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Republican Party Platform
of 2004
August 30, 2004
(continued from here)
Republicans applaud President
Bush's strong record of promoting regional peace and stability
and helping to end conflict and war on the continent. Working
in concert with allies, friends, and international institutions,
the Bush Administration has helped achieve progress toward resolving
conflicts in Liberia, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Sierra Leone, and Sudan.
We applaud the efforts of
the Bush Administration in working closely with the Government
of Sudan and the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement to bring
peace to Sudan. Sudan's civil war is one of the worst humanitarian
tragedies of our time, responsible for the deaths of two million
people over two decades. Achieving peace, and concluding a just
and comprehensive agreement, must be an urgent priority for
both sides in Sudan. President Bush has made peace in Sudan
a top priority of his foreign policy, including the appointment
of a Special Envoy to facilitate discussions and the signing
of the Sudan Peace Act. The President's commitment has paved
the way for significant progress and we welcome continued movement
this year toward a comprehensive peace agreement that will put
an end to 20 years of conflict in southern Sudan.
We commend the efforts of
the President and the Republican Congress to help the people
of Darfur, in western Sudan. Brutal militias there are causing
human suffering on an immense scale. American assistance has
been provided for famine relief, assistance for refugees, and
other humanitarian aid. Yet no amount of aid can substitute
for true and lasting peace. The Government of Sudan must stop
the violence of Janjaweed militias, and all parties must respect
the cease-fire and allow the free movement of humanitarian workers
and supplies. We continue to hope for peace for the people of
Sudan and for normalization of relations between Sudan and the
United States. However, the Government of Sudan must not remain
complicit in the brutalization of Darfur.
Republicans deplore the
Government of Zimbabwe's refusal to adhere to the rule of law.
The Bush Administration has rightly condemned the Government
of Zimbabwe's assaults against human rights. We support the
President's decision to suspend non-humanitarian aid and impose
targeted sanctions on the Zimbabwean regime and its supporters.
Republicans recognize that
several African governments face particular dangers from terrorists,
including in East Africa. The Bush Administration is working
closely with those nations to fight terror, and the Republican
Congress has expanded efforts to help governments in East Africa
protect their people and to fight terrorist networks. We will
not allow terrorists to threaten African peoples, or to use
Africa as a base to threaten the world. We hail the continuing
cooperation of Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Uganda, Tanzania,
and other African nations in the War on Terror.
Republicans are proud of
President Bush's historic leadership that has placed America
at the forefront of helping the people of Africa, their governments,
and private groups combat the catastrophic HIV/AIDS pandemic.
We hail the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a five-year,
$15 billion initiative, strongly backed by the Congress, to
turn the tide against HIV/AIDS in the most afflicted nations
of Africa and the Caribbean. By undertaking a comprehensive
approach to the pandemic that involves education, abstinence,
prevention, testing, treatment, and care – including advanced
antiretroviral drugs – the President's groundbreaking initiative
follows in the finest American tradition of harnessing the power
of human technology in the service of human compassion. We also
applaud other major steps by President Bush and the Republican
Congress to make fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic a priority of
U.S. foreign policy, including America's contribution to the
Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, and
other initiatives.
The United States is leading
the world by example and the global community can
– and must – do more to
halt the advance of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. We applaud the numerous
African, American, and other international private organizations
– including faith-based groups, hospitals, medical schools,
corporations, and philanthropies – that are helping the people
of Africa as they fight HIV/AIDS with courage. The progress
we are already seeing in parts of Africa is proof that HIV/AIDS
can be defeated.
Across the Pacific
Republicans believe that,
as in every region of the world, America's foreign policy in
Asia starts with its allies: Australia, Japan, the Republic
of Korea, Thailand, and the Philippines. In the Asia-Pacific
region, these alliances are bolstered by strong relationships
with American friends such as Singapore, India, Indonesia, Taiwan,
and New Zealand.
President Bush has demonstrated
a clear commitment to the region, and Republicans recognize
that under his leadership, alliance relations in Asia have never
been better. In every major security issue of our time – including
counterterrorism, nonproliferation, Iraq, and North Korea –
our allies in Asia are providing unprecedented cooperation.
The Republican Party hails the brave and energetic response
of America's allies in the Asia-Pacific region in the wake of
the September 11th attacks.
* Australia invoked the
ANZUS Treaty to declare that the September 11th attacks were
attacks on Australia itself, following that historic decision
with the dispatch of some of the world's finest combat forces
for Operation Enduring Freedom.
* Japan and the Republic of Korea provided unprecedented levels
of military logistical support within weeks of the terrorist
attacks.
* America has deepened cooperation on counterterrorism with
our alliance partners in Thailand and the Philippines and received
invaluable assistance from close friends like Singapore and
New Zealand.
Republicans also applaud
Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and other nations in
the Asia-Pacific region for their contributions to the multinational
effort to achieve security and democracy for the Iraqi people.
Japan is a key partner of
the United States and the U.S.-Japan alliance is an important
foundation of peace, stability, security, and prosperity in
Asia. America supports an economically vibrant and open Japan
that serves as an engine of expanding prosperity and trade in
the Asia-Pacific region. Republicans support an American policy
in the Asia-Pacific region that looks to Japan to continue forging
a leading role in regional and global affairs based on our common
interests, our common values, and our close defense and diplomatic
cooperation.
The Republic of Korea is
a valued democratic ally of the United States. Our two nations
are maintaining vigilance toward North Korea while preparing
our alliance to make contributions to the broader stability
of the region over the longer term. In concert with America's
allies South Korea and Japan, and supported by China and Russia,
our nation is leading the international community to speak with
one voice to demand the complete, verifiable, and irreversible
dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear programs. Republicans
support the Bush Administration's efforts to protect the peace
on the Korean peninsula. North Korea lies outside of the international
system. Americans have shed their blood to stop North Korean
aggression before and remain prepared to resist aggression today.
After fighting together
in both world wars, the United States forged a formal alliance
with Australia. Australians have stood shoulder to shoulder
with Americans in every major conflict since – Korea, Vietnam,
the Persian Gulf War, and now Operations Enduring Freedom and
Iraqi Freedom. Republicans hail the signing into law of the
U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement and look forward to building
on more than 50 years of alliance cooperation to resolve regional
and global problems.
American ties to the Philippines
have been close for more than a hundred years. We Republicans
have supported the victory of Filipino democracy and cherish
our continuing friendship with this great nation and its people
who have been by our side in war and in peace.
Under President Bush's leadership,
the United States has undertaken an historic transformation
in its bilateral relationship with India, based upon his conviction
that U.S. interests require a strong relationship between the
world's largest democracies. Since 2001, the United States has
started with a view of India as a growing world power with which
we have common security interests and a shared, fundamental
commitment to political freedom and representative government.
Through a strong partnership with India, we can best address
any differences and shape a dynamic future. The prospects for
that partnership were further enhanced by the announcement this
January of the "Next Steps in Strategic Partnership"
between the United States and India, a new effort to further
deepen and accelerate cooperation between our two nations.
Republicans applaud India's
move toward greater economic freedom. We hold a common interest
in the free flow of commerce, including through the vital sea
lanes of the Indian Ocean. Bilateral trade between the U.S.
and India increased from $15.9 billion in 2002 to nearly $18
billion in 2003, with U.S. exports to India increasing by 22
percent, the largest increase ever. Finally, we share the commitment
to fighting terrorism and creating a strategically stable Asia.
Republicans support President
Bush's view that America must maintain forces in the Asia-Pacific
region that reflect our commitments to our allies, our security
requirements, our technological advances, and the strategic
environment. America will also build on stability provided by
our Asian alliances, as well as with institutions such as ASEAN
and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, to develop
a mix of regional and bilateral strategies to advance progress
and deepen our ties to the peoples of this region.
Republicans applaud President
Bush for his leadership in dramatically refashioning America's
relationship with Pakistan. The United States and Pakistan are
working closely in the fight against terror. We endorse continued
American support for Pakistan's security, economic, and social
programs.
Republicans believe that
America's relationship with China is an important part of our
strategy to promote a stable, peaceful, and prosperous Asia-Pacific
region. We welcome the emergence of a strong, peaceful, and
prosperous China. The democratic development of China is crucial
to that future. Yet, a quarter-century after beginning the process
of shedding the worst features of the Communist legacy, China's
leaders have not yet made the next series of fundamental choices
about the character of their state. In pursuing advanced military
capabilities that can threaten its neighbors in the Asia-Pacific
region, China is following an outdated path that, in the end,
will hamper its own pursuit of national greatness. In time,
China will find that social and political freedoms are the only
source of that greatness.
Under President Bush's leadership,
the United States has sought a constructive relationship with
a changing China. Our two nations have cooperated well where
our interests overlap, including the current War on Terror and
in promoting stability on the Korean peninsula. Likewise, we
have coordinated on the future of Afghanistan and have initiated
a comprehensive dialogue on counterterrorism. Shared health
and environmental threats, such as the threat of HIV/AIDS, SARS,
and other infectious diseases, challenge us to promote jointly
the welfare of our citizens.
Addressing these transnational
threats will challenge China to become more open with information,
promote the development of civil society, enhance individual
human rights, and end suppression of the media. To make that
nation accountable to its citizens' needs and aspirations, much
work remains to be done. Only by allowing the Chinese people
to think, speak, assemble, and worship freely can China reach
its full potential. China has discovered that economic freedom
leads to national wealth. China's leaders will also discover
that freedom is indivisible – that social and religious freedoms
are also essential to national greatness and national dignity.
Eventually, men and women who are allowed to control their own
wealth will insist on controlling their own lives and their
own country.
Our important bilateral
trade relationship has benefited from China's entry into the
World Trade Organization, creating export opportunities and
jobs for American farmers, workers, and companies. The power
of market principles and the WTO's requirements for transparency
and accountability have bolstered openness and the rule of law
in China. Republicans support the commitment of President Bush
and Republicans in Congress to ensure that China fulfills its
WTO obligations.
There are, however, other
areas in which we have profound disagreements, including human
rights, China's observance of its nonproliferation commitments,
and America's commitment to the self-defense of Taiwan under
the Taiwan Relations Act.
We support President Bush's
efforts to narrow differences where they exist but not to allow
them to preclude cooperation where there is agreement.
The United States government's
policy is that there is one China, as reflected in the three
communiqués and the Taiwan Relations Act. America opposes any
unilateral decision by either China or Taiwan to change the
status quo. Republicans recognize that America's policy is based
on the principle that there must be no use of force by China
against Taiwan. We deny the right of Beijing to impose its rule
on the free Taiwanese people. All issues regarding Taiwan's
future must be resolved peacefully and must be agreeable to
the people of Taiwan. If China violates these principles and
attacks Taiwan, then the United States will respond appropriately
in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act. America will help
Taiwan defend itself.
Republicans applaud President
Bush and the Republican Congress for honoring our nation's promises
to the people of Taiwan, a longstanding friend of the United
States and a genuine democracy. Taiwan deserves America's strong
support, including the timely sale of defensive arms to enhance
Taiwan's security. In recognition of its growing importance
in the global economy, Republicans applaud Taiwan's membership
in the World Trade Organization and support its participation
in the World Health Organization and other multilateral institutions.
America's relations with
Vietnam are still overshadowed by two grave concerns. The first
is uncertainty concerning the Americans who became prisoners
of war or were missing in action. Republicans commend President
Bush for enhancing efforts to obtain the fullest possible accounting
for those still missing and for the repatriation of the remains
of those who died in the cause of freedom. The second is continued
retribution by the government of Vietnam against its ethnic
minorities and others who fought alongside our forces there.
The United States owes those individuals a debt of honor and
will not be blind to their suffering.
The Republican Party is
committed to democracy in Burma, and to Nobel Laureate Aung
San Suu Kyi and other democratic leaders whose election in 1990
was brutally suppressed and who have been arrested and imprisoned
for their belief in freedom and democracy. Republicans share
with her the view that the basic principles of human freedom
and dignity are universal. We are committed to working with
our allies in Europe and Asia to maintain a firm and resolute
opposition to the military junta in Rangoon.
Because of the strategic
location and historical ties of the Pacific island nations to
the United States, Republicans will continue to work closely
with the countries of this region on a wide variety of issues
of common concern.
Europe
Republicans applaud President
Bush for the visionary agenda he set forth at the beginning
of his Administration: the establishment of a Europe whole,
free, and at peace. That agenda is in the finest tradition of
America's historical commitment to the freedom and security
of Europe. It builds on the legacy of the courageous and resolute
leadership of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush,
through which the Cold War was won.
We hail the President's
success in achieving unprecedented cooperation with Europe –
at NATO, through the European Union, and with individual nations
– in combating terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction, building peace and democracy in Afghanistan and
Iraq, and advancing the cause of freedom, democracy, and opportunity
throughout the broader Middle East and North Africa. In particular,
we are grateful for the close friendship and strong partnership
with the United Kingdom, upholding the tradition of a special
relationship between our two nations. Together and with strong
U.S. leadership, America and Europe are decisively confronting
the greatest challenges and boldly seizing the historic opportunities
of our time.
We believe that the security
of the United States is inseparable from the security of Europe.
This enduring truth was reaffirmed by our European allies after
the attacks of September 11, 2001, when NATO invoked its Article
V self-defense clause for the first time in the history of the
Alliance, recognizing that the attack on America was also an
attack on the Alliance as a whole.
Republicans know that a
strong NATO is the foundation of peace in Europe and beyond.
We commend NATO's leadership of the International Security Assistance
Force in Afghanistan – a mission that has been led in the past
by the United Kingdom, Turkey, Germany, and the Netherlands
and is being supported by European partners such as Ireland,
Albania, and Croatia. We applaud the establishment of a NATO
operation to train Iraqi security forces. We hail those NATO
nations and NATO partners that are contributing forces to Iraq,
including the Polish-led division for which the Alliance has
provided technical support.
Republicans remain steadfast
supporters of NATO enlargement. We recall that the leadership
of a Republican Senate helped Poland, the Czech Republic, and
Hungary return to the Euro-Atlantic Community through membership
in the Alliance. We hail the President's leadership in NATO's
decision to welcome seven new democracies into the Alliance
this year – Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia,
and Slovenia. Republicans support the continued enlargement
of NATO to include other democratic nations willing and able
to share the burden of defending and advancing our common interests.
Republicans recognize and
applaud the fact that especially since September 11, 2001, some
of America's strongest allies and friends have been the democracies
of Central and Eastern Europe – many of whom inspired the world
during the Cold War by assaulting the Iron Curtain again and
again until it finally crashed down forever. Republicans hail
the participation in the multinational coalition in Iraq of
NATO members that joined the Alliance in 1999 and 2004 – Poland,
Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania,
Romania, and Slovakia – as well as the contributions of Ukraine,
Georgia, Moldova, Albania, and Macedonia. Through their dedication
to the cause of security and freedom in Iraq, these nations
– together with the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands,
Denmark, Portugal, and Norway – are demonstrating their commitment
to the values shared by members of the transatlantic community.
We also applaud the contribution of forces in Iraq by Azerbaijan
and Kazakhstan and support strengthening NATO's partnerships
with these nations and their neighbors in the Caucasus and Central
Asia.
President Bush is forging
a new relationship with Russia based on the central reality
that the United States and Russia are no longer strategic adversaries.
We hail the President's visionary leadership in reassessing
the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which was a relic of the
Cold War and treated Russia as an enemy. The President has strengthened
this new relationship by concluding the historic Moscow Treaty
on Strategic Reductions, which will reduce the nuclear arsenals
of our two nations to their lowest levels in decades. President
Bush is rightly refocusing the relationship on emerging and
potential common interests and challenges, especially broadening
our already extensive cooperation in the War on Terror and promoting
beneficial bilateral trade and investment relations. At the
same time, Republicans believe that Russia's uneven commitment
to the basic values of democracy remains a matter of great concern.
We continue to support the independence and stability of the
states of the former Soviet Union in the belief that a prosperous
and stable neighborhood will reinforce Russia's integration
into the Euro-Atlantic community.
Republicans recognize and
hail President Bush's use of the prestige and influence of the
United States to support the efforts of leaders in Ireland and
the United Kingdom and the many other people of goodwill who
are working to achieve a lasting and peaceful settlement in
Northern Ireland. We endorse President Bush's personal reaffirmation
of America's commitment to the Good Friday Agreement and to
its full and complete implementation, as expressed during his
visit to Northern Ireland in April 2003. We applaud the President's
appointment of a Special Envoy for Northern Ireland, who is
participating in the peace process and supporting efforts of
Ireland and the United Kingdom to restore the democratic process
in Northern Ireland. We share the President's commitment that
America's support for this vital work will continue.
Republicans support America's
commitment to Northern Ireland's economic development, including
our nation's contributions to the International Fund for Ireland
and private U.S. investment in the North, with care to ensure
fair employment and better opportunities for all. Though the
burdens of history weigh heavily upon that land, we cheer its
people for taking the lead in building for themselves and for
their children a future of peace and understanding.
Our Party continues to support
a peaceful settlement for Cyprus and respect by all parties
for the wishes of the Cypriot people. A fair and lasting Cyprus
settlement will benefit the people of Cyprus, as well as serve
the interests of America and our allies, Greece and Turkey.
The Broader Middle East and North Africa
Republicans share President
Bush's understanding that just as events in Europe determined
the outcome of the Cold War, events in the broader Middle East
will set the course for the victory of free nations in the War
on Terror.
It is important to reaffirm
that the war we wage against terrorists is not a battle of faiths.
As the home to millions of Muslim believers, America welcomes
the valuable role of Muslim leaders in promoting peace. We recognize
that acts of violence against innocents violate the fundamental
tenets of the Islamic faith. We know that in this struggle against
terrorism free nations have strong allies, of every faith, including
millions of people in the Middle East who want to live in freedom.
As Republicans, we share the President's conviction that if
that region grows in democracy, prosperity, and hope, the terrorist
movement will lose its sponsors, lose its recruits, and lose
the festering grievances that keep terrorists in business.
We affirm our support for
President Bush's Forward Strategy of Freedom in the Middle East,
as well as the Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative
adopted at the G-8 Summit this year.
Republicans support efforts
by the President, Vice President, and Republican Congress to
ensure that America takes the side of reformers who are committed
to democratic change. We support doubling the budget for the
National Endowment for Democracy and focusing its new work on
bringing free elections, free markets, free speech, and free
labor unions to the Middle East. We support the President's
expansion of America's public diplomacy efforts, including the
use of radio and television to broadcast uncensored information
and a message of tolerance in Arabic and Persian to tens of
millions of people.
We applaud the commitment
represented by the President's Middle East Partnership Initiative,
which funds economic, political, and educational reform efforts
in the Middle East and champions opportunity for all people
of the region, especially women and youth.
We are pleased that the
momentum of freedom in the Middle East is beginning to benefit
women. In Afghanistan, women are preparing to vote in free elections,
having participated in the drafting of a new constitution and
taken on key responsibilities in a liberated nation. Under the
ruthless grip of the Taliban regime, Afghan girls were barred
from getting an education, and women were banned from holding
jobs and were publicly whipped when they did not follow the
Taliban's rules. Afghanistan's new constitution affords equal
rights to all Afghan citizens, and Afghan women are now being
integrated into the economic, social, and political life of
their liberated country. In Iraq, the systematic use of rape
by Saddam Hussein's regime to dishonor families has ended, and
the country's interim constitution guarantees all Iraqis the
right to vote and makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis
of gender, ethnicity, or religion.
As a fundamental element
of the President's strategy, Republicans support the expansion
of economic opportunities for the peoples of the Middle East,
including through free trade. We applaud the enactment of free
trade agreements with Jordan and Morocco, and the completion
of negotiations toward such an agreement with Bahrain. We support
the President's goal of a Middle East Free Trade Area by 2013
and highlight the conclusion of Trade and Investment Framework
Agreements with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab
Emirates, Oman, and Tunisia, among others. Republicans endorse
continued assistance and support for countries that have made
peace with Israel – led by Egypt and Jordan. We applaud the
actions of President Bush and the Republican Congress to provide
both nations with new grants and loan guarantees to promote
economic reform measures.
The Republican Party shares
President Bush's commitment to the security of America's democratic
ally Israel and the safety of the Israeli people. We remain
committed to ensuring that Israel maintains a qualitative edge
in defensive technology over any potential adversaries.
We believe that terror attacks
against Israelis are part of the same evil as the September
11, 2001, attacks against America. We recognize Israel's right
to defend itself in the face of homicide bombings and other
attacks against the people of Israel.
We are very concerned about
the escalation of anti-Semitic violence worldwide, including
in Europe. This violence has included physical assaults, use
of weapons, arson of synagogues, and desecration of Jewish cemeteries
and statues. We are proud of President Bush's outspoken condemnation
of anti-Semitism. We share his conviction that anti-Semitism
poisons public debates within democratic nations and that mankind
must come together to fight such dark impulses.
We support President Bush's
vision of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side
in peace and security. However, as he observed in his remarks
of June 24, 2002, for such a vision to become a reality, Palestinians
need a new leadership, not compromised by terror. Like all other
people, Palestinians deserve a government that serves their
interests and listens to their voices. If Palestinians embrace
democracy and the rule of law, confront corruption, and firmly
reject terror, they can count on American support for the creation
of a Palestinian state. The Bush Administration has been clear
about the obligations of Arab nations in achieving peace in
the Middle East.
Republicans agree with President
Bush that Israel's plan to remove all settlements from Gaza
and several settlements from the West Bank is a courageous step
toward peace in the face of continuing terrorist violence. This
initiative can stimulate progress toward peace as laid out in
the Road Map launched by President Bush.
Republicans commend the
government of Israel for its desire to pursue peace, even in
the face of continuing terrorist attacks. This is demonstrated
by steps Israel has taken, such as removing unauthorized outposts
and improving the humanitarian situation by easing restrictions
on the movement of Palestinians not engaged in terrorist activities.
Republicans agree with President
Bush's assessment that an agreed, just, fair, and realistic
framework for a solution to the Palestinian refugee issue, as
part of any final status agreement, will need to be found through
the establishment of a Palestinian state and the settling of
Palestinian refugees there, rather than in Israel. We also share
the President's view that as part of a final peace settlement,
it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status
negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice
lines of 1949. All previous efforts to negotiate a two-state
solution have reached the same conclusion. It is realistic to
expect that any final status agreement will only be achieved
on the basis of mutually agreed changes that reflect these realities.
Republicans continue to support moving the U.S. Embassy from
Tel Aviv to Israel's capital, Jerusalem.
In Iran, we continue to
see a government that represses its people, pursues weapons
of mass destruction, and supports terror. We also see Iranian
citizens risking intimidation and death as they speak out for
liberty, human rights, and democracy. The Iranian people have
a right to choose their own government and determine their own
destiny. We applaud President Bush's leadership in ensuring
them that the United States supports their aspirations to live
in freedom, including by broadcasting uncensored information
to the Iranian people nearly 24 hours a day. We also support
the President's practice of forming policy toward Iran based
on Iranian actions, not words, and applaud his Administration's
progress in convincing America's friends and allies, most importantly
in Europe, to join us in a firm, common approach to ending Iran's
nuclear weapons programs. Under President Bush's leadership,
the United States and our European allies are speaking as plainly
as possible to the Iranians, making it absolutely clear that
the development of a nuclear weapon in Iran is intolerable to
the international community.
USHERING IN AN OWNERSHIP
ERA
"The role of government
is not to control or dominate the lives of our citizens. The
role of government is to help our citizens gain the time and
the tools to make their own choices and improve their own lives.
That's why I will continue to work to usher in a new era of
ownership and opportunity in America."
— President George W. Bush
Ownership gives citizens
a vital stake in their communities and their country. By expanding
ownership, we will help turn economic growth into lasting prosperity.
As Republicans, we trust people to make decisions about how
to spend, save, and invest their own money. We want individuals
to own and control their income. We want people to have a tangible
asset that they can build and rely on, making their own choices
and directing their own future. Ownership should not be the
preserve of the wealthy or the privileged. As Republicans who
believe in the power of ownership to create better lives, we
want more people to own a home. We want more people to own and
build small businesses. We want more people to own and control
their health care. We want more people to own personal retirement
accounts. With President Bush's leadership we have taken great
strides in making the dream of ownership available to millions
of Americans, and in the next four years the President and Republicans
in Congress will unlock the door to ownership for many more.
Tax Relief: Making it Happen, Making it Permanent
George W. Bush ran for President
on a promise of lower taxes, so that people could keep more
of the income they earn. He fulfilled that pledge. The fundamental
premise of tax relief is that everyone who pays income taxes
should see their income taxes reduced. The President offered
a plan to lower all tax rates. Republicans in Congress strongly
supported the President's plan. In 2001, President Bush signed
historic tax relief into law. This year, 43 million families
with children are receiving an average tax cut of over $2,000.
The 2001 law:
* Created a new, low 10
percent income tax bracket;
* Lowered individual income tax rates for all Americans who
pay income taxes;
* Doubled the child tax credit to $1,000;
* Reduced the marriage penalty for 33 million married couples;
* Expanded education IRAs, made pre-paid tuition plans tax-free,
and created a deduction for higher education expenses;
* Phased-out the death tax that penalizes family-owned small
businesses and farms;
* Simplified and expanded IRAs and 401(k)s so workers can save
more for their retirement; and
* Increased the adoption tax credit and the child care tax credit.
President Bush and the Republican
Congress built on the reforms of 2001 by passing the Jobs and
Growth Act of 2003. This legislation assisted our economic recovery
by accelerating the 2001 tax relief and encouraging investment.
The tax rates on capital gains and dividend income were reduced
to the same, lower rate of 15 percent to encourage saving and
investment. Seven million senior citizens who rely on dividend
income are benefiting from this tax relief. The law also quadrupled
small business expensing so entrepreneurs can deduct from their
taxes the first $100,000 of investment. Because of the 2001
and 2003 tax cuts, 111 million families are receiving an average
tax cut of over $1,500 and the overall tax burden on working
Americans is the lowest it has been in 37 years.
We believe that good government
is based on a system of limited taxes and spending. Furthermore,
we believe that the federal government should be limited and
restricted to the functions mandated by the United States Constitution.
The taxation system should not be used to redistribute wealth
or fund ever-increasing entitlements and social programs.
Many Democrats, however,
believe the government has a right to claim the money earned
by working Americans. They fight any attempt to return the balance
of power from Washington to individual families and businesses.
Furthermore, the slim majority held by Republicans in the Senate
and the rules of the Senate make it difficult to pass permanent
tax relief. All of the tax relief provided over the last four
years will be eliminated in the next six years if Congress does
not take action to make the relief permanent. Our Party endorses
the President's proposals to make tax relief permanent, so that
families and businesses can plan for the future with confidence.
Anything less will result in a significant tax increase on Americans.
Making the tax cuts permanent is a crucial first step toward
expanding ownership and ensuring that America turns economic
growth into lasting prosperity. The only way to accomplish this
goal is to elect a solid Republican majority to both houses
of Congress. We look forward to a new Congress with larger Republican
majorities working with President Bush to ensure that taxes
do not go back up on American families.
Increasing Saving
More than half of all Americans
save and invest in private markets. We want even more people
to build assets that they own and can use to meet a variety
of needs over the course of their lives. In the past few years
President Bush and Congressional Republicans have passed into
law a variety of measures to improve, simplify, expand, and
protect retirement savings in IRAs, 401(k)s, and other retirement
plans. Their actions:
* Increased the amount
you can save each year tax-free.
* Made it easier to take your retirement plan from one job to
the next.
* Allowed women who take time off from work to start a family
to catch up on their missed retirement plan contributions.
* Required more disclosure for employer sponsored retirement
plans and required that rules apply to both executives and rank-and-file
employees.
Republicans will not rest
on this success. We will build upon it by promoting policies
that encourage workers to save. We support the President's proposal
to create a new Lifetime Savings Account (LSA) so workers can
save for a variety of needs, to consolidate the three types
of current law IRAs into a single Retirement Savings Account
(RSA), and to consolidate numerous employer-based retirement
plans into a single Employer Retirement Savings Account (ERSA).
These account options will promote personal saving, which opens
up more opportunities for the saver and increases private capital
that is available to entrepreneurs for investing, growing the
economy, and creating jobs.
Strengthening Social Security with Ownership
Social Security needs to
be strengthened and enhanced for our children and grandchildren.
Republicans remain committed to the principles the President
outlined:
* Anyone now receiving
Social Security, or close to being eligible for it, is guaranteed
that their benefits will not be cut and their taxes will not
be raised. Social Security is a promise made by this country
to its citizens and Republicans will keep that promise.
* Key changes to Social Security should merit bipartisan agreement
so all improvements are a win for the American people rather
than a political victory for any one party.
* Personal retirement accounts must be the cornerstone of strengthening
and enhancing Social Security. Each of today's workers should
be free to direct a portion of their payroll taxes to personal
investments for their retirement. It is crucial that individuals
be offered a variety of investment alternatives and that detailed
information be provided to each participant to help them judge
the risks and benefits of each plan. Today's financial markets
offer a variety of investment options, including some that guarantee
a rate of return higher than the current Social Security system
with no risk to the investor.
* Young people deserve to know their Social Security will in
fact be there when they retire, just as we have guaranteed it
to their grandparents and parents today. This new generation
of American workers deserves to have ownership of their future.
They must have choices.
* Assets in personal accounts should belong to each individual.
Every American should have the opportunity to build a nest egg
for the future and pass along that money to their children or
grandchildren, who could use the funds to pay for college, buy
a home, start a small business, or begin saving for their own
retirement.
* Choice is the key. Any new options for retirement security
should be voluntary, so workers can choose to remain in the
current system or opt for something different.
This is a challenge that
demands leadership. President Bush has shown this leadership
by proposing a bold alternative to the collapse of Social Security.
Along with Americans everywhere, we pledge to join him in this
endeavor of a lifetime.
Individual ownership of
voluntary personal retirement accounts for today's workers will
make Social Security more equitable, but, just as importantly,
will put the system on sure financial footing. Fifty years ago
there were 16 workers to support every one beneficiary of Social
Security. Today there are just 3.3 workers for each beneficiary.
By the time young men and women who are entering the workforce
today turn 65, there will be only two workers for each beneficiary.
Doing nothing is not an option. We must keep faith with both
the past and the future by strengthening and enhancing Social
Security. We believe that everyone who participates in the Social
Security program should use legal and accurate identification.
President Bush formed a
bipartisan commission that recommended three models for reform
and many Republicans in Congress have exhibited leadership in
sponsoring six different bills. Non-partisan analysis of these
proposals shows that each strengthens Social Security and that
each shares a common characteristic: giving workers the option
of supplementing Social Security with personal retirement accounts
that they own. Our Party supports the efforts of President Bush
and Congressional Republicans to enact legislation during the
next term.
Homeownership
Homeownership is central
to the American dream, and Republicans want to make it a reality
for everyone. That starts with access to capital for entrepreneurs
and access to credit for consumers. Both have improved immensely
in the past four years, resulting in record levels of homeownership.
For the first time, more than half of all minorities own their
home.
We support the President's
goal of increasing the number of minority homeowners by at least
5.5 million families by the end of the decade. Since President
Bush announced his initiative in 2002, an additional 1.6 million
minorities have become homeowners. The Self-Help Homeownership
Opportunities Program helps low-income families purchase a home.
The most significant barrier to homeownership is the down payment.
We support efforts to reduce that barrier, like the American
Dream Downpayment Act and Zero Downpayment Mortgages. The President
and Congress have taken action to provide counseling and education
to help first-time homebuyers navigate the process of buying
a home. The Administration has also taken steps to alert people
to the dangers of predatory lending, in an effort to help Americans
maintain a positive credit history.
Affordable housing is in
the national interest. That is why the mortgage interest deduction
for primary residences was put into the federal tax code and
why tax reform of any kind should continue to encourage homeownership.
We support efforts to enact the Single-Family Affordable Housing
Tax Credit. At the same time, a balanced national housing policy
must recognize that decent housing includes apartments, and
addresses the needs of all citizens, including renters.
In many areas, housing prices
are higher than they need to be because of regulations that
drive up building costs. Some regulation is of course necessary,
and so is sensible zoning. We urge states and localities to
work with local builders and lenders to eliminate unnecessary
burdens that price many families out of the market. We see no
role for any federal regulation of homebuilding. We do foresee
a larger role for state and local governments in controlling
the federally assisted housing that has been so poorly managed
from Washington. We also encourage the modification of restrictions
that inhibit the rehabilitation of existing distressed properties.
Small Business
Small businesses are the
most potent force of economic growth and job creation in America.
They generate more than half of our nation's gross domestic
product and create seven out of ten new private-sector jobs
in America. Small businesses have been the primary vehicles
of economic advance for American women.
Republicans pledged in 2000
to lower tax rates for small business owners and entrepreneurs,
end the death tax, cut red tape, reform our liability system,
and aggressively expand overseas markets for our goods and services.
Though more work remains to be done, including reauthorizing
the Small Business Administration, President Bush and Congressional
Republicans have made good on each of those commitments. They
have:
* Reduced taxes on 25 million
small business owners and entrepreneurs. Much of the tax relief
came from reductions in individual income tax rates. Ninety
percent of businesses pay income taxes at individual rates,
not corporate rates. This includes hundreds of thousands of
successful small business owners and entrepreneurs who pay taxes
in the top tax rates and whose taxes would increase considerably
under John Kerry's economic plan.
* Lowered the tax burden on investment in new equipment by quadrupling
the limit on small business expensing from $25,000 to $100,000
and allowing additional first-year depreciation of that equipment.
* Phased-out the death tax that punishes family-owned small
businesses and family farms.
* Increased federal contracts to small businesses. In 2003,
small businesses received the largest percentage ever of all
federal contracts. In addition, President Bush developed a strategy
to reverse the trend toward bundling of contracts, a practice
that has denied small businesses the ability to compete for
billions of procurement dollars.
* Reduced paperwork. For example, 22.4 million small business
taxpayers now have fewer lines to fill out on tax forms, freeing
up an estimated 9.5 million hours previously used for paperwork
every year.
* Enacted Health Savings Accounts, which allow individuals to
save and pay for their health care tax-free. Combined with a
catastrophic health plan, they are an easier and less costly
way for small businesses to provide health insurance for their
employees.
* Enacted common sense liability protections in the Terrorism
Risk Insurance and SAFETY Acts.
* Negotiated agreements to reduce trade barriers and expand
access to foreign markets.
An area in special need
of more work is liability reform. Frivolous lawsuits put more
money in the pockets of trial lawyers and leave businesses with
less money to create jobs. They raise health care costs on small
businesses, often preventing them from offering health insurance
to their employees. We support efforts by President Bush, Congressional
Republicans, and Republican governors to curb the burden of
frivolous lawsuits. We recognize that the Democrats' nominees,
one of whom made his fortune as a trial lawyer, are beholden
to the interests of the trial lawyer lobby and offer no hope
for reform of this badly broken system.
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
Health Savings Accounts
allow people to own and control their health care. They are
an important step toward creating a system of consumer-driven
health care that puts patients and doctors at the center of
decision-making – not government bureaucrats. When consumers
make decisions about health care, individuals control their
health care dollars and health care decisions. Health Savings
Accounts allow people to save, earn interest, and spend tax
free on their health care needs. HSAs are combined with a low-premium,
high-deductible health insurance plan to offer flexible, affordable
insurance options for small businesses and individuals. Health
Savings Accounts are now available to all Americans thanks to
the efforts of President Bush and the Republican Congress. The
next step, which our Party endorses, is to extend tax deductibility
to the insurance premiums associated with HSAs. We also support
efforts to expand the use of Health Savings Accounts to help
control health care costs and give individuals more power in
making important medical decisions.
Private Property Rights
The core of ownership in
America has always been ownership of private property that a
citizen can call his or her own. Republicans respect this tradition.
For reasons both Constitutional and environmental, therefore,
President Bush and the Republican Congress will safeguard private
property rights by enforcing the Takings Clause of the Fifth
Amendment and by providing just compensation whenever private
property is needed to achieve a compelling public purpose. We
oppose efforts to diminish the rights of private citizens to
the land they own.
BUILDING AN INNOVATIVE,
GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE ECONOMY
"By leading the world
when it comes to innovation and change, we'll make America a
hopeful place for those who want to work, and those who want
to dream, and those who want to start their own business."
— President George W. Bush
America's economy is the
strongest in the world, and it is getting stronger thanks to
lower taxes, fewer burdensome regulations, and a focus on encouraging
investment. Our goal is to make sure America remains the strongest
economy in a dynamic world and to make it possible for every
American who wants a job to find one. We must ensure that workers
are equipped with the education and training to succeed in the
best jobs of the 21st century, and we must encourage the strong
spirit of innovation that has put America at the forefront of
new technology industries. Future prosperity demands that we
have affordable, cleaner, more independent energy supplies and
affordable, high-quality health care. We must maintain our commitment
to free and fair trade, lower taxes, limited regulation, and
a limited, efficient government that keeps up with the new realities
of a changing world. By keeping the costs of running a business
low and ensuring that our workers have the skills to compete
in a dynamic global economy, President Bush and the Republican
Congress will continue to ensure that America is the best nation
in the world in which to create jobs.
Lower Taxes and Economic Growth
In 2001, President Bush
and the Republican Congress worked together to pass the most
sweeping tax relief in a generation. By letting families, workers,
and small business owners keep more of the money they earn,
they helped bring America from recession to a steadily expanding
economy. Despite enduring the after-effects of the stock market's
irrational exuberance in the late 1990s, terrorist attacks on
our nation, and corporate scandals that bubbled to the surface
after years of inattention, the U.S. economy has now grown for
33 straight months. And unlike four years ago, there are no
signs of an end to the current economic growth.
The proof is in the numbers,
and the numbers prove our economy is strong and growing stronger.
* Over the past year, gross
domestic product (GDP) grew at one of the fastest rates in two
decades.
* Without the President's tax relief, real GDP would have been
more than 3 percent lower and 2 million fewer Americans would
have been working at the end of last year.
* Since last August, 1.5 million new jobs have been created.
* The unemployment rate has fallen from 6.3 to 5.5 percent,
which is below the average of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
* Employment over the last year is up in 46 of the 50 states,
and the unemployment rate is down in 49 of the 50 states. In
addition to the official figures, household surveys show that
hundreds of thousands of new jobs have been created, unreported,
through self-employment and by small businesses.
* Real after-tax incomes are up by 9.6 percent since December
2000.
* Homeownership rates are at record levels – seven out of ten
American families own their own home today.
* Consumer confidence is up from the levels seen at this time
last year.
* Inflation remains low by historical standards, as do mortgage
rates.
We know what brought us
this success – the hard work of the American people and the
Republican commitment to low taxes. Now we must keep our economy
on the right path by preventing taxes on families from going
up next year, making the tax relief of the last four years permanent,
and reforming the tax code to make it simpler, fairer, and more
growth-oriented.
Tax Reform
In 2000 we rightly declared:
"The federal tax code is dysfunctional. It penalizes hard
work, marriage, thrift, and success – the very factors that
are the foundations for lasting prosperity." As noted earlier,
from reducing marginal income tax rates to phasing out the death
tax, President Bush and the Republican Congress have made great
strides in addressing each of these problems. However, it is
equally obvious that much more remains to be done to reform
the federal tax code. Instead of being simple, the current tax
system is needlessly complex, making it susceptible to abusive
tax avoidance schemes. Instead of being efficient, it punishes
hard work, discourages savings and investment, and hinders the
international competitiveness of U.S. firms. Instead of being
fair, it is out of line with our basic values and undermines
our sense of fairness. Instead of being predictable, it is highly
unpredictable and uncertain. Tax reform is necessary to achieve
the simplicity, efficiency, fairness, and predictability that
the American people deserve, and to give all Americans the freedom
to determine their own spending priorities.
In particular, we must:
* Make the tax relief of
2001 and 2003 permanent. The various expiring tax relief provisions,
ranging from 2005 to 2011, make the tax code confusing for everybody
and limits the ability of workers, families, and businesses
to plan for the future with confidence. Nowhere is this more
apparent than with the death tax, which is reduced now, disappears
in 2010, and then comes fully back to life in 2011.
* Build on efforts to develop a tax code that does not punish
taxpayers for saving.
* Replace the tax code with a system that is simpler, provides
more freedom to our citizens, is pro-growth, boosts the economy,
and encourages savings and investment. A code that provides
several definitions of a child is a code that needs to be reformed.
We support legislation requiring
a super-majority vote in both houses of Congress to raise taxes.
We will prohibit retroactive taxation and will not tolerate
attempts by federal judges to impose taxes. We oppose all attempts
by the United Nations to impose a global tax and reject any
claims of authority by United Nations to do so. Because of the
vital role of religious and fraternal benevolent societies in
fostering charity and patriotism, they should not be subject
to taxation.
Alternative Minimum Tax
The alternative minimum
tax (AMT) represents a second tax system for individuals. Its
stated goal is to insure that high-income taxpayers pay some
amount of income tax. But due to the lack of indexing, the broad
base and reach of the current AMT will make it apply increasingly
to middle-income taxpayers. Millions of additional taxpayers
must complete AMT forms just to determine that they are not
subject to the tax. As we look at the broader issue of tax reform,
we call upon Congress to address this increasingly unfair second
tax system on hardworking Americans.
Fiscal Discipline and Government Reform
To make sure the private
sector has the capital it needs to invest, grow the economy,
and expand prosperity, our leaders must make sure that the growth
of the federal government remains in check. The challenges America
has faced over the last four years have created an unwelcome
but manageable budget deficit. These deficits are due to a number
of factors: the stock market downturn that began in 2000 and
the subsequent recession that President Bush inherited when
he took office; the terrorist attacks on America and the necessary
spending for homeland security and the War on Terror those attacks
precipitated; and the crisis in confidence produced by corporate
scandals that were years in the making.
It is important to view
the size of the deficit in relation to the size of the nation's
economy. By that measure, today's deficit, although unwelcome,
is well within historical ranges. A deficit that is 3.8 percent
of GDP, as is now projected for this year, would be smaller
than the deficits in nine of the last 25 years, and far below
the peak deficit figure of 6 percent of GDP reached in 1983.
This deficit is also in line with what other industrialized
nations are facing today. The U.S. deficit matches the average
deficit within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development, and is below the levels of France, Germany, and
Japan.
Much more importantly, because
the President and Congress enacted pro-growth economic policies,
the deficit is headed strongly in the right direction. Next
year's projected deficit, at 2.7 percent of GDP, would be smaller
than those in 14 of the last 25 years. As Republicans in Congress
work with the President to restrain spending and strengthen
economic growth, the federal deficit will fall to 1.5 percent
of the nation's economic output in 2009 – well below the 2.2
percent average of the last 40 years.
The events that brought
us into deficit are not completely behind us. The War on Terror
goes on. The recession has passed, but some industries and workers
are still feeling its effects. Republicans are committed to
winning the War on Terror and will continue to implement policies
that promote jobs, investment, and growth in every region of
the country and every sector of our economy.
Let us be clear: If government
is to meet the most pressing needs of our time and still maintain
fiscal discipline, government leaders must set priorities and
stick with them. President Bush has shown genuine leadership
in doing just that. Time and again, he has made difficult decisions
and followed through with clear determination. He has made it
plain that his top budgetary priority is to protect America
and win the War on Terror. He also remains committed to the
education reforms he spearheaded in 2001. All discretionary
spending must be kept in check and taxes must remain low to
stimulate economic growth.
We endorse the President's
pro-growth economic policies and his disciplined approach to
spending taxpayers' dollars. And we applaud the efforts of President
Bush and Republicans in Congress to meet our nation's priorities
and cut the deficit by more than half within five years.
PAYGO
Tax cuts and spending are
not the same. They do not have the same effect on the economy
or on the federal budget. Tax cuts allow American workers, families,
business owners, and investors to keep more of their own money.
New spending requires the government to take control of a bigger
slice of the economy. We recognize that the problem is not that
the American people are taxed too little but that the federal
government spends too much. To ensure that the federal government
respects the burdens on taxpayers and spends only as much as
is necessary to accomplish our common goals, we support extending
the pay-as-you-go requirement for mandatory spending only.
Limiting Spending Growth
Spending limits will help
Congress restrain the growth of government. We support a cap
on discretionary spending that will limit the growth of overall
spending while ensuring that priorities such as our nation's
security will continue to be met. We applaud President Bush
for submitting a budget for 2005 that provides significant increases
in funding to win the War on Terror and protect the homeland,
while limiting the growth in all other non-security related
discretionary spending to less than one percent.
Line-Item Veto
To further the goal of respecting
taxpayers' dollars and restraining spending, we endorse the
creation of a line-item veto, which the President could use
consistent with the Constitution to reject new appropriations,
new mandatory spending, or limited grants of tax benefits (to
100 or fewer beneficiaries) whenever he determines the spending
or tax benefits are not essential priorities. Under this approach,
all savings from the line-item veto would be used for deficit
reduction, and could not be applied to other spending. Governors
across the nation already have and use this tool to reduce unnecessary
spending. The President should have the same option.
Sunset Commission
It is often said that a
government program is the closest man has come to achieving
immortality. Government programs are designed with specific
purposes, and they ought to be assessed to determine whether
they are meeting their goals. We endorse creating a commission
to evaluate discretionary spending on federal agencies and programs
to ensure that taxpayer funds are being used for the best, most
efficient purposes. Such a commission would determine whether
certain programs are duplicative, wasteful or inefficient, outdated
or irrelevant, or failed. It would recommend to Congress programs
that could be terminated, moved, or restructured to make the
government more efficient.
Management Agenda
New government programs
are frequently created with little review of programs that already
exist to address the same perceived problem. Over time, numerous
programs with overlapping missions and competing agendas grow
up alongside one another – wasting money and baffling citizens.
We support President Bush's vision for government reform, which
is guided by three principles. Government should be: citizen-centered,
not bureaucracy-centered; results-oriented; and market-based,
actively promoting rather than stifling innovation through competition.
The President's management agenda is an effective tool for making
sure government is active but limited, focusing on results and
obtaining them efficiently.
Corporate Accountability
The Republican Party respects
and appreciates the private sector as the primary creator of
jobs, economic growth, opportunity, and prosperity in our society.
The private sector functions most effectively when laws are
transparent and people respect them – this includes people in
positions of power. When corporate leaders break the law, they
should be punished.
After fraudulent corporate
practices rooted in the irrational exuberance of the late 1990s
began to surface in the closing months of 2001, President Bush
worked with the Congress to take decisive action to restore
honesty and integrity to America's corporate boardrooms. In
July 2002, President Bush signed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the
most far-reaching reform of American business practices since
the 1940s. Under this new law, CEOs and Chief Financial Officers
are required to personally vouch for the truth and fairness
of their companies' disclosures; for the first time, an independent
board has been established to oversee the accounting profession;
investigators have been given new tools to root out corporate
fraud; and enhanced penalties are ensuring that dishonest corporate
officials do hard time.
We applaud President Bush
for vigorously enforcing the law to deter and punish further
corporate abuses. He established an interagency Corporate Fraud
Task Force to investigate and prosecute financial crimes; to
recover the proceeds of those crimes; and to hold corporate
criminals to account. Since the Task Force was established two
years ago, over 700 violators have been charged and over 300
convictions or guilty pleas secured, including more than 25
former CEOs. More than $1 billion in forfeited funds has also
been recovered from corporate wrongdoers for return to defrauded
creditors and investors. Separately, the enforcement budget
of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has more than
doubled, and the SEC has issued new rules to ban late-trading
and other fraudulent practices engaged in by certain mutual
funds.
Thanks to swift and decisive
action by President Bush and the Congress, Americans can trust
that corporate executives who operate outside the law will be
prosecuted.
Enforcing Trade Agreements and Opening New Markets
International trade has
become the world's most powerful economic force, and Americans
are seeing great benefits from free and fair trade. Exports
accounted for about 25 percent of the economic growth in the
1990s and supported about 12 million jobs. An additional 6 million
jobs are made possible by companies based in foreign countries
investing here in the United States. Consumers have benefited
– recent trade agreements save the average family of four $2000
per year by lowering regulatory barriers, eliminating tariffs,
and providing more consumer choices.
Free trade must be fair
trade that advances America's economic goals and protects American
jobs. To achieve this goal, we must act globally, regionally,
and bilaterally to negotiate new trade agreements and enforce
existing trade commitments. We must be at the table when trade
agreements are negotiated, make the interests of American workers
and farmers paramount, and ensure that the drive to open new
markets is successful. We reject moves toward economic isolationism.
America is the best place in the world to do business, and our
workers and products are the best in the world. On a level playing
field we can outmatch any other nation. We applaud the President's
actions to open foreign markets to American manufacturing products,
agricultural goods, services, and intellectual property, while
ensuring enforcement of trade agreements so that other nations
live up to their promises.
In 2000 we resolved to renew
Trade Promotion Authority so the President could more easily
negotiate trade agreements. In 2002 President Bush and Republicans
in Congress did exactly that. After lapsing for eight years,
the law now allows President Bush to work with other countries
to reduce barriers to our products and services. And he is using
the new authority:
* The Bush Administration
has negotiated trade agreements with 12 countries.
* They have made progress on agreements with another 10 countries.
* These free trade partners represent $2.5 trillion in purchasing
power – the equivalent of America's third-largest export market.
* The agreements include high levels of protection and strong
enforcement measures for intellectual property.
* The Administration has also made significant progress in negotiating
multi-lateral trade agreements, having just last month revived
World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations for the final phase
of the Doha round.
* The revival of these negotiations opens the door to lower
tariffs on consumer and industrial goods, reductions in tariffs
and trade-distorting export subsidies on agricultural products,
and market access and lower regulatory barriers for services.
The vitality of the U.S.
trade agenda depends upon the vigorous enforcement of
U.S.
trade laws against unfair competition. We will not tolerate
foreign practices, rules, and subsidization that put our exports
and manufacturers on an unequal footing. It is not enough to
secure signatures on a piece of paper; our trading partners
must follow through on the promises they make. As part of its
trade enforcement efforts, the Bush Administration has imposed
more anti-dumping orders on average each year than the previous
Administration. The United States was the first country in the
world to impose a safeguard action against Chinese textile and
apparel imports and to file a case against China in the WTO.
China settled that case, agreeing to repeal its subsidy of semiconductors
that was penalizing
U.S.
manufacturers. Also this year, through bilateral consultations
with China, the United States resolved seven other potential
trade disputes over high technology products, agriculture, and
intellectual property protection.
We strongly endorse the
Bush Administration's unprecedented effort to persuade and encourage
China to desist in its policy of manipulating its currency to
give Chinese manufacturers an artificial advantage in global
markets.
Reforming the Litigation System
America's litigation system
is broken. Junk and frivolous lawsuits are driving up the cost
of doing business in America by forcing companies to pay excessive
legal expenses to fight off or settle often baseless lawsuits.
Those costs are being paid by small business owners, manufacturers,
their employees, and consumers. A typical small business with
$10 million in annual revenue pays about $150,000 a year in
tort liability costs. That is money that could be used to invest
and hire new employees. Inefficiency and waste in the legal
system is costing the average American family of four $1,800
every year, equivalent to an extra 3 percent tax on wages. And
the bulk of jury awards to plaintiffs don't even go to the people
who deserve it. Injured persons on average collect less than
50 cents of every dollar that the legal system costs. Trial
lawyers get rich from the misfortune of others. If small business
is America's economic engine, trial lawyers are the brakes:
They cost hundreds of thousands of good jobs, drive honest employers
out of business, deprive women of critical medical care – then
skip out with fat wallets and nary a thought for the economic
havoc and human misery they leave in their wake.
We praise President Bush
and Republicans in Congress for their efforts to reform the
legal system by passing meaningful class action reform, asbestos
reform, and medical liability reform. And we call to account
Senate Democrats and the powerful trial lawyer lobby, who have
shown no shame in utilizing obstructionist tactics to thwart
the efforts of majorities in Congress to provide meaningful
relief to all Americans. The Republican Party reaffirms its
support for meaningful reform of the legal system, and will
continue its fight to guarantee the rights of all plaintiffs
to swift and speedy justice.
Transportation
A safe and efficient transportation
system is essential to keeping people and goods moving and cities
and communities prosperous. Congestion and delay not only waste
our time as individuals, they also burden businesses and our
entire economy with inefficiency and higher costs. Republicans
strongly support a comprehensive transportation policy agenda
that enhances safety, reduces congestion, modernizes infrastructure,
and promotes economic growth.
Our national railroad network
is a crucial component of our public transportation system.
Railroads helped build our country, and our national passenger
railroad network plays a key role in transportation and economic
growth. Republicans support, where economically viable, the
development of a high-speed passenger railroad system as an
instrument of economic development and enhanced mobility.
Republicans support a healthy
intercity passenger rail system. Amtrak provides a valuable
service to passengers, especially in the Northeast corridor.
But we recognize that the goal of establishing a national passenger
rail system with modest federal support has failed to materialize.
Clearly the financial problems plaguing Amtrak cannot be solved
simply by continued infusions of taxpayer dollars. Fundamental
reforms should be enacted to transition Amtrak into operational
self-sufficiency.
Ensuring an Affordable, Reliable, More Independent Energy Supply
A stable, affordable, more
independent energy supply is vital to fueling America's economic
growth, increasing prosperity, helping families afford prices
at the pump, and making America more secure. President Bush
and Republicans in Congress recognize the need for a balanced
energy policy that increases both energy production and conservation.
We need a comprehensive energy policy so that we will no longer
lurch from one energy crisis to the next. Recent electricity
blackouts, the California energy crisis, natural gas and oil
price spikes, and high gasoline prices remind us that only a
comprehensive energy policy will produce energy stability for
America's families and businesses.
As one of his first acts
in office, President Bush released the National Energy Policy
(NEP) report, a comprehensive plan to reduce America's dependence
on foreign sources of energy by increasing domestic energy production
and supporting conservation and alternative and renewable energy.
The President's proposal would make America more energy independent
while creating jobs and promoting economic growth. It includes
over 100 recommendations, nearly half of which addressed renewable
energy, energy efficiency, and conservation. President Bush
has implemented nearly every non-legislative recommendation
outlined in the NEP report. Republicans in the House and Senate
have stood solidly with the President. We endorse the President's
policy, appreciate the hard work of Congressional Republicans
in the face of intractable partisan opposition, and urge final
passage of a bill to secure America's energy future.
* Republicans support developing
new technologies for more efficient generation and use of power.
New technologies will allow us to create new job-producing industries
and save jobs in industries that have long been staples of America's
economy. For instance, working with Congressional Republicans,
the President has already committed $2 billion over 10 years
for clean coal research and development – which helps keep America's
coal industry strong and reduces the emissions associated with
coal use. As part of that commitment, we support FutureGen,
an international, public-private initiative to build the world's
first integrated sequestration and hydrogen research power plant
that would burn coal more cleanly. President Bush's Clear Skies
Initiative would create a $50 billion private market to deploy
these clean coal technologies.
* The Republican Party supports research and investment designed
to realize the enormous benefits of a hydrogen economy and put
the United States on the cutting edge of energy technology.
The FreedomCar Partnership and Hydrogen Fuel Initiative include
$1.7 billion over five years to begin building hydrogen cars
and the infrastructure to support them.
* Using the most sophisticated technologies, we can explore
and develop oil resources here at home with minimal environmental
impact. Our Party continues to support energy development in
the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR),
which, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, holds as much
as 16 billion barrels of oil – enough to replace oil imports
from Saudi Arabia for nearly 20 years. The drilling footprint
can be confined to just 2,000 acres (the entire refuge contains
19 million acres), about the size of Washington's Dulles Airport,
on ice roads that melt away in the summer, leaving little trace
of human intervention. We have already wasted precious time.
If the previous Administration had not vetoed the ANWR proposal
passed by the Republican Congress in 1995, at this moment ANWR
would be producing up to one million barrels of oil a day.
* Republicans strongly support removing unnecessary barriers
to domestic natural gas production and expanding environmentally
sound production in new areas, such as Alaska and the Rocky
Mountains. Increasing supply, including the construction of
a new natural gas pipeline from Alaska to the lower 48, will
bring needed relief to consumers and make America's businesses
more competitive in the global marketplace.
* Last summer, the largest blackout in North American history
affected 8 states, leaving more than 50 million Americans without
power. Republicans support measures to modernize the nation's
electricity grid to prevent future blackouts and provide American
consumers and businesses with more affordable, reliable power.
We will work to unleash innovation so entrepreneurs can develop
technologies for a more advanced and robust transmission system
that meets our growing energy demands. We also support the establishment
of mandatory, enforceable reliability rules for electric utilities
to reduce the likelihood of future blackouts.
* Republicans will continue to support renewable energy through
extension of the production tax credit for wind and biomass,
as well as efforts to expand the use of biodiesel and ethanol,
which can reduce America's dependence on foreign oil while increasing
revenues to farmers.
* Nuclear power provides America with affordable, emissions-free
energy. We believe nuclear power can help reduce our dependence
on foreign energy and play an invaluable role in addressing
global climate change. President Bush supports construction
of new nuclear power plants through the Nuclear Power 2010 initiative,
and continues to move forward on creating an environmentally
sound nuclear waste repository.
Education: No Child Left
Behind
Public education, access
for every child to an excellent education, is a foundation of
a free, civil society. The children who enter schools today
will leave as young adults, full of dreams for the future. They
will soon become the scientists and researchers who make great
discoveries, the engineers and mathematicians who build our
communities, the doctors and nurses who heal and comfort the
sick, the teachers who will educate the next generation, the
leaders who transform government, the poets, artists, and writers
who entertain and inspire. Every child deserves a first-rate
education, because every child holds infinite potential, and
we should give them every opportunity to reach it.
We believe there is an inseparable
link between a vibrant economy and a high-quality education
system. It takes a vibrant economy to provide the tax base necessary
to fund a high-quality education system. Equally, it takes a
quality education system to provide the highly skilled labor
force necessary to meet the demands of a growing, vibrant economy.
Strong schools will also
produce a workforce with the skills to compete in the 21st century
economy. We must have citizens capable of conceiving the next
generation of new technologies and innovations, mastering the
art of analyzing problems and crafting their solutions. Education
is the key to prosperity and fulfillment – the foundation on
which all other success is built.
On just his fourth day in
office, President Bush presented the No Child Left Behind initiative
to Congress. Less than a year later, he secured an overwhelming
bipartisan majority to pass the No Child Left Behind Act of
2001. It was the most significant overhaul of federal education
policy since 1965. And it became a promise kept to parents,
students, teachers, and every American.
The law is based on four
fundamental pillars:
* Ensuring stronger accountability
for student achievement, for all children
* Encouraging education methods that work
* Providing flexibility and control to states and local communities
* Giving parents more information about the quality of their
children's schools and offering them choices and resources for
their children's education
Results are now measured
on the basis of student achievement rather than simply dollars
spent. Students are benefiting from education reforms that set
high academic standards, encourage strong parental involvement,
recognize the role of excellent teachers, foster safe and orderly
classrooms, and establish a commitment to teaching the basics
of reading and math.
With this success, Republicans
have transformed the debate on education. We are the Party parents
can trust to improve schools and provide opportunity for all
children, in every neighborhood, regardless of background or
income. We are the party willing to embrace new ideas and put
them to the test. Americans agree that the status quo in education
is no longer acceptable. We have challenged low expectations
and poor achievement, and we are seeing results.
Now is the time to extend
the progress we've made. The No Child Left Behind Act is already
showing gains in elementary school, as student achievement scores
for fourth- and eighth-graders have increased in classrooms
across America. Our next mission is to take the reforms that
we know are working in elementary schools and apply them up
and down the education ladder – starting in early childhood
education, so that children enter school ready to learn, and
finishing in high school, so that every young adult who graduates
has the skills he or she needs to succeed in the 21st century
economy. For too long, the value of a high school diploma has
declined as students leave school without even basic skills
like reading and math, let alone the advanced math and science
skills the modern workforce demands. We pledge to bring real
reform to high schools. Thanks to President Bush's vision and
the success of the No Child Left Behind Act, we have a track
record worthy of Americans' trust.
Local Control
We recognize that under
the American Constitutional system, education is a state, local,
and family responsibility, not a federal obligation. Since over
90 percent of public school funding is state and local, not
federal, it is obvious that state and local governments must
assume most of the responsibility to improve the schools, and
the role of the federal government must be limited as we return
control to parents, teachers, and local school boards.
Historic Levels of Funding
President Bush and Congressional
Republicans have provided the largest increase in federal education
funding in history and the highest percentage gain since the
1960s. Support for elementary and secondary education has had
the largest increase in any single Presidential term since the
1960s – an increase of nearly 50 percent since 2001. The President
and Congress are particularly focused on programs for America's
neediest students, including minorities and children with special
needs. With this increased funding comes a new focus on achievement
and results.
High Standards and Accountability
The President and Republicans
in Congress recognize that states and local communities are
most directly responsible for the quality of education in their
schools. That is why the No Child Left Behind Act stipulates
that the states, not the federal government, develop an accountability
plan that will work best for them. Since President Bush signed
NCLB into law, all states have developed an accountability plan
of assessments, graduation rates, and other key indicators of
student achievement for all individual students and groups of
students. Under the No Child Left Behind Act, every child counts.
No child will be hidden in a maze of numbers. If some children
are struggling while others succeed, we will praise success
and deliver help to students who need it.
Reading
Our Party believes, as does
the President, that reading is the new civil right. Every child
must be able to read by the end of the third grade. The President
and Congressional Republicans have taken important steps to
help every student achieve that goal. The Reading First initiative
brings scientifically based reading instruction, including phonics,
to children in the early grades. Over $1.4 billion in funding
for reading programs provides training for teachers and materials
for children. In addition, since the passage of the No Child
Left Behind Act, states have received additional funds for early
childhood reading efforts.
Options for Parents
The Republican Party strongly
supports school choice, because choice creates competition and
competition puts the focus on quality. President Bush, Republican
governors, and members of Congress have worked to expand parental
choice and encourage competition by providing parents with information
on their child's school, increasing the number of charter schools,
and expanding education savings accounts for use from kindergarten
through college.
Under NCLB, states and school
districts publish report cards showing how well students are
achieving so communities and parents can know how well their
schools are doing. Parents of children in schools identified
as needing improvement can choose another public school or get
tutoring or other help for their child. President Bush and the
Republican Congress enacted the D.C. School Choice initiative
– the first federally funded school choice demonstration program.
We commend the President and Congress for making DC's schoolchildren
the most important special interest in education improvement.
And we support state efforts to expand school choice, as well
as the President's call to provide funding for new and existing
charter schools, including assistance for school facilities.
We believe that competition between schools is an effective
option to improve the educational benefits for our children.
The Republican Party supports the efforts of parents who choose
faith-based and other nonpublic school options for their children.
High School Education
We are beginning to see
success as a result of the No Child Left Behind Act at the elementary
level, and now we must improve our high schools so that every
graduate is prepared for the rigors of college, for the best
jobs of the 21st century economy, or for military service. President
Bush has proposed a number of initiatives to improve math and
science education, help striving readers, and raise standards
for high schools.
Supporting Teachers
Research confirms what every
parent knows to be true through commonsense and experience –
a good teacher makes all the difference in a child's education.
The No Child Left Behind Act set the goal of having a highly
qualified teacher in every classroom by the 2005-2006 school
year. States have been provided flexibility and resources to
make sure teachers have the skills and tools to be successful
with all children. These needed reforms are backed by historic
levels of funding for teacher quality initiatives and support
for teachers, including training, recruitment incentives, loan
forgiveness, and tax relief.
We must also work to reduce
the barriers that are keeping qualified professionals from entering
the classroom by expanding alternative pathways to teacher certification
– programs like Troops to Teachers, which helps former military
personnel become classroom teachers; and Transition to Teaching,
which provides training for people who want to become teachers
and encourages states to develop and expand alternative routes
to teacher licensure and certification.
Every teacher and every
student deserves a safe classroom in which to work and learn.
The No Child Left Behind Act ensures that teachers and other
school professionals can undertake reasonable actions to maintain
order and discipline in the classroom without the fear of litigation.
The law provides civil immunity in any state court and limits
the financial liability of teachers, instructors, principals,
administrators, and other education professionals for actions
taken to maintain discipline, order, or control in the school
or classroom.
Head Start and Early Childhood Education
We support the President's
"Good Start, Grow Smart" initiative, which strengthens
Head Start by increasing accountability in the program so that
students start kindergarten with the early skills they need.
It also includes the Early Reading First initiative, designed
to improve existing early education programs to prepare young
children to succeed in school, especially those from low-income
families. States should be able to coordinate preschool programs
with Head Start programs in exchange for meeting certain accountability
requirements. Community Colleges
Community colleges play
a vital role in not only cultivating citizens for the 21st century,
but also equipping them with the essential skills and training
needed for jobs in the new economy. Because they are so adaptable
and accessible, community colleges are increasingly critical
providers of job training, both for degree-seekers and for workers
seeking to retool, refine, and broaden their skills. We support
the President's High-Growth Job Training Initiative, which has
provided seed money to fund job training partnerships between
community colleges and local high-growth industries.
Higher Education Affordability
Republicans are working
to ensure that college is affordable and accessible for America's
low- and middle-income families through increased funding of
grants, lowinterest student loans, and tax breaks for working
families. As a result of Republican leadership, total student
aid for higher education has increased to a historic $73 billion
proposed for 2005. Next year, almost 10 million students and
parents will receive one or more grants, loans, or work-study
awards.
The President has requested
record levels of Pell Grant funding. These grants will help
an estimated 5.3 million low-income students pay for higher
education – one million more students than when President Bush
and Vice President Cheney came to office. Under a new Enhanced
Pell Grant proposal, low-income students who take a rigorous
high school curriculum – the kind of curriculum that will best
prepare them for success in college – will be eligible to receive
an additional $1,000 per year.
To ensure that America remains
the world leader in the innovation economy – and to ensure that
America's graduates have the training they need to compete for
the best jobs of the 21st century – President Bush proposes
to expand opportunities for math and science education in colleges
and universities. Needy students studying math and science will
be eligible to receive additional college aid.
Republicans have made Historically
Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving
Institutions (HSIs) a priority. For more than a century, HBCUs
and HSIs have played a vital role in providing opportunities
for excellence in higher education to millions of African American
and Hispanic students. Today, their mission continues, and it
deserves our support. We applaud President Bush for fulfilling
his pledge to increase funding for HBCUs and HSIs by 30 percent
since 2001.
Millions of Americans suffer
from problem or pathological gambling that can destroy families.
We support legislation prohibiting gambling over the Internet
or in student athletics by student athletes who are participating
in competitive sports. Training Our 21st Century Workforce
As the dynamic global economy
forces many workers to consider changing fields or adding new
skills, the President and Republican Congress want to make training
for new jobs easier to come by and more flexible in providing
individualized assistance. Ensuring that workers have the tools
they need to succeed in the 21st Century Economy is a critical
step in helping Americans be self-sufficient and successful.
It is also critical to maintaining our position as the most
productive and strongest economy in the world.
We support effective and
enhanced job training programs that offer states additional
flexibility and individuals more choice to design their own
workforce training programs. The President's Personal Reemployment
Accounts would provide unemployed workers flexible support and
incentives in finding a job. And President Bush and Congressional
Republicans are also providing unprecedented assistance for
workers adversely affected by foreign trade – including additional
training, income support, and health care assistance.
With English as our nation's
common language, people from every corner of the world have
come together to build this great nation. English empowers.
For newcomers, it is the fastest route to mainstream American
life, better paying jobs, and owning a piece of the American
Dream. Furthermore, fluency in English should be the goal of
bilingual education. At the same time, mastery of other languages
is important for America's competitiveness in the world market.
We advocate foreign language training in our schools and fostering
respect for other languages and cultures throughout society.
Protecting the Rights of Workers
We affirm the time-honored
right of individuals to voluntarily participate in labor organizations
and to bargain collectively. We also believe that no American
should be coerced into an association they do not wish to join.
And no one should be kept out of a job for which they are qualified
simply because they choose to remain independent of labor unions.
We therefore support the right of states to enact Right-to-Work
laws.
Republicans respect the
enormous sacrifices and commitment of the workers, including
building tradesmen, who responded to the attacks of September
11th. Thanks to their skill, courage, and patriotism, the very
dangerous work at the World Trade Center and Pentagon was done
remarkably quickly and without a single fatality. We will always
remember and honor the efforts of the rescue and recovery workers
who dedicated countless hours to helping America recover.
All American workers deserve
workplaces that are safe, healthy, and fair. The President and
Republican Congress have supported efforts to improve workplace
safety without burdening businesses with costly and unnecessary
regulations. And these efforts are showing results – overall
workplace fatalities and injuries are at record low levels.
American workers deserve
fair wages for hours spent working overtime. We are proud of
the fact that 1.3 million additional workers now have guaranteed
overtime protections as a result of Republican efforts to modernize
labor laws left untouched since 1949. For the first time ever,
the regulations explicitly guarantee overtime protection to
blue collar workers, police, firefighters, EMTs, factory workers,
construction workers, and licensed practical nurses, among others.
With clearly defined overtime rules that recognize the realities
of the modern workforce, employees and employers will have a
greater understanding of their rights and responsibilities.
Workers who pay dues through
their workplace deserve to know how their dues are being used
– especially when the money is being used to support political
activity. Republicans have enhanced financial disclosure requirements
for political campaigns, corporations, and pension funds in
order to bring about more transparency and accountability in
the political system. And the Bush Administration improved union
financial disclosure forms to offer union members more information
about how their dues money is spent. We encourage management
and unions to find common ground thereby ensuring economic viability
for both.
Men and women who retire
after decades spent in the workforce are entitled to the pensions
they and their employers have contributed to throughout their
careers. As part of the 2001 economic growth and tax relief
bill, workers' pension payments are now calculated on the basis
of their best three years of earnings rather than their last
three. This protects workers whose earnings decline with their
age. In addition, criminal prosecutions against employers and
plan trustees who abuse pension and health plans have increased
by more than 50 percent since 2001. More than $3 billion has
been secured through court judgments, settlements, and fines
covering 150 million workers and their dependents by holding
those who manage benefit plans accountable for their legal obligations
to protect plan participants. Thanks to Republican efforts to
enforce the law, the word is getting out that benefits managers
should invest and manage employees' retirement funds as carefully
as they would handle their own.
Republicans recognize the
historical federal health care promise made to coal industry
retirees. The Party will seek to ensure that health care needs
of "orphan retirees" in the coal industry will be
covered and will seek to ensure the continuation of those benefits.
True Solutions for Affordable, High-Quality Health Care
The cost of providing health
care for employees is a major burden for American businesses.
Health insurance costs for employers have been rising every
year since 1996, causing businesses to hire fewer new employees
and too many families to go without insurance. Studies show
that 60 percent of uninsured Americans either work for a small
business or are dependent upon someone who does. The way to
alleviate that burden is to bring down the cost of health care
in America. Shifting the cost-burden onto the federal or state
governments – costs that will ultimately be borne by the taxpayers
– is not an effective solution to the problem. We must attack
the root causes of high health care costs by: aiding small businesses
in offering health care to their employees; empowering the self-employed
through access to affordable coverage; putting patients and
doctors in charge of medical decisions; reducing junk lawsuits
and limiting punitive damage awards that raise the cost of health
care; and seizing the cost-saving and quality-enhancing potential
of emerging health technologies. It is also important that we
reaffirm our Party's firm rejection of any measure aimed at
making health care a government-run enterprise.
Association Health Plans (AHPs)
We support legislation to
enable small employers to pool together to offer health insurance
options to their employees. The legislation, already passed
by the House, gives small businesses the same purchasing power
currently enjoyed by large employers and labor unions. This
will go a long way toward providing health care coverage for
America's uninsured, 60 percent of whom are estimated to work
for or be dependent on someone who works for a small business.
Medical Liability Reform
The medical liability system
is harming our medical delivery system. Doctors are afraid to
practice medicine. Frequent, unwarranted, lawsuits force doctors
out of certain specialty areas and geographic regions. The most
dangerous result of this is the declining availability of emergency
trauma care and women's health services. In many cases, costs
are so prohibitive that many obstetrics/gynecology practices
are scaling back service or choosing not to practice altogether.
Junk lawsuits add at least $60 billion to health care costs
in America because doctors are forced to practice defensive
medicine, ordering extensive, unnecessary, and expensive tests
and procedures to keep trial lawyers at bay.
The President has proposed,
and the Republican House of Representatives has passed, reforms
that would speed compensation to injured patients, reduce health
care costs, and improve Americans' access to quality health
care. Shamefully driven by the powerful trial lawyer lobby,
Democrat Senators have repeatedly thwarted the efforts of the
Republican majority to deliver meaningful medical liability
reform. They have employed their obstructionist tactics three
times in the current Congress alone. The Republican Party reaffirms
its commitment to putting patients and doctors ahead of trial
lawyers. We will continue to battle for litigation reforms that
help keep doctors in practice, adopt reasonable caps on non-economic
awards in medical malpractice suits, and ensure that Americans
have access to quality affordable health care. Health Information
Technology
Estimates indicate that
between 44,000 and 98,000 Americans die each year from medical
errors, while as much as $300 billion is spent each year on
health care that does not help patients – unnecessary, inappropriate,
inefficient, or ineffective treatments. This is absolutely unacceptable.
High costs, medical errors, administrative inefficiencies, and
poor coordination are all closely connected to our failure to
use health information technology as an integral part of medical
care.
Republicans support President
Bush's goal of ensuring that most Americans have electronic
health records within the next 10 years. He has requested funding
for demonstration projects for broader adoption of health IT
systems in communities and states. Already, the use of health
IT in the Veterans Administration has shown improvements in
the quality of care and reductions in the cost. The Administration
is working with private sector innovators to develop reliable,
secure methods of storing personal medical information that
will broaden the benefits of health IT. Privacy is paramount,
and participation by patients will be voluntary. These electronic
health records will be designed to share information among and
between health care providers only when authorized by a patient.
Advances at the nexus of
science and technology raise serious moral and legal questions.
For example, although medical conditions have been linked to
certain genetic markers, there is no certainty that many of
these diseases will actually develop. There is growing concern
that employers and insurance companies will use genetic information
to discriminate by denying jobs or insurance coverage to individuals
who have predictive genetic markers for certain diseases. We
support efforts to enact genetic discrimination legislation
that is fair, reasonable, and consistent with existing laws
to prevent discrimination.
In addition, we must take
action to allow doctors and hospitals to review best practices
without fear of litigation. By sharing information, health professionals
can determine ways to avoid errors and complications. These
efforts are blocked, however, because good-faith efforts to
improve quality and safety are targets for lawsuits based on
new information that is made public in the review process. We
support the work of the President and Republicans in Congress
on legislation to make it possible for health professionals
to work together more effectively to provide the best possible
care for all patients.
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