For 65 years, the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) has brought the spiritual experience of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) to bear on federal legislative processes and public policy decisions. Every two years we consult with Quaker meetings, churches, and organizations around the country to help discern priorities for our lobbying and public education work during the next Congress.
More clearly than ever before, Friends recognize that the critical and interconnected issues of energy and environment relate not only to climate change, but also to war, military spending, the nation's budget, and the capacity of the United States to meet domestic human needs and invest in the well-being of vulnerable populations abroad. We are called to redefine the human and national security of the United States to include freedom from deadly conflict, freedom from abuse of power, assurance of basic human needs, and protection of the Earth's commons - the air, land, and water on which all life depends.
At this historic and hopeful moment, FCNL selects the following priorities for our legislative work and public education during the 111th Congress.
I. We seek a world free of war and the threat of war:
Build U.S. government capacity for peaceful prevention and resolution of deadly conflict. Actively support the United Nations and multilateral problem solving, including respect for international law and treaties.
Promote arms control, disarmament, and nuclear nonproliferation. Seek U.S. ratification of and compliance with bans on nuclear testing, cluster munitions, and landmines.
Work for demilitarization of U.S. foreign policy and aid programs. Urge reductions in the overall military budget and in worldwide U.S. military operations. Emphasize joint aid, civilian peacebuilding, and regional diplomacy, especially in relation to Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Promote fulfillment of U.S. moral and legal obligations for reconstruction.
Press for the removal of U.S. bases and combat forces from Iraq.
II. We seek a society with equity and justice for all:
Support the restoration of full civil liberties and habeas corpus protections for all persons. Oppose torture and secret prisons. Promote human rights around the world especially through international institutions and law.
Support immigration reform that respects the rights and dignity of all immigrants; demonstrates compassion for families; protects children, asylum seekers, and other vulnerable persons; realistically addresses the need for foreign workers both temporary and permanent; and provides practical pathways to legal residency and citizenship. Urge Congress to demilitarize U.S. borders.
Promote and preserve tribal sovereignty of indigenous peoples within the United States. Support legislation that respects their rights, promotes their well-being, honors treaty commitments, and fosters understanding.
III. We seek a community where every person's potential may be fulfilled:
Support the government's constitutional role "to promote the general welfare" by urging Congress to provide adequate resources for human security and the public good. Support programs to alleviate poverty and address pressing human and community needs, such as food, housing, education, and opportunities for meaningful employment. In particular, we call for equitable access to health care.
IV. We seek an Earth restored:
Support bold and immediate measures to counter global climate change and assist threatened human populations at home and abroad. Promote deep, quick, and fair reductions in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions through regulation and incentives for energy conservation and efficiency, accelerated development and use of renewable energy resources, sustainable agriculture, public transportation, and other effective means.
Support establishment of and compliance with multilateral environmental agreements that promote equity and sustainability.
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As way opens, FCNL will continue Friends' long-standing witness for rights of conscience, an end to institutional racism, criminal justice reform that includes principles of restorative justice and abolition of the death penalty, and a just and lasting peace in the Middle East through equitable treatment of Israelis, Palestinians, and their neighbors.
FCNL's work will be based on legislative opportunity, specific expertise and leadings, and available resources. FCNL's Policy Statement gives it the flexibility to respond to crises and important legislative opportunities.
In establishing these priorities for the 111th Congress, we are encouraged by the past successes of FCNL's efforts to influence federal policy and by the strong community of Friends and other like-minded people engaged in this work.
As we work to find solutions to these complex problems, Friends continue to seek Divine guidance, renewed strength, and hope.
These priorities are drawn from FCNL's Policy Statement: http://www.fcnl.org/priorities/policy.htm
Reviewed:
11/16/2008
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