They Support the Jubilee Act, Now Ask Them to Support Haiti
If your Member of Congress has already signed on to the Jubilee Act or is in support of it, call them back and ask them to support Haiti.
1. Find out who your Representative is by entering your zip code at www.house.gov (upper left corner).
2. Pick up the phone and call the Capitol Switchboard: 202.224.3121.
3. Ask to be connected to your Representative’s office. The receptionist will answer. Introduce yourself as a (your name) constituent from (city), (state).
4. Say some version of the following: "I am calling to urge Representative ______ to co-sponsor the Haiti debt cancellation resolution (H Res 241), if she/he has not already done so. This bill would provide immediate debt cancellation for Haiti. By canceling the debt immediately we can support Haiti in the improvement of health care, education, sanitation and other essential services and infrastructure.
I urge Representative _______ to co-sponsor this important legislation. To co-sponsor, your staff should contact Kathleen Sengstock in Rep. Maxine Waters’ office at 202.225.2201."
5. (You can stop there, or add an additional sentence about why this
issue is important to you).
6. Then thank the receptionist and say goodbye.
Background
Over half of the loans Haiti continues to pay
were granted to corrupt and brutal dictators like Francois and
Jean-Claude Duvalier. The Haitian people continue to pay interest on
these loans of a clearly odious nature. This is money that could be
used to invest in health care or education in a country where almost a
quarter of children under five are chronically malnourished and only 35
percent of students are able to complete primary school.
These loans divert over $57 million per year from a country where half the people struggle to survive on $1 a day or less. While the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the Inter-American Development Bank have allowed Haiti to enter their debt cancellation programs they hold Haiti under the onerous framework of the HeavilyIndebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative.
In the meantime Haiti will pay $110 million to $140 million more in debt service to these institutions.
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