ATFA Alerts UNGA Attendees on Impact of Argentine Debt during Kirchner’s U.S. Visit

WASHINGTON-(Business Wire)-September 22, 2009 - American Task Force Argentina (ATFA), a coalition of more than 40 taxpayer, investor, educator, Latino and agriculture organizations, emphasized the impact of Argentina’s outstanding debt on U.S. citizens as President Cristina Kirchner arrived in New York City to attend the UN General Debate and Group of 20 Summit this week. Among ATFA’s activities this week are the following:

Reception with Dr. Robert Shapiro to discuss Argentina’s path to return to capital markets
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Thousands of letters sent to State Department Secretary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Geithner

Opinion piece by Dr. Robert Shapiro published in The Globalist

ATFA hosted a reception at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on Monday, featuring co-chair Dr. Robert Shapiro who discussed Argentina’s economic situation. Dr. Shapiro argued that Argentina will continue to falter economically until it takes meaningful steps to repay its debts and return to global capital markets.

“Over the past year, Argentine officials have stated their determination to re-enter international capital markets countless times, but the government has yet to follow through. While President Kirchner continues to make promises, Americans continue to see their hard-earned dollars slip away as a consequence of Argentina’s refusal to honor its obligations,” Dr. Robert Shapiro said. “President Cristina Fernandez Kirchner’s best hope to promote a full economic recovery for her people begins with negotiating with the bondholders whose bonds President Nestor Kirchner repudiated – a step which must by embarked upon in good faith by all parties.”

The coalition emphasized the Argentine Government’s disregard for the impact of the country’s outstanding debt on U.S. educators and other pension holders, informing New York residents by posting an advertisement in Times Square yesterday. Displaying the headline, “Argentina’s defiance is hurting America’s teachers,” the ad stressed the impact of President Kirchner’s debt repudiation on the pension funds of hard-working educators.

“Argentina’s refusal to repay its debt to U.S. educators has deeply hurt our ability to plan for the future. Without our pensions, many educators will be unable to support themselves into retirement, a fact that Argentina consistently ignores in its refusal to repay its outstanding court judgments and unpaid debt,” Kathy Malachowski, Association of New Jersey County College Faculty President, said. Malachowski was featured in recent Washington Post and National Public Radio stories, stating that she was uncertain if she will have a pension when she retires due to Argentina’s actions.

U.S. citizens have also joined ATFA in efforts to demand action from the U.S. Departments of State and Treasury. Thousands of letters were sent to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, urging action against Argentina’s refusal to acknowledge and repay much of its foreign debt. “We respectfully ask that the State Department and the Treasury Department raise these matters at the G-20 summit and urge the member nations to encourage the Argentine government to repay its debts,” the letters state.

This week, The Globalist is publishing an analytic editorial by Dr. Robert Shapiro on Argentina’s economic situation and the G-20 Summit. The piece argues, “the [G-20] summit could be a golden opportunity for the United States and others to explain to President Fernandez why her own government’s policies pose a greater danger to developing countries than unsecured credit default swaps, and a bigger threat to Argentina’s own development than competition from any of her neighbors.”

Made up of an alliance of diverse organizations, ATFA’s leadership includes Executive Director Robert Raben, a former Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice, and is co-chaired by The Honorable Robert J. Shapiro, former Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs in the Clinton Administration, and Ambassador Nancy Soderberg, Ambassador at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York from 1997 to 2001.

For additional information on ATFA’s activities, please visit www.atfa.org, or contact media@atfa.org, or +1-888-662-2382.

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