Issues We Work On

FCNL’s multi-faceted approach draws on the expertise of registered lobbyists in Washington, DC, the commitment and passion of Quakers and friends around the country in our advocacy network, and the relationships we cultivate with elected officials and community leaders.

Spring Lobby Weekend 2019 participants holding hands in front of U.S. Capitol building.
Joe Molieri

We seek a world free of war and the threat of war.

We seek a society with equity and justice for all.

We seek a community where every person's potential may be fulfilled.

We seek an earth restored.

People marching for the Poor Peoples Campaign.
Jessie Palatucci

Economic Justice

By most measures, the United States is a country of wealth and abundance. Yet, for many people, the economy isn’t working. Every day, people in our communities experience the frustration and indignity of struggling to pay rent and put food on the table.

We seek an earth restored
Emily Sajewski / FCNL

Environment & Energy

The U.S. Congress is pivotal to national and global efforts to meet the challenge of climate disruption. However, for Congress to be part of the solution, leadership is needed from members of both political parties. Our moral obligation to address climate change and protect vulnerable communities transcends partisanship. By changing the dialogue in Congress on climate change, we are paving the way for meaningful legislative solutions to gain bipartisan support and become law.

Child holding a sign that says "How many more" at March for our Lives in Washington, D.C.
United Church of Christ/Jessie Palatucci

Gun Violence Prevention

Gun violence is a public health crisis that our country has been facing for decades. We seek a society where we can feel safe in our communities without the risk of violent death.

Group walks through desert with banner.
Christina Felschen

Just Immigration

The immigration policies we envision will allow people to migrate to the United States regardless of their wealth or skill levels, to preserve their families’ unity, to change their places of employment and to apply for lawful permanent status and eventual citizenship.

Minneapolis Protests

Justice Reform

We all lose when we lock people away. Incarceration denies the opportunities for rehabilitation and healing that are necessary for a person to fulfill their potential. This is a loss not only to the individual and his or her family, but to society as a whole. We call for a transformation of our current criminal legal system, which today is used principally as an instrument of retribution — a policy contrary to our Quaker beliefs.

Syrian refugee children
Trocaire / Flickr

Middle East & Iran

Friends are called to help build a foundation for world peace. When crises break out in the Middle East, the United States too often turns to violence first. FCNL lobbies for nonviolent engagement in the Middle East to prevent, de-escalate, and resolve longstanding conflicts. Political grievances contribute to instability and violence, so lasting peace in the region will require engagement with all stakeholders and an end to U.S. complicity in the violence.

Woman with red hand print over her mouth at a rally in Rochester, NY. 2019
Lorie Shaull/Flickr

Native Americans

The federal government has a trust responsibility to protect and enhance tribal self-determination and economic prosperity. FCNL works to hold the federal government accountable to tribes and to American Indian and Alaska Native people by advocating for legislation that will protect tribal sovereignty and treaty rights.

Hiroshima mushroom cloud.

Nuclear Weapons

Decades after the Cold War, the drive to build nuclear weapons continues, energized in no small part by the policies of the U.S. government. The faith of Quakers is grounded in the belief that there is that of God in every person. The awful power of nuclear weapons indiscriminately threatens all people.

Person carrying peace flag

Peacebuilding

In our pursuit of a world free of war and the threat of war, we are changing U.S. foreign policy from one that is overly militarized to one that prevents, mitigates, and transforms violent conflict.

Advocates hold letters that spell out "War is Not the Answer" in front of U.S. Capitol

U.S. Wars & Militarism

FCNL seeks to create a world free from war and the threat of war. Since September 11, Congress has largely ceded its constitutional authority to determine when and where the United States goes to war, and successive presidents have expanded our country’s military presence around the world. The result has been a ballooning military budget, a legacy of torture and other unlawful mistreatment, indefinite detention at Guantanamo Bay, the use of drones to kill people far from traditional battlefields, and the deaths of over 335,000 civilians.

Baltimore voters cast their ballots during early voting 2014.
Jay Baker

Voting & Elections

The damaging effects of money on our politics are clear. When money pours into our elections, the voices of average Americans are silenced. And voter suppression, too, continues to threaten our democracy.