Legislators Credit Episcopal Church as Key to the Effort
Against long political odds, Episcopal, Catholic, and Protestant churches in the USA came together and successfully pushed a package through Congress to provide debt relief for poor countries. "We haven't seen this sort of push from the churches since the anti-Apartheid movement," said Thomas H. Hart, director of government relations for the Episcopal Church.
Late last night, congressional and White House negotiators overcame lingering disagreements on how to let the IMF cancel some of its loans to poor countries. The deal finalised one of the few remaining issues in budget negotiations, paving the way for Congress to adjourn in the next couple of days.
"The odds were against us," Hart said. "We faced budget constraints, public cynicism, congressional resistance to foreign assistance, a complex international financial subject, not to mention that, on its surface, cancelling debts is a tough sell." All of these challenges were present, amid the common perception that the mainline churches have been in decline, both in membership and influence. "This is an important demonstration of what we can do," Hart continued.
Supporters of debt relief on Capitol Hill particularly noted the work of the Episcopal Church. "The Episcopal Church was a key organisation in this effort, effectively translating the Biblical vision of Jubilee into workable public policy and achieving real results on behalf of poor people around the world," said Congressman Jim Leach, a Republican from Iowa and lead sponsor of debt relief legislation. "As an Episcopalian, I am particularly grateful for our Church's leadership in securing congressional approval for debt relief."
Senator Joseph Biden, ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a co-sponsor of debt relief legislation, concurred. "I applaud the efforts of the Episcopal Church and the many organisations who came together to raise and move this issue before the Congress and Administration, particularly in a very difficult political environment," Biden said this morning.
"Of course, there is still work to be done," Hart explained. "Congress hasn't yet made a USA contribution to write down some multilateral debts held by regional development banks." But, the current deal includes money to write off the debts owed directly to the US, approval for the IMF to use gold and some contingency accounts for debt relief, and a mandate to direct the relief to the poor in an transparent and accountable way. "Getting three out of four isn't bad," Hart concluded.
Most analysts predict this package will be enough to set in motion an international agreement among the G-7 and other creditor nations to leverage nearly $90 billion in debt relief to the world's poorest countries. The USA holds only 3% of all poor country debt.
The Episcopal Church worked closely with the USA Catholic Conference, Oxfam America, Bread for the World, and Church World Service to move this initiative on Capitol Hill.