2008 Polk County Democrats Platform

1. A Veterans Affairs Office and with a qualified Director of Veterans Affairs for each Iowa county.

2. Active recruitment of veterans and priority preference for training programs and employment.

3. Full financing, salary adjustments and staffing for the Iowa Veterans' Home Capital Projects Master Plan.

4. Calling upon the Governor and the Legislative branch to publicly state they will commit to fully financing the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund by 2015 by providing $5 million each year until the fund balance equals an unencumbered $50 million.

5. Promised benefits, retirement, and severance pay to veterans without offsets of disability compensation.

6. Providing financing for an immediate increase of the amount of the veterans’ property exemption, indexing it to the rate of inflation, and a comparable credit for those who rent.

7. An income tax credit of 10% of state and federal income tax for disabled veterans with a service connected disability.

8. Exempting all military income received by National Guard, Reserve Forces or U.S. Armed Forces from state income taxes while on federal active duty while serving outside the U.S.

9. Iowa combat veterans receiving free tuition at any state institution of higher learning.

10. Using the fees derived from all veteran-related vanity automobile license plates to support veterans' needs.

11. Issuance by the Federal Government of a Cold War medal to all veterans who have earned the citation by serving after World War II and before the fall of the Soviet Union.

12. Full medical and other forms of compensation for veterans who have been afflicted by exposure to nuclear bomb tests, Agent Orange, depleted uranium and other environmental related illnesses.

1. Protecting farmland and natural areas from urban sprawl, highway and other types of development by prohibiting taxpayer funding of private infrastructure.

2. Legislation designed to encourage infill development, redevelopment and brown field mitigation.

3. Full financing of the Resource Enhancement and Protection Fund (REAP).

4. Restricting the Urban Renewal District designation to its original intended use for blighted urban and rural areas and limiting the use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to the improvement of such areas.

5. Requiring 80% of the impacted landowners to consent to the area to be annexed under an 80/20 annexation action and prohibiting public land to be included.

6. Eliminating agricultural tax credits and subsidies for non-farmers holding agricultural land for development.

7. Declaring the unincorporated areas of NE Polk County a protected agricultural area and prohibiting non-agricultural development without prior incorporation.

8. Legislation mandating compliance with the "2030 challenge" for building design and operation in all government-financed building initiatives with incentives for compliance by the private sector.

9. Incentives for weatherization and energy conservation measures in Iowa’s homes and buildings with creation of financing mechanisms to ensure increased energy costs and enhanced environmental standards attainable by all Iowans.

10. Developing minimum efficiency standards for rental properties.

11. Full enforcement of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERLA), and the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA) applied to Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), and requiring all CAFOs over 1,000 animal units to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit and file a Nutrient Management Plan.

12. Establishing strong state air and water quality standards and penalties for CAFOs, removing property tax credits for mandatory CAFO pollution controls, taxing CAFOs as industrial facilities, and giving counties control over their construction.

13. Updating the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts to make them more comprehensive.

14. Policies that work to protect and restore all perennial streams and rivers to swimmable and fishable status.

15. Repealing the credible data law in Iowa and stopping the declassification of rivers and streams.

16. Capping federal farm subsidies at $250,000 and eliminating loopholes used to evade payment limits.

17. Enforcing and strengthening the Packers and Stockyard Act to include provision to prohibit any price discrimination against family farms, requiring packers to purchase 25% of their livestock on the spot market, and a ban on packer ownership of livestock more than 14 days prior to slaughter.

18. Enforcing and strengthening federal anti-trust laws to address the rising concentration of market power and resulting market manipulation by large agri-business firms.

19. Fully enforcing Country of Origin Labeling, including meat.

20. Policies that promote local food systems.

21. Increasing access to the Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) by eliminating requirements for a minimum number of certified vendors.

22. Increasing funding for technical assistance for conservation measures on the land.

23. Increased public participation and the use of the precautionary principle to form governmental policy toward agrichemicals and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO).

24. Expand CSP and Title 9010 financing to reward and encourage alternative and sustainable nonfood source bio-fuels feedstock production, placing an emphasis on native and perennial crops.

25. Rules to establish systematic, statewide monitoring standards for mercury contamination of lakes, rivers and streams.

26. All levels of government and the private sector strategically investing in clean energy conservation and energy efficiency, and emphasizing job growth, energy independence and stricter environmental standards.

27. Accelerated development of alternative energy resources and tax incentives for purchase of ultra-efficient vehicles and appliances.

28. Creating fuel efficiency standards for all motorized vehicles and increasing Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) standards for autos to an average of 50 mpg by 2010.

29. Incentives for qualified renewable energy generated by small producers.

30. A standardized inter-connect agreement between all energy companies and consumer-owned renewable energy producers that includes access to the grid with reasonable compensation and net billing options.

31. Adopting the target of reducing global warming pollution levels to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050, and appropriate interim goals.

32. Leveraging our universities for energy research and development and the further expansion of public and private energy conservation measures through grants, loans and incentives.

33. Investment in training a clean technologies workforce within area community colleges.

34. Tax incentives for home-owners that complete independent, third-party home energy audits, in accordance to the RESNET (National Home Energy Audit) framework.

35. Reducing mercury levels emitted from power plants and a requirement that all utility companies obtain at least 25% of their power from renewable energy sources by 2025.

36. A moratorium of the development, construction or expansion of nuclear power plants in Iowa.

37. A ban on the construction or expansion of coal-fired power plants that do not capture and sequester carbon dioxide emissions.

38. U.S. signing and abiding by international agreement that reduce the effects of climate change.

39. Enhanced oversight of regional and national carbon cap and trade systems, with a tightening of the cap over time, in which 100% of credits are auctioned from the beginning and where government invests the auction revenues for the public good, using proceeds for renewable energy and efficiency investments and assistance for low-income families.

40. Policies and incentives which encourage smart growth of our cities, to conserve energy use in building, heating, cooling, and urban transportation systems.

41. Reinstating the "Roadless Rule" in National Forests.

42. Production of bio-fuels in a responsible and sustainable manner.

43. Development of a testing framework that will establish criteria and indicators to determine whether bio-fuels are being sustainably cultivated, processed and used.

44. Expanding the bottle bill to include tea, water, juice, sports drinks, and fortified drink containers.

45. Requiring those causing contamination of organic farms, either chemically or genetically, to pay full damages for each successive year until the contaminated farm can be organically recertified.

46. Legalizing hemp grown for industrial applications, including as a fuel crop.

47. A ban on trapping along public roadsides and in ditches.

1. Guaranteeing the right of every worker in America to receive a dignified living wage.

2. Swift passage in the Iowa General Assembly of House File 810, the Prevailing Wage law.

3. Assuring everyone in America the right to enjoy a dignified standard of living and retirement.

4. Strengthening the safety net known as the unemployment insurance program and the right of dismissed workers to receive fair unemployment benefits.

5. Ensuring a worker’s right to choose medical care providers when injured on the job.

6. Sufficiently funding OSHA so it can completely fulfill its legislative responsibilities.

7. Fully funding the expansion and enforcement of the Equal Pay Act of 1963.

8. Strengthening whistle-blower protection.

9. Protecting the right of all workers to care for family members without fear of penalty.

10. Safeguarding the livelihood of workers who lose their jobs as the result of their employers declaring bankruptcy.

11. Using legislation to reduce the historically unprecedented inequality between top-level executive rewards and worker pay.

12. Fully enforcing the existing laws that guarantee the right of every worker in America to organize to bargain collectively without penalty.

13. Enacting the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) in its present form, as supported by the majority of both houses of Congress in 2007.

14. Abolishing the "Right to Work Law" in Section 14b of the National Labor Relations Act and in Iowa Code chapter 731 and appropriate sections of Chapter 20.

15. Guaranteeing the right of having Fair Share Clauses negotiated into Collective Bargaining Agreements.

16. Safeguarding the right of government entities to negotiate Project Labor Agreements.

17. Maintaining government jobs and services in the public sector.

18. Establishing legislation that would make it disadvantageous for US businesses to headquarter other than in the United States.

19. Fully enforcing the Sherman and Clayton antitrust laws.

20. Renegotiating trade agreements to ensure the preservation of jobs within America.

21. Reversing an ill-conceived policy of industry deregulation that has cost jobs, raised prices and decreased the level of service.

22. Ensuring competition in the marketplace by carefully scrutinizing proposed mergers and acquisitions.

23. Expanding at all levels the availability of seed money for start-up businesses.

24. Strengthening the dollar to make it competitive among the world’s currencies and raise the value of American-made goods and services sold abroad.

25. Encouraging fair trade.

26. Removing America’s status as a debtor nation.

27. Investing in businesses that are developing the technologies of the future.

28. Long-term economic reform that eases the burden for workers in America and restores consumer confidence in the American economy.

29. Expanding the portability of retirement savings and health insurance.

30. Restoring the balance between the legitimate interests of financial institutions and the fair and ethical treatment of consumers, especially regarding creditworthiness, mandatory arbitration, bankruptcy, and interest rates.

31. Toughening laws that require honest information and full disclosure.

32. Establishing fair limits to bank fees and penalties on overdrafts and credit cards.

33. Moving Iowa forward to become the first state in the nation to achieve sustainable energy independence.

34. Increasing the investment in and promotion of public transportation.

35. Investing in American companies that are creating the energy-efficient vehicles of tomorrow.

36. Installing affordable and accessible high-speed internet and other modern telecommunications services for all Iowans.

37. Granting federal fiscal relief to states to jump-start growth and job creation;

38. Allowing the Bush tax breaks for the super-wealthy to expire in 2010.

39. Regaining more than $160 billion a year in lost revenue by closing various tax loopholes and ending the war in Iraq.

1. Public education as a civil and human right and the foundation of a free, democratic, and just society.

2. Empowering all students to be critical, creative, and constructive citizens.

3. Recognizing and valuing the unique and diverse needs, strengths, interests, experiences, and potential of each student.

4. Tailoring education to each student's individual needs and interests.

5. Understanding that relationships and smaller learning communities cultivate student learning.

6. Promoting the development of the whole student.

7. Assessing students in multiple, authentic, real-world ways that encourage meaningful, challenging, and relevant learning.

8. Acknowledging and addressing opportunity gaps and contributing factors, especially those associated with poverty, that impede student learning and development.

9. Respecting the importance of community involvement, and the input of parents and public education professionals in matters of critical education problem solving and decision-making.

10. Employing an ample, equitable, and non-punitive system of financing assuring public education professionals have the resources necessary to create rich learning experiences for all students and to ensure all students are afforded an opportunity to attain their full potential.

11. A complete overhaul of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

12. Increased media and technological literacy for students.

13. Limited class size and teacher/student ratios.

14. Ensuring all Iowa schools are safe places for students in terms of physical dangers, predators of all types, and bullying.

15. Fully financing competitive salaries for educators and professional staffs of public schools and community colleges.

16. Provision of transportation and day care along with payment to adult refugee participants who attend ESL classes.

17. Increased financing for the arts as an essential part of a student's public school preK-12 experience.

18. Increased financing for public vocational and special education.

19. Adequate financing for professionally staffed public school libraries.

20. Financing of Iowa Community Colleges and the Regent's Institutions at levels that avoid tuition increases.

21. Restoring and maintaining Iowa Tuition Grant program financing, and increasing amounts for dual-enrollment programs.

22. Restoring financing to Area Education Agencies and expanding availability of diagnostic and therapeutic services to children.

23. Full federal financing for public education programs of the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Public Broadcasting System.

24. Increased financing for public early childhood, preschool and after-school programs.

25. Adequate and equitable state and federal financing that does not increase regulations and bureaucracy.

26. Students at the state-run institutions receiving the same weighted special education dollars that they would have received at any other public school.

27. Expansion of fixed interest rate federally subsidized student loan programs, and increased loan limits in these programs, and restoring loan forgiveness programs based on community service.

28. Financing GED courses for refugees.

29. Eliminating academic fees for public preK-12 schools.

30. Overuse of standardized and multiple choice testing and their detrimental effects on student learning.

31. Privatizing public schools through vouchers, private charter schools, or other means.

32. Replacing high and student/community sensitive local standards and curriculum with state or nationally mandated standards, tests, or curriculum.

33. Tying school financing or teacher salaries to student test results.

34. Merit pay and pay for performance for teacher salaries.

1. A voluntary election system whereby candidates can choose to forgo fund-raising from private sources, accept spending limits, and receive fixed public funds.

2. Public disclosure of possible conflicts of interests by candidates.

3. Use of only such voting systems that allow voters to see their recorded vote and allow for independent recount and a clear paper trail of their recorded vote.

4. Voter identification requirements that prevent people from voting.

5. The judiciary as the sole authority for determining constitutionality of acts by Congress or the President.

6. Fundamental human rights, as guaranteed by the constitution, apply to everyone regardless of citizenship.

7. No one shall be deprived of life, liberty or property except by due process of law.

8. Everyone, regardless of citizenship, is entitled to Habeas Corpus.

9. Eradication of institutionalized racism and discrimination.

10. New channels for legal immigration, to allow law abiding people already in our country to gain citizenship, and requiring immigration laws to uphold the dignity of all people.

11. Addition of sexual orientation and transgender-protected classes to civil rights laws.

12. Replacing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" with a nondiscriminatory policy that applies to all.

13. Reversal of the decision that gave personhood to corporations.

14. Granting employees of corporations the same rights as employees as they have under the Constitution.

15. Abolition of the White House Office of Faith-based and Community Initiative.

16. The principle that freedom of religion includes freedom not to believe.

17. Denial of public funds for sectarian purposes.

18. Requiring faith-based organizations establish non-sectarian organizations when they provide government-financed services.

19. Any mandatory national ID.

20. A Constitutional Amendment limiting or denying civil rights.

21. Unequal treatment of religions or belief systems by government.

22. Adjusting the Taxable Social Security Benefits "means-test computation" for inflation, to relieve taxes on lower-income beneficiaries.

23. Assuring that revenue from taxing Social Security benefits is directed, as promised, to the Social Security Trust Fund.

24. Strengthening Social Security as a safety net for everyone in America to ensure continuation of this essential program as a universal, mandatory, contributory social insurance program.

25. Increasing the "earned income" limit to at least $40,000 for Social Security Survivor beneficiaries.

26. Elimination of the ceiling on earning subject to FICA taxes.

27. Allowing workers to divert any part of FICA premiums to private accounts.

28. Taxation of Unemployment and Social Security benefits.

29. Constitutional limits on legislative authority over taxation, budgets or expenditures.

30. Regressive sales taxes and fees as a substitute for income-based taxes.

31. Structuring and financing Iowa National Guard to ensure that its primary missions in Iowa can be carried out.

32. Requiring flags used by government to be made in the U. S.

33. A study to restructure Iowa’s counties.

34. Reducing the number of Iowa school districts, provided that all school buildings remain open.

35. Structural improvements in existing prisons.

36. Diverting mentally ill criminal defendants to special courts and treatment programs, except when charged with forcible felonies.

37. Giving judges discretion in sentencing for crimes not involving violence.

38. Full financing for programs that prevent sexual violence and assist victims, including programs under Violence Against Women Act, the Rape Prevention Education Program, and the Sexual Assault Services Program

39. Ensuring that federal fines and penalties collected under the Victims of Crime Act actually reach victims they're intended to help.

40. Repealing laws and programs that shift the cost of criminal justice to defendants.

41. Changing the penalty for a Class A felony in Iowa from "life without parole" to a set number of years to life with the possibility of parole after the minimum number of years have been served.

42. Repeal of the "Three Strikes and You're Out" federal laws.

43. Allowing judges that try juveniles as adults to sentence those convicted to shorter sentences than for adult offenders, provide more probation and community corrections options, and give more deferred judgments.

44. A death penalty in Iowa

45. The federal and military death penalty.

46. A national high speed broadband policy with strong protections for citizens; prosecution of persons who intentionally transmit computer viruses to the full extent of law; and a "Do not Spam" list similar to the "Do Not Call" list.

47. Making it illegal to store personal information of Americans in non-governmental electronic databases housed in foreign countries.

48. Capping annual interest rates on small consumer loans at 18 percent.

49. Prohibiting financial institutions from using information gained from other institutions to increase interest rates for existing account holders.

50. Requiring utilities to record liens on property before they can make successor residents pay debts to obtain services.

51. Universal national gun registration including title transfer with each resale.

52. Child proof trigger locks on all guns, mechanisms preventing unauthorized use of a gun.

53. Banning possession of assault weapons for private citizens.

54. Requiring full background checks, to deny felons and mental patients who have been involuntarily committed purchase of a firearm.

55. Requiring picture ID permits for owning and carrying firearms.

56. Requiring applicants to pass a firearm safety course at their own expense.

57. The maximum penalty allowed by law for those in possession of firearms with altered serial numbers or falsified registrations.

58. Extending the right of civil marriage to same gender couples.

59. Repealing the Defense Of Marriage Act.

60. Granting the same sponsorship rights with respect to immigration to all couples, regardless of gender, nationality or sexual orientation.

61. Fair, open and transparent government that is accessible and accountable to citizens and citizen-based organizations.

62. Zealously guarding the independence and impartiality of the judiciary.

63. Requiring that changes made to Federal bills in committee be clearly marked and available to Congress and the public 72 hours before a final vote can be taken and that all votes be computer recorded and not made by voice vote.

64. Appointing a special prosecutor to investigate George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for violating laws and the Constitution and preventing any President from pardoning any President, Vice President, cabinet member or their executive staff.

65. Making English the official language of Iowa or the nation.

66. Financing a spectrum of environmentally sound transportation solutions, including private automobile, passenger and freight railway, airplane, ship, bicycle and mass transit.

67. Full financing of such programs as bridge and road inspection, and repair and upgrading of railways, to ensure that our transportation infrastructure is safe and reliable.

68. Building a high-speed railway link between the top 100 population centers in the U.S. by the year 2020.

69. Making it legal to use marijuana, when prescribed by a physician.

70. Repealing laws that make possession of marijuana a crime.

71. Regulating and taxing use of marijuana like tobacco.

72. Repealing drug tax stamp laws.

73. Full financing for drug treatment and prevention programs.

74. Accurate drug education programs.

75. Diverting people charged with drug offenses from criminal court to treatment programs.

76. Establishing a federal commission to recommend revisions of drug laws.

77. A ban on smoking in all restaurants and public buildings.

78. Urging the state legislature to pass the Iowa Senate version of the anti-smoking bill.

79. Mandatory minimums for drug related offenses.

1. A national single payer health care system that provides access to comprehensive, high-quality, affordable, portable health care including provider choice, preventive and long-term care for all, without regard to pre-existing or genetic conditions.

2. Full financing for Medicaid, Medicare and HAWK-I, nationally equalizing reimbursement rates for health care providers and facilities.

3. Non privatization of Medicare and Medicaid.

4. Consumer representation on state occupational and health and human service facility boards.

5. Implement state programs to increase health care worker numbers and retention in Iowa.

6. Legislation restoring local control for laws governing smoking prohibitions in public and work places.

7. Fully financing state anti smoking and smoking cessation programs.

8. Legislation protecting retirees negotiated health insurance benefits.

9. Refocus health care on keeping people healthier through disease prevention, care management, and incentives to encourage healthy lifestyles, self management and prevention including places of employment and schools.

10. Increase American investment in pioneering science that will result in better treatments to prevent and lessen toll of chronic disease.

11. 150 minutes of PE per week for all students in public schools K-12.

12. The farm to school bill.

13. Healthy selections only in all vending machines in public schools.

14. Limiting advertisement of prescription drugs.

15. Requiring state and federal health programs to negotiate drug prices.

16. Limiting patent extensions of pharmaceuticals, biological processes and "Me2" generic drugs.

17. Requiring generics to have the same inert products as the Brand.

18. The legal right of women to make their own health care decisions and the preservation of Roe v. Wade.

19. Developmentally-appropriate, medically accurate reproductive education including information about sexually responsible behavior, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and non-directive family planning including information about sexually responsible behavior, STIs and non-directive family planning.

20. United States foreign aid for voluntary contraceptive and abortion services.

21. State financing to provide family planning services including contraceptives for low-income women who otherwise would not have access, with the goal of reducing unintended pregnancies in our state.

22. Iowa maximizing federal matching funds for all human services programs.

23. Increased financing for DHS social workers and case management workers to reduce case loads.

24. Preventing human service providers from discriminating on any basis including HIV positive, trans-gender, or sexual orientation for both the provision of services and hiring practices.

25. Allowing public assistance recipients to work without penalty until benefits and salary exceed the living wage.

26. Fully financing programs promoting child health, safety, development, and prenatal care.

27. Fully financing child welfare programs with attention to family preservation, permanency planning without regard to marital status of parents or guardians.

28. Fully financing shelters, group care facilities, and outreach programs that target domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, mental and physical disabilities.

29. A transitional program for those aging out of foster care.

30. Increasing investment in measures to combat all forms of abuse and neglect.

31. Increased financing for adequate, safe and affordable child care.

32. Iowa creating a Success by Six program.

33. Parity in mental health and substance abuse treatment coverage by insurance companies.

34. Fully financed substance abuse, mental health and developmental disabilities services and education with comprehensive treatment options for individuals and their families.

35. Appropriate medical treatment and support for mental health disorders and drug and alcohol addiction when they lead to criminal acts, conviction and/or incarceration.

36. More public education about issues of mental illness.

37. Pain management should be between the patient and the physician and not subject to government interference.

38. Financing for Stem Cell Research.

39. Medical use of marijuana.

40. Payment parity for alternative medical techniques that demonstrate safety and efficacy in controlled peer review studies.

41. Research in diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders and Alzheimer’s disease.

42. An increase in investment for research and education for children and adults with autism.

43. Everyone owns his/her own body and DNA and no one should profit from another’s DNA or body parts without consent.

44. Provisions Programs for affordable, accessible, transitional and permanent housing for low-income and homeless persons.

45. Public/private partnerships providing financial assistance programs to increase the number of low to moderate income first-time homebuyers and help them remain in their homes.

46. Increased financing for gender parity for emergency shelters for homeless persons.

47. Changes that will prevent a repeat of the ongoing Katrina debacle.

48. A non-privatized Social Security system.

49. Increasing financing for services to older Iowans and persons with disabilities that are consumer driven and enable them to live independently in their homes and communities, including waivers and long term care.

50. The restoration of the ADA to its original scope and strict enforcement including covering public accommodations, employment, communication and scope of disabilities.

51. Increased funding to provide adequate in-home community-based services for persons with disabilities that are consumer driven and enable them to live independently in their homes and communities, including waivers and long-term care.

52. Adopting Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act.

1. Diplomatic, economic, and cultural measures to resolve global poverty, hunger and disease.

2. Reform of international institutions to fit a new globalized world.

3. Strong commitment to worldwide human rights.

4. Ending genocide in Darfur and elsewhere, including the use of targeted sanctions and a full-time diplomatic team in the region and quick response to future genocide.

5. Humane treatment and habeas corpus protection for all people.

6. Normalization of relations with Cuba and returning Guantanamo Bay to Cuba.

7. Taking military action only with clear, attainable, national defense goals, with fully informed Congressional consent, and, whenever possible, in concert with the international community.

8. Investigation and prosecution of war-profiteering and crimes committed by contractors.

9. Protecting victims and prosecuting offenders of human trafficking for sexual exploitation and forced labor.

10. Enhancing the gender equality and political empowerment of women.

11. Comprehensive reform of and increasing funding for border and port security while respecting civil liberties.

12. U.S. leadership in verifiable elimination of all weapons of mass destruction.

13. The President as Commander-in-Chief should avoid pre-emptive war when there is no imminent threat to the security of the United States. The President must restore the balance of power with Congress and must consult with both parties of Congress on all national security and military matters.

14. Development of new nuclear weapons.

15. Violence against women, including genital mutilation.

16. Subversion of democratic principles and processes.

17. Torture of any kind, secret detention facilities, and extraordinary rendition of detainees.

18. Operation of Guantanamo, the "School of the Americas" ("Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation") and foreign military assistance, aid and training that represses citizens, training in torture techniques at any U.S. facility.

19. Mass aerial herbicide applications in the war on drugs.

20. Developing a "Star Wars" missile defense shield.

21. Militarization of American foreign policy.

22. Meeting U.N. Millennium Development goals.

23. Aid based on compliance with the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

24. Funding our share of the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (GFATM), and helping to develop and deliver affordable drugs.

25. Comprehensive reproductive health care and family planning programs.

26. Administering reconstruction and disaster relief contracts under open bid processes.

27. UN efforts to promote socially responsible corporate investing.

28. Culturally sensitive, non-exploitative agreements protecting human rights, workers' rights, and public health/environmental needs, and renegotiation of those contrary thereto, including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and similar agreements.

29. Peaceful efforts to achieve separate and secure Israeli and Palestinian States, working with all parties to end the conflict.

30. Orderly redeployment of all US combat troops out of Iraq as soon as possible.

31. Providing financial and diplomatic support of reconstruction in cooperation with the government of Iraq, other governments in the region, and the UN.

32. Finalizing transfer of authority to the peoples of Afghanistan and Iraq, giving them control over their own economy and security.

33. Diplomacy and negotiations with Iran, bilateral talks and normalization of diplomatic relations.

34. Steps necessary to regain momentum to stabilize Afghanistan and counter expanding influence of Taliban insurgents

35. Payment of dues, past dues, and active participation.

36. Implementation of the Secretary General's reforms of the United Nations bureaucracy.

37. Creation of a Code of Conduct on Arms Transfers.

38. Adherence to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

39. Full participation in the new Human Rights Council.

40. Ending the impasse at the Conference of Disarmament in negotiation for a verifiable treaty, banning fissile material used in nuclear weapons and their deployment in space.

41. The 2005 UN resolution on the responsibility to prevent genocide and mass atrocities.

42. Geneva Convention on Treatment of Prisoners of War (GCTPW).

43. Convention on Elimination on All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

44. Convention on the Rights of the Child.

45. Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

46. Biological Weapons Convention Protocol.

47. Ottawa Landmine Treaty.

48. Kyoto Treaty on Global Warming and successor treaties.

49. Rome Statute of the International Court of Criminal Justice (RSICCJ).

50. Convention on the Destruction of Chemical Weapons, and the Prohibition of Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons (CDCW).