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Jubilee Act Moves to a Vote in the House of
Representatives
“Must we starve our
children to pay our debts?”
Julius Nyerere, former
President of Tanzania
The US
House of Representatives will vote on the Jubilee Act very soon,
possibly as early as Tuesday, April 8!
Please take
action by calling your Representative on Monday, April 7th.
Join
us as we call on Congress to pass the Jubilee Act and break the chains
of debt for the world’s impoverished countries (see additional
information below the call script).
Please
take the simple steps below -- and help change the lives of millions:
1. Find
out who your Representative is by entering your zip code at
www.house.gov (upper left corner).
2. Call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121.
3. Ask to be connected to your Representative's office. The receptionist
will answer. Introduce yourself as (your name), a constituent from
(city, state).
4. I am calling today to urge Representative________ to vote yes on the
Jubilee Act (HR2634), which will be considered on the House floor in the
next few days. This bill would expand eligibility for debt cancellation
to 67 impoverished countries. Without debt cancellation these 67
countries will not be able to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
(If you’d like, add an additional sentence about why this issue is
important to you). Do you know how Representative _________ plans
to vote on the Jubilee Act?
5. Be sure to thank the receptionist when you are finished.
6. Email
Danielle at Jubilee with the results of your call –
Danielle@jubileeusa.org.
7. Thank
you for taking action – now forward this message on to 10 friends & urge
them to make the call too!!
Background Information:
Today,
the world’s most impoverished countries spend more than $100 million
each day in debt payments to wealthy governments and financial
institutions like the World Bank and IMF. In countries where the
majority of the population lives on less than $1 per day, this money
should be spent on clean water, basic health care, and education, not
sent to the world’s wealthiest financial institutions.
In 2000
and again in 2005 world leaders came together to cancel billions of
dollars of debt in dozens of impoverished countries around the world.
The money freed by debt cancellation so far has been used to fight
global AIDS, enroll children in school, provide clean water, improve
rural infrastructure and more. But there is still much more that needs
to be done – dozens of impoverished countries around the world are still
waiting for debt justice!
The most
important and prophetic debt legislation in 7 years, the Jubilee Act
will expand access to debt cancellation to all the countries that need
it to fight extreme poverty. Without debt cancellation, it will be
nearly impossible for many countries to achieve the UN Millennium
Development Goals to cut extreme poverty in half by 2015.
The
Jubilee Act also requires that debt cancellation be provided without
harmful economic policy conditions attached, calls for the initiation of
a responsible lending framework, and requires a debt audit in countries
like South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo which have a
heavy burden of odious debt.
For
more information go to
www.jubileeusa.org or contact Jubilee Policy Fellow Danielle Pals at
202-783-0215 /
Danielle@jubileeusa.org. |
