Labor and Economy
- A progressive tax system in which higher income earners pay a higher marginal tax rate.
- Maintaining or increasing, rather than reducing, the corporate tax and capital gains rates.
- Lowering the threshold for receiving overtime pay for low-wage workers, rather than raising it.
- Grants to support infrastructure projects by Economic Development Administration, which in 2022 created 220,000 jobs.
- Unbiased economic data being available to the public. Retaining the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, and Census Bureau as separate bodies free from partisan influence.
- Standing firmly against child labor in dangerous occupations, prioritizing children’s safety and well-being.
- Classifying workers as employees rather than independent contractors.
- The National Labor Relations Act and its ban on company-controlled unions.
- Employees’ right to unionize with a majority vote, and mandatory disclosure of anti-union activities by employers and contractors.
- The continued authority of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration.
- The right of employers to set educational requirements for job positions.
- The existence of the Federal Reserve and its mandate to support full employment.
Government Support for the Under-Resourced
- Food assistance for households at or below the poverty line without burdensome work requirements, which are proven not to increase employment but reduce eligibility.
- Protecting Head Start, serving over 1 million children from lower-income families to reduce inequities in early childhood development.
- Expanding disability-benefits eligibility for veterans injured in service, honoring their sacrifices.
- Funding for public transportation projects through the Capital Investments Grant program to serve communities lacking private transportation options.
Healthcare and Reproductive Rights
- Medicare’s responsibility to negotiate lower prescription drug costs for seniors.
- Funding of Medicare and Medicaid for all who need it.
- The right of the 33 million enrolled in Medicare to maintain their coverage rather than being pressured toward private, worse-performing plans.
- The availability of transgender healthcare in Medicare and Medicaid, as well as transgender healthcare and abortion access for service members.
- Healthcare insurance coverage of emergency contraception with no religious exemptions permitting the denial of care.
- Continued FDA approval of mifepristone for medication abortions based on its proven safety and effectiveness.
- The Comstock Act does not apply to mail delivery of abortion medication, promoting health equity through remote access.
- The importance of medical record privacy for all patients and doctors under HIPAA, including that covering abortions out of state.
- Federal funding of Planned Parenthood as a vital healthcare provider.
- Equal healthcare access for single parents without federal pressure to marry.
Social Equity
- Civil rights and the continued use of “disparate impact standard” to identify discrimination under Title VI, Title VII, and the Fair Housing Act.
- Continuing federal data collection on race and ethnicity to ensure equitable access to services including Head Start and Medicaid.
- Endorsing the White House Gender Policy Council for advancing women’s health equity, contraception access, and combating gender-based violence.
- LGBTQ+ youth in foster care and support their placement in supportive homes without religious exemptions.
- The Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights in the EPA to protect communities disproportionately affected by environmental policies.
- Workplace protections for LGBTQ+ Americans, rather than allowing discrimination against them on the basis of religious belief.
- Combating sex discrimination by recognizing gender diversity and sexual orientations beyond the binary sexes assigned at birth.
- The right of transgender and HIV-positive people to serve in the military.
- Discussion of gender identity or sexual orientation are valid concerns that do not amount to pornography nor crimes.
Environmental Protection and Justice
- Continued participation in the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and Paris Agreement and federal efforts to meet climate goals, alongside US climate policies.
- The Endangerment Finding requiring the EPA to curb greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.
- The existence of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) providing essential data on climate and fisheries.
- Continuation of the Inflation Reduction Act and its funding for professional environmental organizations instead of state regulatory bodies that can be influenced by anti-environmental interests.
- Protecting public lands and waters, rather than allowing oil-and-gas drilling to “the maximum extent permitted.”
- States’ rights to pass stricter environmental regulations than those at the national level.
- Federal government support for independent research about climate and environment, rather than being required to adhere to particular partisan principles.
Education and Research
- Continuation of the Department of Education, crucial to enforcing civil rights in schools.
- Access to government loans for higher education for all students and parents, regardless of their immigration status or whether the school admits undocumented immigrants.
- Respect for gender identities of LGBTQ+ youth that differ from their sex assigned at birth and protection under Title IX in schools.
- The right of educators to teach LGBTQ+-inclusive curriculum and curriculum teaching the history and theory of race discrimination in the U.S.
- The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights requirement that charter schools provide a “non-binary” option for data collection of students.
- Continued non-partisan distribution of Department of Education funding to schools, rather than sending more money to programs teaching partisan ideologies.
- Title I providing funding to schools with higher percentages of low-income families.
- Increasing, rather than decreasing, federal support for free school meals.
- Federal funding for stem-cell research.
Federal Government Structure
- Employing professional, non-partisan civil servants based on their qualifications, rather than on ideologically biased civil-servant tests or discriminatory intelligence tests.
- Security clearances remaining a rigorous, non-partisan process.
- The Department of Homeland Security investigating all potential cases of terrorism, including those by far-right domestic terrorists.
- Access of the free press to the White House and funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
- Independence from presidential control of federal agencies including DOJ, FBI, FTC, SEC, and HHS.
Immigration
- Welcoming refugees, asylum seekers, and victims of trafficking into our country, including retaining visas for victims of trafficking and the right of asylum seekers to make their case before an impartial judge in a timely manner.
- Continuing to exclude a question on citizenship on the Census, for an accurate population count.
Foreign Policy and Military
- Avoiding a nuclear arms race and honoring treaties with allied nations putting limits on our nuclear stockpile, testing, and deployment.
- Foreign aid addressing the climate crisis and gender disparities.
- The U.S. military considering the climate crisis in evaluating national security threats.
Food and Agriculture
- Government aid for farmers to ensure food and national security amid volatile conditions.
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans based on a rigorous scientific process.
- U.S. support for UN development programs for sustainable agriculture.
- USDA’s role in creating and managing easements setting aside land for conservation.