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LWV National Issues
Whatever the issue, the League believes that government policy, programs and performance must meet these criteria:
¨ competent personnel with clear responsibilities
¨ coordination among agencies and levels of government
¨ adequate financing
¨ effective enforcement
¨ well-defined channels for citizen input and review
Government
Promote an open governmental system
¨ that is representative, accountable and responsive;
¨ that has a fair and adequate fiscal basis;
¨ that protects individual liberties established by the Constitution;
¨ that assures opportunities for citizen participation in government decision making;
¨ that provides sound agricultural policy; and
¨ that 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.
Citizens 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.
DC Self-government and Full Voting Representation
¨ Support securing for the citizens of the District of Columbia both the rights of self-government and representation in both Houses of Congress.
Election Process
Apportionment
¨ Support apportionment (based substantially on population) of Congressional districts and elected legislative bodies at all levels of government.
Campaign Finance
¨ Improve methods of financing political campaigns in order to ensure the public's right to know, to combat corruption and undue influence, to enable candidates to compete more equitably for public office, and to promote citizen participation in the political process.
Election of the President
¨ Promote the election of the President and Vice-President by direct popular vote.
¨ Work to abolish the electoral college.
¨ Support uniform national voting qualifications and procedures for presidential elections.
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.
Voter Participation
¨ Protect the right of all citizens to vote.
¨ Encourage all citizens to vote.
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.
Arms Control
¨ Reduce the risk of war through support of arms control measures.
Military Policy and Defense Spending
¨ Work to limit reliance on military force; examine defense spending in the context of total national need.
Trade
¨ Support systematic reduction of tariff and non-tariff trade barriers, and support broad long-range Presidential authority to negotiate trade agreements.
United Nations
¨ Recognizing the need for cooperation among nations in an interdependent world, support measures to strengthen the United Nations.
U.S. Relations with Developing Countries
¨ Promote U.S. policies that meet the long-term social and economic needs of developing countries.
Natural Resources
Recognizing the interrelationship of air quality, energy resources, land use, waste management, and water resources, promote an environment beneficial to life through the protection and wise management of natural resources.
Resource Management
¨ Promote resource conservation, stewardship, and long-range planning. Responsibility for managing natural resources should be shared by all levels of government.
Environmental Protection and Pollution Control
¨ Preserve the physical, chemical and biological integrity of the eco-system, with maximum protection of public health and the environment.
Public Participation
¨ Promote public understanding of and participation in decision-making as essential elements of responsible and responsive management of natural resources.
Social Policy
Promote social and economic justice, secure equal rights for all, and combat discrimination and poverty.
Child Care
¨ Support programs, services and policies at all levels of government to expand the supply of affordable, quality child care for all who need it.
Early Intervention for Children at Risk (Adopted 1994.)
¨ Support policies and programs that promote the well-being, development, and safety of all children.
Equality of Opportunity
¨ Support equal access to education, employment and housing.
¨ Support 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 a minimum basic level of care for all U.S. residents and that also controls health care costs.
Meeting Basic Human Needs
¨ Support programs and policies to prevent or reduce poverty and to promote self-sufficiency for individuals and families.
Urban Policy
¨ Promote the economic health of cities and improve the quality of urban life.
Violence Prevention
¨ Support violence prevention programs in all communities.
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