The Jubilee Act

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week approved an important new debt relief bill, "The Jubilee Act for Responsible Lending and Expanded Debt Cancellation of 2008” (S. 2166). This bill instructs the Administration to seek an international agreement that would extend debt cancellation to up to about 20 very poor countries that are not eligible for any of the existing international debt relief programs. The Committee action represents a major step towards final passage as the House approved a very similar bill in April. When the procedure and timing for submission of the bill to the full Senate becomes clearer, we will ask you to contact your senators.