wfn.org | PB Griswold statement on debt relief

[Daphne Mack <dmack@dfms.org>]

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99-085

Jubilee, Debt Relief, and Poverty Reduction:
A Biblical Message of Hope for Poor Countries
Statement by The Most Reverend Frank T. Griswold

Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church (USA)
for the House Committee on Banking 
and Financial Services

June 15, 1999
Introduction
Mr. Chairman and other distinguished members of
the Committee, I am very pleased to offer this
testimony in support of debt relief for the world's
poorest countries.  My name is Frank Griswold.
As the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in
the United States, I am one of 38 heads of Episcopal
and Anglican churches throughout the world.  Together,
these churches form the Anglican Communion, with nearly
70 million communicants in 164 countries.  

Once a decade, all bishops of the Anglican Communion -
nearly 750, including the 38 heads - meet at what is
known as the "Lambeth Conference" to share common worship
and celebrate the diversity of backgrounds, cultures, and
thought represented by our Communion.  At our most recent
gathering last summer, debt relief for the poorest countries
was a chief topic of concern.  

For the first time, there were more bishops from Africa than
from any other continent. Those of us from rich nations, like
the U.S., Britain, and Canada, were challenged to look at the
effect of debt on the people of Africa and poor countries
elsewhere. Bishops from poor countries were challenged to
consider how debt relief could be used in productive ways,
benefiting the poorest of society, not squandered.  We all
had to recognize that both bad lending and bad borrowing
contributed to the current crisis.  Surely you, as a body
of 435 individual members representing diverse interests
in this country, can appreciate how difficult it was for
750 bishops from around the world to arrive at a common
statement. Despite these challenges, we adopted without
dissention a bold statement for the cancellation of
unpayable debts to poor countries and for responsible
action from debtor and creditor countries, governments
and NGOs, to use debt relief to benefit the poorest members
of society. I have attached a copy of the resolution and
report to my remarks.
Year of Jubilee

I believe two concerns undergird our statement in support
of debt relief - the biblical call for Jubilee, and our
ministry to the poor.  First, the worldwide movement for
debt relief - Jubilee 2000 - draws its inspiration from
the biblical texts in Leviticus 25.  God speaks to Moses
on Mount Sinai of keeping a Sabbatical Year, working the
fields and vineyards for six years, and then letting the
ground rest, recuperate, on the seventh year. (Lev. 25:1-7)
Many in academia, religious vocations, and others continue
this cycle today, with sabbaticals every seven years.  From
this context of Sabbath, God then commands that after seven
years times seven, there be a Year of Jubilee on the fiftieth
year.  "And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and you shall
proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants."
(Lev. 25: 10)  In the Jubilee Year, God calls his children to
allow the land to lie fallow, to set slaves free, to return
land to its original owners, and to cancel debts. (Lev. 25: 8-55)

The essence of Jubilee is related to suspending patterns -
patterns of work, patterns of domination, patterns of
acquisition.  It recognizes the need for things to rest,
to restore "right relationships," and recover equilibrium
in the world.  There is little doubt that the Jubilee Year,
as described in scripture, eluded Israel as a historical
reality.  Nonetheless, this notion of suspending the usual
patterns, particularly restoring relationships among people
and with the earth, remained an important element of early
teaching and shaped Jesus' ministry in his time and beyond.
It remains a challenge for us today.
Combating Poverty

The second concern, combating poverty, is of course another great
challenge to us as people of faith.  For me, for the Anglican
bishops, and for most advocates for debt relief, the reality that
overwhelming debts push the poorest members of our earth deeper
and deeper into poverty is cause to take action.  These poor
countries are caught in a cycle of debt they cannot escape,
borrowing more money to make payments on old debts. 
Sometimes countries cannot service all of their debt. But
largely, they do, and at tremendous human cost.  In some cases,
paying debt service takes 30-40% of their budgets, shifting money
away from investments in human development, agriculture, clean
water, and protecting the environment to pay back rich donor nations.
Fewer children are educated because their governments have had to
charge families unaffordable school fees.  More people die of
preventable diseases because there is no money for medicines or
hospitals.  Crops wither in their fields because government supports
for pesticides are gone.  

Should these governments make better spending decisions?  Yes, they
probably could better prioritize what little they have.  But, while
we can spend time finding out who is to blame, and plenty of blame
can go around, we must recognize that it is the poorest people,
mostly without a voice, who end up paying the price for debts taken
on without their input or concerns.  I know no one will write off
my credit card or mortgage.  But I have chosen these debts and reap
benefits from them.  They are not forced upon me by previous
generations and government elites for purposes I do not see.  While
we should consider carefully how this situation happened in order to
prevent it from happening again, we also must act to help the victims.

And, of course, I believe we should pay our debts as a rule. But,
again, that standard must be weighed against the cost of human
suffering.  In these poorest countries, the abject poverty and
human toll is almost unimaginable by U.S. standards.  Nearly one
billion people live on $1 a day.  One in five children die before
their fifth birthday from preventable disease.  Yes, we have
poverty in the United States.  But imagine the homeless person
you see in the streets of Washington, and then imagine that 80%
of Washington was in or near that same condition.  Such suffering
cannot be ignored.  Something must be done.
Legislation - Debt Relief for Poverty Reduction Act

Fortunately, we can take concrete steps to address the debt crisis,
and begin to create conditions in which many of these countries can
lift themselves from poverty.  I applaud Chairman Leach, a new friend
and fellow Episcopalian, and Congressman LaFalce and many others for
their introduction of H.R. 1095, the "Debt Relief for Poverty
Reduction Act."  This bill is carefully crafted to provide
substantial debt relief to those countries that are committed to
poverty reduction and good governance.  The bill would (1) write off
most debt owed to the U.S. by heavily-indebted poor countries,
(2) make a substantial contribution from the U.S. to the HIPC
Initiative, the official debt relief mechanism of the World Bank
and IMF, (3) call for significant reforms of the HIPC Initiative,
including providing greater debt relief, faster, for more countries,
with greater transparency and civil participation, and (4) create a
mechanism by which the money realized from debt relief would be used
for poverty reduction, such as education, health care, and water
sanitation.

I believe this bill fulfills a difficult task.  It offers a Jubilee
vision of debt relief, moving the United States into a position of
world leadership on this issue.  At the same time, it lifts up Lambeth's
call for debt relief to genuinely benefit the poor by creating
sophisticated mechanisms for poverty reduction, accountability, and
good governance.  The bill mandates that any country receiving debt
relief must create a Human Development Fund, into which the money that
would otherwise have gone to servicing debt is directed for programs to
combat poverty and protect the environment.  Civil society, including
representatives of NGOs and churches, must be part of the establishment,
administration, and monitoring of this fund.  This approach is modeled
on the education fund developed in Uganda where debt relief money has
been committed to education.  Tanzania has set up a similar education
fund, and Zambia proposes directing debt relief to HIV/AIDS treatment
and prevention.  

These developments are cause for celebration.  But the aims of these and
other countries cannot be realized without the financial commitment from
creditor nations.  Without funding, debt relief will not happen.  I ask
you, our Congress, to support H.R. 1095, to create the U.S. policy and
mechanisms for responsible debt relief . . . and then I ask you to fund
the U.S. share.

Estimates of the cost of this proposal are hard to solidify.  But I am
encouraged by the fact that the U.S. can purchase back the debts at a
fraction of the face value of the original loan, at sometimes as low as
7-10 percent.  This means for a relatively small expenditure we can provide
a large amount of relief.  Rarely are such bargains found that can help so
 many.  Also, through congressional support for H.R. 1095, the U.S. will
be able to pressure other G7 countries to provide relief, multiplying the
benefit many times over.  At a time of U.S. budget surpluses and
unprecedented economic strength, we must seize this opportunity to
help the poorest members of our world, giving them a helping hand
into the next millennium.  

I thank you for the opportunity to share these thoughts and would
be pleased to answer any questions.