NATIONAL PROGRAM

The following is a brief statement of current priorities, issues under member study and LWVUS positions For a more detailed account of positions, including the League's history on the positions, consult Impact on Issues, 2004-2006, which is available in the LWVGDA Office. Further information is also available online at http://www.lwv.org

League Legislative Priorities

Primary
  • Protection of Electoral Processes through:
    • Election Reform
    • Campaign Finance Reform
  • Advancement of Representative Government through Nonpartisan Redistricting
  • Preservation of Civil Liberties
Secondary
  • Clean Air
  • Social Security
  • District of Columbia rights
  • Protection of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge

[Top]

LWVUS PROGRAM POSITIONS 
(2004 - 2006)
Agricultural Policy
Citizen Rights   
Campaign Finance Reform

Congress and the Presidency
DC Self-Government and Full Voting Representation
Election Process
Representative Government
Gun Control
International Relations
Natural Resources
Social Policy

REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENTPromote an open governmental system that is representative, accountable, and responsive; that

  • has a fair and adequate fiscal basis;
  • protects individual liberties established by the Constitution;
  • assures opportunities for citizen participation in government decision making;
  • provides sound agricultural policy; and
  • preserves public health and safety through gun control measures.

AGRICULTURAL POLICY:  Promote adequate supplies of food and fiber at reasonable prices and support economically viable farms, environmentally sound farm practices and increased reliance on the free market.  
[Top]
CITIZEN RIGHTS: 

  • Citizen right to Know/Citizen Participation.  Protect the citizen's right to know and facilitate citizen participation in government decision making.
  • Individual Liberties.  Oppose major threats to basic constitutional rights.
  • Public Policy on Reproductive Choices.  Protect the constitutional right of privacy of the individual to make reproductive choices.
CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENCY:
  • Congress.  Support responsive legislative processes characterized by accountability, representativeness, decision-making capability and effective performance.
  • The Presidency.  Promote a dynamic balance of power between the executive and legislative branches within the framework set by the Constitution.

 [Top]

DC SELF-GOVERNMENT AND FULL VOTING REPRESENTATION:  Secure for the citizens of the District of Columbia the rights of self-government and representation in both houses of Congress.

ELECTION PROCESS:

  • Selection of the President: Promote the election of the President and Vice President by direct popular vote and work to abolish the Electoral College.

  • Support uniform national voting qualifications and procedures for presidential elections.
  • Support efforts to provide voters with sufficient information about candidates.
  • Apportionment: Support apportionment of congressional districts and elected legislative bodies at all levels of government based substantially on population.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM:  Improve methods of financing political campaigns in order to ensure the public’s right to know, combat corruption and undue influence, enable candidates to compete more equitable for public office and promote citizen participation in the political process.

[Top]

FISCAL POLICY:   
  • Support adequate, flexible funding of federal government programs through an equitable tax system that is progressive overall and that relies primarily on a broad-based income tax;
  • Promote responsible deficit policies; support a federal role in providing mandatory, universal, old-age, survivors, disability and health insurance.

GUN CONTROL:  Protect the health and safety of citizens through limiting the accessibility and regulating the ownership of handguns and semi-automatic weapons.  The League supports regulating firearms for consumer safety.

 [Top]

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS:  Promote peace in an interdependent world by cooperating with other nations, strengthening international organizations, fostering long-term development, negotiating arms control measures and encouraging the successful resolution of conflicts through nonmilitary means.

  • U. S. Relations with Developing Countries: Promote U. S. policies that meet long-term social and economic needs of developing countries.

  • United Nations: Support a strong, effective United Nations and its efforts to promote world peace and security and meet the social, economic and humanitarian needs of the world’s people.

  • Arms Control: Reduce the risk of war through support of arms control measures.

  • Military Spending: Work to limit reliance on military force; examine defense spending in the context of total national needs.

  • Trade: Support U.S. trade policies that reduce trade barriers, expand international trade and advance the achievement of humanitarian, environmental and social goals.

  [Top]

NATURAL RESOURCES:  Promote an environment beneficial to life through the protection and wise management of natural resources in the public interest by recognizing the interrelationships of air quality, energy, land use, waste management and water resources. The League also seeks to encourage Resource Management, Environmental Protection and Pollution Control and Public Participation in protecting our natural resources.
  • Air Quality: The League supports measures that:

  • reduce vehicular pollution;
  • regulate and reduce pollution from stationary sources;
  • regulate and reduce ambient toxic-air pollutants;
  • reduce transboundary air pollutants.
  • Energy: The League supports energy goals and policies that acknowledge the United States as a responsible member of the world community and that promote:

  • reduction of energy growth rates;
  • use of a variety of energy sources;
  • the environmentally sound use of energy resources;
  • predominant reliance on renewable resources;
  • action by appropriate levels of government to encourage the use of renewable resource and energy conservation through funding for research and development, financial incentives, rate-setting policies and mandatory standards;
  • mandatory energy conservation measures;
  • policies to reduce energy demand and minimize the need for new generating capacity;
  • maintaining deregulation of oil and natural gas prices;
  • assistance for low-income individuals when energy policies bear unduly on the poor.
  • Land Use: The League supports:

  • management of land as finite resource not as a commodity;
  • land-use planning that reflects conservation and wise management of resources;
  • identification and regulation of areas of critical concern;
  • fragile or historical lands;
  • rare or valuable ecosystems and geological formations;
  • significant wildlife habitats;
  • unique scenic or historic areas;
  • wetlands;
  • deserts;
  • renewable resource lands;
  • natural hazard lands, where development could endanger life and property;
  • reclamation of lands damaged by surface mining, waste disposal overgrazing, timber harvesting, farming, and other activities;
  • acquisition of land for public use;
  • identification and regulation of areas impacted by public or private investment;
  • review of environmental, social and economic impacts of major public and private developments;
  • review of federally funded projects by all government levels;
  • conformance of federal land resource activities with approved state programs.
  • Waste Management: The League supports:

  • policies to reduce the generation and which promote the reuse and recycling of solid and hazardous/toxic wastes;
  • policies to ensure safe treatment, transportation, storage and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes in order to protect public health and air, water and land resources;
  • planning and decision-making processes that recognize suitable solid and hazardous wastes as potential resources;
  • policies for the management of civilian and military high- and low-level radioactive wastes to protect public health, and air, water and land resources;
  • the establishment of processes for effective involvement of state and local governments and citizens in siting proposals for treatment, storage, disposal and transportation of radioactive wastes;
  • safe transport, storage and disposal of radioactive wastes.
  • Water Resources: The League supports:

  • water resource programs and policies that reflect the interrelationships of water quality, water quantity, groundwater and surface water and that address the potential depletion or pollution of water supplies;
  • measures to reduce water pollution from direct point-source discharges and from indirect nonpoint sources;
  • policies to achieve water quality essential for maintaining species diversity and pollutions of aquatic species, including measures to protect lakes, estuaries, wetlands and in-stream flows;
  • stringent controls to protect the quality of current and potential drinking-water supplies.

[Top]

SOCIAL POLICY:  Promote social and economic justice, secure equal rights for all, achieve universal health care coverage at reasonable cost, promote the well being of children, and combat discrimination, poverty and violence.
  • Children: The League supports:

  • programs, services and policies at all levels of government to expand the supply of affordable, quality child care for all who need it;
  • policies and programs that promote the well being, development and safety of all children.
  • Equality of Opportunity: The League supports:

  • equal access to education, employment and housing;
  • ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment and efforts to bring laws into compliance with the goals of the ERA.
  • Health Care: Promote a health care system for the United States that provides access to quality care for all U. S. residents and controls health care costs.

  • Meeting Basic Human Needs: Supports programs and policies to prevent or reduce poverty and to promote self-sufficiency for individuals and families.

  • Income Assistance: Support policies and programs designed to:
  • increase job opportunities; increase access to health insurance;
  • provide support services such as child care and transportation;
  • provide opportunities and/or incentives for basic or remedial education and job training;
  • decrease teen pregnancy; ensure that noncustodial parents contribute.
  • Housing Supply: The responsibility for achieving national housing goals rests primarily with the federal government, which should:
  • assure that our economic system is functioning to produce and maintain sufficient decent housing for citizens at all income levels;
  • compensate for any failure or inadequacy of the system by building, financing, renting and selling homes to those citizens whose housing needs are not being met;
  • give a variety of incentives to local jurisdictions to encourage them to provide within their boundaries an adequate supply of decent housing for low- and moderate-income groups;
  • withhold federal funds from communities that fail to encourage such housing.
  • Transportation: Supports energy-efficient and environmentally sound transportation systems that afford better access to housing and jobs and will continue to examine transportation policies in light of these goals.

 

  • Urban Policy: Promote the economic health of cities and improve the quality of urban life.

  • Violence Prevention: Support violence prevention programs in all communities.

  • Reproductive Choice: The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that public policy in a pluralistic society must affirm the constitutional right of privacy of the individual to make reproductive choices.

  • Gun Control: Protect the health and safety of citizens through limiting the accessibility and regulating the ownership of handguns and semi-automatic weapons.

[Top]

 
 
The League of Women Voters does not support or oppose any candidate or political party.
Copyright © . All Rights Reserved.
TThe League of Women Voters of the Greater Dayton Area
937-228-4041 or 937-372-4148
FAX: 937-228-4104
league@lwvdayton.org