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Download and print Questions for Candidates ( PDF)
Make Peace an Election-Year Issue
Much of the debate in this presidential election season has centered on military strategies to resolve conflicts: continued fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, bombing Iran, and expanding the "war on terrorism."
You can help change the debate in this election. Challenge candidates for Congress in your area (including incumbents) to answer specific questions about how they will work to eliminate deadly weapons, conserve energy, provide health care to children in our communities, and promote diplomacy to prevent wars.
Don’t miss this opportunity to speak your mind!
The following questions can help you start this process.We encourage you to engage in open and constructive dialogue with the candidates for the 2008 elections. Put up a War Is Not the Answer sign at your home or in your community and write letters to the candidates. Or better yet organize a letter to the candidates from your local meeting, church, or community group. Pencil in a few events where you can meet your candidates face to face—a town hall meeting, a shopping mall meet-and-greet, or an in-home visit with a few potential supporters. Or invite the candidates to come and speak with you.
Promote Talk, Not War, with Iran
Congress has failed so far to endorse the type of non-partisan, comprehensive regional policy in the Middle East that is key to ending the war in Iraq and preventing a war with Iran. Do you support the call by former Secretaries of State James Baker, Colin Powell, Henry Kissinger,
Madeleine Albright, and Warren Christopher for the United States to begin a serious diplomatic dialogue with Iran?
See FCNL's view.
Time to Invest in Peace
A huge portion, about 94 percent, of what the United States spends to engage with the rest of the world is allocated to the military. A tiny amount, about 6 percent, is devoted to diplomacy, development, and supporting international institutions that can help solve problems before they turn into deadly conflict. Will you support the United States’s paying its full share of U.N. dues and increasing funding for the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development?
See FCNL's view.
Ban the Bombs That Keep on Killing
Cluster bombs send out smaller “bomblets” that can kill all living creatures within a target area often as large as several football fields. In the past 10 years, the United States used cluster bombs in civilian-populated areas in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the former Yugoslavia. More than half the world’s governments—including those of most NATO countries—have agreed on a new treaty banning cluster bombs. But the U.S. government did not take part in this process. Will you support legislation that would ban the use of cluster bombs in civilian-populated areas?
See FCNL's view.
End the Word Games, Ban Torture
The U.S. Army has established firm policies—written into the Army Field Manual—that prohibit torture. Yet the Justice Department insists the CIA should be exempt from these Army requirements and should have the right to torture some prisoners. Would you support legislation requiring all U.S. government personnel—including the CIA—to ban torture and abide by the definitions in the U.S. Army Field Manual?
See FCNL's view.
Reduce Risk of Nuclear Weapons
Do you support the call from former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and George Shultz, former Sen. Sam Nunn, and former Defense Secretary William Perry for the United States to make a priority of pursuing “a world free of nuclear weapons?”
See FCNL's view.
Climate, Energy, and Human Security
One of the most effective strategies for addressing the energy
crisis, bringing down energy costs for struggling workers, and protecting the planet would be for the United States to improve energy efficiency, increase renewable energy production, and provide assistance to other countries to do the same. Would you support binding legislation that would require electric utilities to produce at least 20 percent of their electricity from renewable resources by 2020, mandate a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions
of at least 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, and provide assistance to help other countries adapt to the challenges of climate change?
See FCNL's view.
Investing in Children
A bipartisan majority in both chambers of Congress has supported expanding government programs that provide health care for poor children. For $7 billion, the United States could provide health care through the State Children’s Health Insurance Program for an additional 4 million children in the United States who lack health insurance. Would you support this funding?
See FCNL's view.
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