http://www.jubileeusa.org.

1. Contact the White House and the U.S. Treasury: We’re Counting Down to Freedom from Debt!
Jubilee USA will hold call-in days and “fax the facts” days at key moments in the countdown! On September 1, join us as we call in to the U.S. Treasury and the White House to demand 100% debt cancellation.

President George W. Bush
Phone: (202) 456-1414
Fax: (202) 456-2461

Treasury Under Secretary John Taylor
Phone: (202) 622-6656
Fax: (202) 622-6415

2. Call Congress – Ask Your Representative to Co-Sponsor the JUBILEE Act
Call your member of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor the JUBILEE Act (HR 4793), the new bi-partisan legislation which calls on international financial institutions to fully cancel the debts of impoverished nations. Call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

3. Ask Presidential and Congressional Candidates to Support Debt Cancellation!
When candidates are speaking – on the radio or in person – ask them their position on debt cancellation for impoverished nations. Contact the Jubilee office at (202) 783-3566) for sample questions for candidates and details on upcoming events

4. Contact Jubilee and Stay Up To Date!
Check www.jubileeusa.org for frequent updates. If you are not already a member, be sure to join Jubilee’s monthly news and action listserve from the website. You can always call the Jubilee office at (202) 783-3566 to order materials or for additional help.

5. Review passages on economic justice in the Book of Resolutions (2000)
The following passages offer background information on the issues of economic justice and the debt crisis in the developing world.

• #197. Economic Justice for a New Millennium (pp. 501-508)
• #198. Global Debt Crisis: A Call for Jubilee (pp. 508-514)
• #199. Pathways to Economic Justice (pp. 515-517)
• #200. Seek Pardon for Latin American Debt (pp. 517-518)

August 2004

Date posted: Aug 11, 2004