House Hearing on Jubilee Act Secured, 4 Members of Congress to Break Fast
Rev. David Duncombe, a United Church of Christ minister from Washington State, will end the 40 day fast he began on Sept. 6th during a prayer breakfast on Capitol Hill on October 16th. Rev. Duncombe will be joined by Representatives Spencer Bachus (R-AL), Donald Payne (D-NJ), Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Emmanuel Cleaver (D-MO), each of whom will break their own one-day fasts that morning. The nationwide “Cancel Debt Fast”, organized by Jubilee USA Network and led by Rev. Duncombe in Washington, DC, resulted in securing a commitment to a fall hearing on the Jubilee Act (H.R. 2634) in the House Financial Services Committee and gaining 13 additional House bill sponsors.
The Jubilee Act of 2007 would cancel the debts of up to 25 additional countries not currently eligible for debt cancellation, end harmful economic policy conditionality, and establish an audit of past lending and set more responsible lending practices for the future. Currently, indebted nations spend an average of $100 million each day to service their debts – money they cannot spend on food, education, health services and other necessities. Cancellation of these debts is needed to help reach the UN Millennium Development Goal of cutting worldwide poverty in half by 2015.
Highlights of the “Cancel Debt Fast” include: 1) During his 40 day ministry, Rev. Duncombe made nearly 200 visits to Senators’ and Representatives’ Hill offices; 2) More than 14,000 Americans nationwide participated in the 40 day rolling fast; 3) Jubilee activists in 33 states made 8,000 paper plates, which are being delivered to their Congressional Representatives and Senators, with hand-written messages requesting an end to hunger and poverty; 4) More than 8,000 nuns from 150 different provinces fasted for one or more days. More about the Fast and debt cancellation at http://www.jubileeusa.org/cdfpressroom0.html.
WHO: Rev. David Duncombe; Jubilee USA leadership; House Members as above; Dr. Stephen M. Colecchi, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Dr. Ulrich Duchrow, German Theologian; Ruth Messinger, President, American Jewish World Service; Rev. Bernice Powell Jackson, North American President, World Council of Churches; Jim McDonald, Vice President, Bread for the World; Ombeni Sefue, Tanzanian Ambassador the United States; Rt. Rev. Jean Zache Duracin, Episcopal Bishop of Haiti; Given Lubinda, Zambian MP; 100 Jubilee activists from across the country; others TBA.
WHAT: National Prayer Breakfast and program to “Break the Fast” and debt cancellation, as part of the Global Week of Action on Debt with events in 58 countries and 6 continents (see www.debtweek.org).
WHEN: Tuesday, October 16, 2007 at 8:00 A.M. EST
WHERE: Rayburn House Office Building, Rooms B-339 & B-340, Washington, DC 20515
(Southwest of the Capitol and bounded by Independence Avenue, South Capitol Street, First Street, and C Street, SW)
Jubilee USA is a network of local congregations and more than 80 religious denominations, faith-based networks, development and community organizations in the U.S. working for the cancellation of crushing debts to fight poverty and injustice in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
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