Jubilee Act Moves to Floor Vote in the House of Representatives

April 4th, 2008

“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.

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