Washington D.C. – The voices of thousands resounded loudly on Capitol Hill this week as Americans asked Congress to support new legislation that relieves impoverished countries from heavy debt and saves lives around the world.

Members of ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History sent over 45,000 letters and made over 4,000 calls in support of the Jubilee Act (S. 2166, H.R. 2634).  ONE members and other supporters packed the halls on Capitol Hill to deliver letters and express their concern about the effects of long-standing debt.

“Lawmakers in Washington need know how much their constituents care about the issues in order to do their job.  This week, our members made 4,000 phone calls-the most calls around a single issue in the history of the ONE Campaign.  Every lawmaker now knows how much Americans care about ending extreme poverty and poverty-related disease,” said Susan McCue, President and CEO of the ONE Campaign.

“We are thrilled to see our members get involved and take action.  Their work is paying off and Members of Congress are signing on as co-sponsors,” said Press Secretary Kimberly Cadena.  “Americans continue to show the world how we can work together to eliminate extreme poverty.  The Jubilee Act would free up funds to pay for education, medicine, food and clean water.  People in every country deserve these things–regardless of a government’s debt balance.”

The Jubilee Act cancels debt for countries that need relief from expenses they have been paying off for many years.  The Act also removes requirements from the cancellation process that have historically hindered the growth process.  Participating countries must also follow guidelines that encourage transparency and accountability.

Senators Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Richard Lugar of Indiana and Christopher Dodd of Connecticut introduced the Jubilee Act (S. 2166) in the Senate on Tuesday.  They joined the three original cosponsors, Senator Joe Biden of Delaware, Senator John Sununu of New Hampshire and Senator Barack Obama of Illinois.  The bill’s counterpart (H.R 2634) was introduced in the House in June 2007 by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL).