5th December 2002

Debt Relief Enhancement Act Of 2002 Failed to Pass in the House

The Debt Relief Enhancement Act Of 2002, introduced by Senators Biden (D-DE) and Santorum (R-PA) and Representatives Smith (R-NJ) and LaFalce (D-NY), failed to pass the House at the end of this congressional year. The legislation would have provided another $1billion in debt relief for countries already in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC). This would have been accomplished by saying that countries should not spend more than 10% of revenue on debt service, or for countries with a severe health crisis, like the AIDS pandemic, should not spend more than 5%.

This language on debt relief was incorporated into S. 2525 "The United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2002" which unanimously passed the Senate on July 12, 2002. However, this language was not as strong and binding as Jubilee USA would have liked.

In the House of Representatives, Representative Bereuter from Lincoln, Nebraska held up the debt relief language from being included in a similar AIDS bill on the House side. Even though the debt language was removed, the whole AIDS legislation also failed to pass the House this year. Everyone is very disappointed, however, the sponsors of the legislation are just as supportive as ever and are eager to try again next year.

From Jubilee USA Network News and Action (www.jubileeusa.org)