Republican Party Platform of 2004
August 30, 2004

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Investing in Science, Technology, and Telecommunications

Republicans recognize that the role of government in the 21st century economy is to foster an environment in which innovation can flourish. The Information Revolution is the product of the creative efforts and hard work of men and women in the private sector who have had the freedom to innovate. At the same time, we recognize the magnitude and pace of change require vigilance by government to make the most of the opportunities, mitigate the possible downsides of rapid technological advancement, and protect the technology industry from modern day pirates at home and abroad – both those who violate copyrights and those who loot by litigation. The technological innovation we have experienced thus far is surely only the beginning of almost unimaginable growth and change. We will seize this historic opportunity.
Manufacturing

The United States remains the largest producer and exporter of manufactured goods in the world, despite enduring significant challenges during the economic downturn. The U.S. needs a national minerals strategy to supply the country with minerals and metals vital to national and economic security and to the competitiveness of

U.S. manufacturing. The continued primacy of U.S. manufacturing is due in large part to the Administration's manufacturing initiative, which represents the first time in modern history that an Administration has made U.S. manufacturing a top priority. We support the Administration's efforts in this regard as a recognition of the critical role of manufacturing to job creation, national security, and the economy.
Research and Development

America's economy is undergoing a fundamental transition from one based primarily on manufacturing to one based on innovation, services, and ideas. Two-thirds of America's economic growth in the 1990s resulted from the introduction of new technology and 60 percent of the new jobs of the 21st century require post-secondary education, yet only one-third of America's workforce has achieved that level.

In order to maintain America's global leadership, Republicans have provided unprecedented support for federal research and development to help spur innovation. Federal R&D funding is up 44 percent from 2001 to $132 billion in 2005, which includes a 26 percent increase in support for basic research. The President has doubled the budget for the National Institutes of Health and increased the National Science Foundation budget by 30 percent. President Bush and the Republican Party also support making the R&D tax credit permanent.

The rapid pace of technological development demands that we remain on the leading edge of innovation and science. Republicans are committed to providing the investment and incentives needed to foster next generation technologies. The 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, passed by a Republican Congress and signed by President Bush, increased funding for nanotechnology research. In addition, the President has dedicated $1.7 billion over five years to develop hydrogen fuel cells and related next-generation energy technologies. The President's support for NASA and vision for space exploration will also enhance scientific development and technological breakthroughs.
Telecommunications

Broadband provides Americans with high-speed Internet access connections that improve the nation's economic productivity and offer life-enhancing applications, such as distance learning, remote medical diagnostics, and the ability to work from home more effectively. Broadband technology will enhance our nation's economic competitiveness and will help improve education and health care for all Americans. Republicans have implemented a wide range of policies to create economic incentives, remove regulatory barriers, and promote new technologies, all of which are essential to making broadband competitively available and affordable.

President Bush established the goal of providing every American with access to affordable broadband by 2007. We recognize that taxing broadband access would increase its cost to consumers and stifle the extension of broadband service. The President has signed into law a two-year extension of the Internet Access Tax moratorium and is working with Congressional Republicans to pass legislation that would explicitly extend the moratorium to broadband and make it permanent.

Republicans are working to reduce burdensome regulations that discourage broadband investment. High-speed Internet access should not be governed by regulations established decades ago for the telephone. Consumers should have more options for affordable broadband access. The promise of broadband over power lines and wireless Internet access provide new opportunities to connect households, schools, and businesses to the Internet. Under the President's leadership, the Administration has nearly doubled the amount of spectrum available for innovative wireless broadband applications such as Wi-Fi and Wi-Max.

Republican policies are working:

* Broadband adoption has grown 300 percent from December 2000 to December 2003 – from 7 million to 28 million lines.
* Over 93 percent of zip codes have broadband access.
* Ninety-four percent of public schools have broadband access to the Internet.

By applying 21st century policy to 21st century technology, we will encourage new investment that will bring broadband to even more homes in more areas of America.

STRENGTHENING OUR COMMUNITIES

"The measure of compassion is more than good intentions, it is good results. By being involved and by taking responsibility upon ourselves, we gain something…. We contribute to the life of our country. We become more than taxpayers and occasional voters, we become citizens. Citizens, not spectators. Citizens who hear the call of duty, who stand up for their beliefs, who care for their families, who control their lives, and who treat their neighbors with respect and compassion."

— President George W. Bush

Community is more than just a set of streets and sidewalks and homes. The strength of communities is the people who inhabit them, the American citizens who spend their days working, striving, and caring for their families, and advancing toward the realization of their dreams. To ensure that all Americans have an opportunity to build better lives, we must provide the framework in which communities can flourish. That requires access to affordable and accessible health care, protection of America's environment and natural resources, the maintenance of public safety and prosecution of people who violate the peace of communities, guaranteed rights and equal opportunities for all members of society, and compassionate help for our fellow citizens who are trapped in unhealthy or harmful situations. Republicans know that the heart and soul of America are found in communities across the nation. We honor the individual character and diversity of communities throughout America, and we seek to help citizens strengthen the places they call home.
Promoting Affordable, Accessible Health Care

Republicans recognize that health care is intrinsic to every family's economic comfort. Americans must have the security to know that the next illness will not wipe out their savings or drive them into debt. We appreciate the fact that market-based health care has given America the most advanced medical system in the world. Proposals discussed earlier, such as Health Savings Accounts and Association Health Plans, provide economic benefits while also making health care more consumer-driven and increasing access to high-quality, affordable health care. We reject any notion of government-run universal health care because we have seen evidence from around the world that government-run health care leads to inefficiencies, long waiting periods, and often substandard health care. And we applaud efforts by President Bush and the Republican Congress to reform the broken medical liability system that is raising health care costs and limiting patients' access to doctors – doctors who are being driven out of their practices by excessive medical liability costs. We support continued efforts to make health care more affordable, more accessible, and more consumer-driven.
Strengthening Medicare

In 2003, the Congress passed and President Bush signed historic legislation that strengthens and adds a prescription drug benefit to Medicare. The new prescription drug benefit will be available to 40 million seniors and people with disabilities on January 1, 2006. Until that time, beneficiaries have access to immediate and significant savings on prescription drugs through Medicare-approved prescription drug discount cards. Since drug discount cards became available on June 1, four million Medicare beneficiaries have enrolled in the program and 100,000 more enroll each week. Seniors are saving up to 30 percent off the retail price of brand name drugs and up to 60 percent off the price of generic drugs. In addition, more help is available for those who need it most. Low-income seniors receive $600 this year and next year to assist them with the costs of their prescriptions.

Under the new drug benefit, seniors who like the coverage they have today can keep it. The new law will encourage employers to continue their retiree health benefits by offering them subsidies for their current plans and giving them the option to supplement the new Medicare drug benefit in the same way they supplement current Medicare doctor and hospital benefits.

The Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act improves many facets of the Medicare program. It increases funding for doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers, especially in rural areas where reimbursement levels are far below what is paid in other regions of the country. The new law will also transform Medicare into a program that not only enables the treatment of disease, but helps people stay healthy. In addition to a new "Welcome to Medicare" physical, the program will contain new services and screenings to help detect and prevent heart disease, diabetes, and other major illnesses.

We also applaud the addition of income relation for the Medicare Part B premium to further protect the Medicare program for the future and to protect low income seniors from increased costs.

We applaud the President and Republicans in Congress for their determination to follow through on this promise to America's seniors. While others spent many years talking about adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare, this President and this Congress got it done.
Community Health Centers

To improve access for the underserved, the Republican Congress and the White House have championed the largest expansion in the history of the community health centers program. Community health centers are locally-controlled, private providers of primary and preventive care services in the most underserved communities in the country. Health centers are not federal providers. Funds are awarded competitively to underserved communities through the federal grant program. Community health centers provide access to doctors and nurses regardless of a patient's ability to pay. One in four children from low-income families receives health care at community health centers.

The President and Congress have already made it possible for community health centers to serve an additional 3 million Americans – a total of 13 million – as part of the President's five-year plan to fund 1,200 new or expanded sites to serve an additional 6.1 million people. Today, there are more than 600 new or expanded health centers delivering preventive and primary care to patients in medically underserved communities across America. We endorse plans to continue increasing access to community health centers, so that uninsured and low-income Americans have reliable options for receiving high-quality medical care.
Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)

The President has worked to help states develop new approaches to expand coverage in their Medicaid and SCHIP programs. Waivers and state plan amendments approved by the Department of Health and Human Services have expanded eligibility under these programs to more than 2.6 million children and improved benefits for more than 8 million children and adults since 2001. By working with governors of both parties, the Bush Administration is fostering the creation of innovative approaches to health care access and delivery by the states. We support enhancing efforts to reach the parents of children who are eligible for SCHIP so that more children receive health coverage.
Health Insurance Tax Relief

We applaud the President's commitment to increasing health coverage for all Americans. He proposed a refundable tax credit that will make health insurance more affordable to millions of Americans who do not have employer-provided insurance or public insurance. The Treasury Department estimates the tax credit will extend insurance to between four and five million Americans.

The Trade Promotion Authority bill, supported by the Republican Congress and signed by President Bush, provides a tax credit to help workers obtain health insurance coverage if they have lost their jobs due to international trade. The tax credit has helped thousands of displaced workers get insurance coverage.
Women's Health

As Republicans, we hold dear the health and vitality of our families. Our efforts to build healthier families must begin with women – our mothers, daughters, grandmothers, and granddaughters. Women have unique health care needs. They are underrepresented in medical research and often do not have access to the appropriate level of medical care and treatment. Across this country, and at all levels of government, Republicans are aggressively developing health care initiatives targeted specifically at the needs of women – through expanded research, treatment, disease management, prevention, and screening initiatives.

The enormous increases in the budget of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) brought about by the Republican Congress and President Bush are making possible groundbreaking clinical trials and new research into diseases and health issues that disproportionately affect women. This new research also has yielded important discoveries pertaining to conditions that affect the elderly, the majority of whom are women, and should promote future benefit.

The increasing focus upon health care for the elderly holds promise for advances in the treatment of osteoporosis, heart disease, and other ailments that should no longer be considered the inevitable price of old age. We also are leading efforts to reach out to underserved and minority female populations, where disparities persist in life expectancy, infant mortality, and death rates from cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and other illnesses. Moreover, we favor increased efforts – both through expanded research and expanded care – to improve maternal and child health care, as well as health care services for women before, during, and after pregnancy.

Republicans are dedicated to pursuing women's health care initiatives that include access to state-of-the-art medical advances and technology; equality for women in the delivery of health care services; medical research that focuses specifically on women; appropriate representation of women in clinical trials; expanded access to prevention, screening, health promotion, chronic care, and disease management services; and direct access to women's health providers.
Eliminating Health Care Disparities

Disparities in health and health care based upon race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, or geography are unacceptable. Historically, African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Alaska Natives have experienced poorer health outcomes and received lower-quality care than the majority of Americans. For example, infant mortality rates are twice as high among African Americans as whites, and African American children are twice as likely to have asthma and six times as likely to die from asthma as white children. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Latino populations is four times higher than among whites while the prevalence among African Americans is nine times higher than that of whites. In addition, Hispanics are nearly twice as likely to die from diabetes as whites, and African American adults are almost twice as likely to die from heart disease as whites. There is also strong evidence that people living in rural and other non-metropolitan areas, regardless of their race or ethnicity, are more likely to experience access problems and poorer health outcomes. Republicans are committed to addressing these health and health care disparities.

Progress has been made in recent years in a number of areas, including enhancement of federal research on health disparities, identification of barriers to care for our increasingly diverse population, expansion of the number of health professionals who are committed to serving minority and underserved patients and their communities, and improvement in the quality of care for uninsured and underserved populations. Republicans believe we must build on this success and increase these efforts.

We strongly support initiatives to improve the quality of care delivered to all Americans. We applaud President Bush for supporting treatment of mental illness. Mental and physical illness should be treated equitably and fairly. In addition, we support improved training for health providers, including efforts to improve communication, collaboration, and understanding between patients and doctors. We are funding research to find cures and treatments for illnesses that disproportionately affect minority populations, as well as targeted, well-coordinated programs to prevent, manage, and treat these diseases. We support efforts to encourage qualified minorities to enter the fields of science and medicine.
Investing in Cutting Edge Medical Research

America is the world's leader in developing the medical and pharmaceutical breakthroughs that have revolutionized health care. President Bush and the Republican Congress recognize and strongly support scientific advancement, especially in the area of biomedical research. Working together with President Bush, the Republican Congress has fulfilled its pledge to double funding for the National Institutes of Health. With increased funding, the NIH is now supporting nearly 40,000 projects, an all-time high. Government investment in biomedical research yields tangible benefits, resulting in decreased death rates, better access to health care, and a better quality of life for all Americans – especially for underserved and minority populations. Quality research provides benefits including disease prevention, early detection, and new, more effective treatments for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's, and HIV/AIDS. Republicans continue to be active leaders in setting sound biomedical research policy and remain committed to placing a high priority on continued world leadership in research, while maintaining accountability for the use of resources and a responsibility to uphold the highest ethical standards.
Stem Cell Research

Republicans have supported, and will continue to support, important scientific research without undermining the fundamental ethical principles that have guided medical research in this country for decades. We especially welcome and encourage a stronger emphasis on adult stem cell and cord blood stem cell research, which has already provided benefits to hundreds of patients and provides real promise for treatments to help millions of Americans.

We recognize that President Bush made a carefully considered decision to allow federal funding for stem cell research for the first time, and did not affect stem cell research in the private sector. We strongly support the President's policy that prevents taxpayer dollars from being used to encourage the future destruction of human embryos. In addition, we applaud the President's call for a comprehensive ban on human cloning and on the creation of human embryos solely for experimentation.

In August 2001, President Bush stated: "[The hope [it offers is amazing…. Yet the ethics of medicine are not infinitely adaptable. There is at least one bright line: We do not end some lives for the medical benefit of others." We wholeheartedly agree.
Long-Term Care Insurance

As Americans live longer, we must consider the costs of spending more years in retirement and the increasing health care needs associated with aging. There is a growing need for long-term care and it calls for long-term planning, both by individuals and by government. We encourage, at all levels of government, regulatory flexibility and sensitivity to individual needs in nursing homes and related facilities. Sacrifices are being made by millions of men and women to care for their mothers and fathers. We support proposals by President Bush and Republicans in Congress to recognize and reward individual responsibility and compassion by creating an above-the-line tax deduction for premiums of long-term care insurance and allowing an additional personal tax exemption for taking care of an elderly parent at home.
Honoring America's Veterans

As Americans, we must honor our commitment to the 25 million veterans in the United States. America is dedicated to honoring its commitment to these patriots. Veterans have helped shape the American character, and their service represents the highest form of national service. President Bush and Congress have increased funding for veterans services, including substantial increases in Veterans' Administration (VA) health care funding. This additional funding has made it possible for the VA to improve health care access for veterans who need it most, including low-income veterans, those with service-connected disabilities, and those who need VA's specialized services. President Bush has twice signed legislation effectively providing "concurrent receipt" of both military retiree pay and VA disability compensation for combat-injured and highly-disabled veterans, thus reversing a century-old law preventing concurrent receipts. In addition, President Bush has fulfilled his promise to cut the disability claims backlog that existed when he took office and reduce waiting times for veterans seeking initial medical care. We support more care to more veterans in more places where they need it most. We also applaud the President's efforts to maintain and expand our national cemeteries. And with World War II veterans dying at the rate of 4,000 a day, we note with great appreciation the opening of the nation's World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Our veterans have fought and defended this country in many wars and proudly raised the American flag on such far-away places as San Juan Hill, Iwo Jima, and Pork Chop Hill, and it has become a symbol of our American spirit and unity. We, as well as they, deplore the deliberate desecration of our flag and state that its deliberate desecration is not "free speech," but rather an assault against both our proud history and our greatest hopes. We therefore support a Constitutional amendment that will restore to the people, through their elected representatives, their right to safeguard Old Glory.
Respecting and Protecting the Environment

Republicans know that economic prosperity is essential to environmental progress. That belief is supported by compelling historical evidence. For example, over the last 30 years, air pollution from the six major pollutants decreased substantially, even as our population grew, our energy consumption increased, and the economy expanded.

Our Party's environmental policies are geared towards results. Thanks to President Bush's strong leadership and the commitment of Congressional Republicans to reform and innovation, air pollution has been reduced, water quality has improved, wetlands have been restored, and more than a thousand brownfields sites are being revitalized. Republicans also acknowledge the progress made by states and local communities in environmental stewardship efforts. As the laboratories of innovation, they should be given flexibility and authority to address many environmental concerns.

Finally, we link the security of private property to our environmental agenda because environmental stewardship has been best advanced where property is privately held. After all, people who live on the land, work the land, and own the land also love the land and protect it. 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.
Clear Skies

We support President Bush's Clear Skies proposal, the most aggressive Presidential initiative in history to reduce power plant emissions. Clear Skies, through a proven cap-and-trade system, will reduce by 70 percent emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury. The market-based policies in Clear Skies, along with a 90 percent cut in pollution from diesel vehicles, will help states meet new, more stringent standards to protect public health. The President's plan also provides regulatory certainty, enabling power plants to install state-of-the-art pollution control technologies. These steps will lead to significant environmental improvements while ensuring a reliable, affordable electricity supply and keeping America's coal industry strong.
Revitalizing Urban Communities

Two years ago, President Bush fulfilled a campaign promise and signed legislation to clean up more of the abandoned and polluted industrial sites known as brownfields. So far, the Bush Administration has restored more than 1,000 brownfields to usable condition, which is more than were restored in the previous seven years. And that work continues. By prioritizing cleanup of brownfields, we are encouraging growth on existing sites and thus preserving greenfields and undeveloped land. We are also opening usable land for small businesses and residents in hundreds of communities, and creating thousands of jobs. We support these efforts to revitalize urban neighborhoods, both aesthetically and economically.
National Parks

President Bush's commitment to national parks is producing results: parks are better managed, better funded, and better protected. Over the last four years, President Bush has been fulfilling his campaign promise to address the $4.9 billion maintenance backlog plaguing the National Park system. Republicans will continue to support President Bush's approach to improving national parks, and will move forward with common-sense management reforms that maximize visitor satisfaction and protect and conserve the parks' natural resources for future generations.
Land Conservation and Stewardship

Our air, land, and water have all become cleaner in the last four years – and this progress can be seen all across America. The 2002 Farm Bill provided unprecedented levels of funding to enhance conservation efforts by farmers and ranchers. And last year President Bush worked with the Republican leadership in Congress to pass the Healthy Forests Restoration Act. This law, based on the President's Healthy Forests Initiative, is reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire, saving lives and property, and improving the health of our forests.
Protecting America's Water Resources

America's wetlands serve as habitat for thousands of species of wildlife. They also help to trap pollution, clean the water, reduce the impact of floods, and stabilize shore areas. Three decades ago, the United States was losing wetlands at the rate of about 500,000 acres each year. President Bush is working with the Republican Congress and state and local officials to fulfill his new national goal to increase wetland acres and quality by restoring, improving, and protecting at least three million wetland acres over the next five years. To achieve this worthy goal, our Party also will focus on critical resource needs, including implementing a sensible plan to address coastal erosion in the Gulf Coast region.

Chronic water shortages in the West are one of the greatest environmental challenges facing the nation in the coming decades. We support efforts by the Administration to work with states and local communities in the West to expand the use of proven tools like market-based voluntary transfers through water banks and other water-marketing tools. We also endorse the President's efforts to work with the state of Florida to implement the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. Our Party reaffirms the traditional primacy of states over water allocation. We steadfastly oppose diverting water away from the Great Lakes region.
Protecting Oceans

Republicans are committed to developing an integrated, comprehensive national oceans policy. The President and Congress have supported the work of the U.S. Oceans Commission, which will offer important recommendations to improve management, observation, and conservation of oceans and coastal resources for future generations.
Global Climate Change

Republicans are committed to meeting the challenge of long-term global climate change by relying on markets and new technologies to improve energy efficiency. These efforts will help reduce emissions over time while allowing the economy to grow. Our President and our Party strongly oppose the Kyoto Protocol and similar mandatory carbon emissions controls that harm economic growth and destroy American jobs.
Modernizing the Endangered Species Act

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) serves a noble purpose, which Americans overwhelmingly support. Our Party remains committed to the goal of protecting species to enhance their chances for survival. Over the last 30 years, successes under ESA have been limited due to confrontation and polarization – including an ever-growing barrage of litigation preventing the Fish and Wildlife Service from protecting new species and recovering plants and animals already listed as threatened or endangered.

Republicans believe we can achieve greater progress in protecting species for future generations through results-based cooperative conservation programs and voluntary agreements that encourage private stewardship. The ESA must be updated to reflect new approaches that focus resources on species in need of recovery, not lawsuits. As with other major federal environmental laws, ESA should require peer-reviewed science, so resources can be focused on the most pressing recovery efforts. Just as importantly, the Act should encourage expansion of voluntary agreements with private property owners while ensuring that ESA enforcement respects and upholds private property rights.
Agriculture and Rural America

American farm and ranch families embody some of the best values of our nation: hard work and risk-taking, love of the land and love of our country. Farming is the first industry of America – the industry that feeds us, the industry that clothes us, and the industry that increasingly provides more of our energy. The success of America's farmers and ranchers is essential to the success of the American economy. The President put his words into action when he signed the 2002 Farm Bill, passed with strong support from Republicans in Congress. And President Bush continues to pursue and enforce international trade agreements that affect farmers and ranchers.

Republican policies are working, such as the recently revitalized WTO Doha round negotiations that will create new opportunities for U.S. farmers and ranchers by cutting foreign tariffs, expanding quotas for American products, and eliminating agricultural export subsidies. Since 2001, the U.S. farm economy has enjoyed tremendous improvement and is today in a position of historic strength. Farmers' net cash income for 2003 was $63 billion, an 11.5 percent increase from 2000. And farmers' equity reached a record $1.16 trillion last year, putting American agriculture in its best financial health ever.

There is much more to rural America than agriculture, ranching, and forestry. The kind of economic development that generates family-sustaining jobs is critical to small towns and rural communities. President Bush and the Republican Congress are promoting good schools, accessible health care, decent housing, safe drinking water and waste disposal, and efficient transportation. They also are expanding the availability of the Internet and broadband service to allow people in rural America to access world-class technology.
Revitalizing America's Cities

We are proud to meet in a city that enjoyed a new birth of vitality under the leadership of one of America's foremost Republican mayors, Rudy Giuliani. New York City evolved from a city plagued by crime, smothered by government, and void of opportunity, into one that attracts both families and young people looking to build careers and enjoy an urban lifestyle. New York's turnaround is a testament to the great power of turning Republican ideals into policies and solutions. By focusing on economic growth and opportunity, business development, crime control, and the revitalization of urban eyesores, we can inject fresh energy and opportunity into America's urban centers.

Lower taxes, passed by the Republican Congress, are stimulating development and investment in cities around the country. New homeownership opportunities are giving residents a stake in urban neighborhoods. Violent crime rates, including robberies and rapes, were down in 2003. The President's commitment to cleaning up brownfields and making them ready for productive purposes is transforming once-crumbling communities. His Faith-Based Initiative is extending the work of religious and charitable groups that operate in cities – serving meals, helping the homeless, and providing mentors for children. And the No Child Left Behind law is bringing new hope to parents and students in inner city schools.

President Bush is building on the successes of Republican mayors who bring opportunity to inner cities. At the same time, the President is working with mayors and local leaders across America to ensure that the unprecedented homeland security funding provided by the Republican Congress is spent on shoring up the security of major cities and preparing first responders for any potential future attack. By making America's cities places of opportunity and safety, attractive to citizens of all backgrounds, we ensure that urban centers remain vital and vibrant communities.
The District of Columbia

Washington, D.C., is a special responsibility of the federal government and should be a model for urban areas throughout the country. The city's downhill slide was stopped in the 1990s, both through its own internal efforts and through the active intervention of Congressional Republicans. The D.C. homebuyer's tax credit helped to revitalize marginal neighborhoods and should be reinstated. A landmark tuition assistance act opened the doors of America's public colleges and universities to residents of the District. And, thanks to President Bush acting in concert with Republicans in Congress, District elementary and high school students are now benefiting from the $14 million D.C. School Choice initiative – the first federally-funded school choice demonstration program.

Local government reform is an issue of importance to both Congress and residents of the District. Recent city administrations have made great strides in improving the operations of city government and, as these efforts continue, we support yielding more budgetary and legal autonomy to local elected officials.

As the seat of our federal government and a likely target of the September 11th attacks, Washington, D.C. also plays a critical role in homeland security. The federal government should continue to work closely with city officials to ensure maximum public safety for both residents of and visitors to the District, and respect the unique budgetary constraints under which the city operates.

We respect the design of the Framers of the Constitution that our nation's capital has a unique status and should remain independent of any individual state.
Combating Chronic Homelessness

We support efforts to end chronic homelessness by providing support services and housing for chronically homeless individuals. Although these individuals comprise roughly ten percent of the homeless population, they consume a disproportionately large share of all homeless emergency services because their housing, health, and other needs have not before been comprehensively addressed. By taking on the toughest cases, we can bring help and hope to individuals who may feel that society long ago left them behind.
Protecting Our Rights, Fighting Criminals, and Supporting Victims

Republicans and President Bush strongly support an individual right to own guns, which is explicitly protected by the Constitution's Second Amendment. Our Party honors the great American tradition of hunting and we applaud efforts by the Bush Administration to make more public lands available to hunters, to increase access to hunting clinics and safety programs for children and adults, and to improve opportunities for hunting for Americans with disabilities.

We believe the Second Amendment and all of the rights guaranteed by it should enable law-abiding citizens throughout the country to own firearms in their homes for self-defense. To protect the rights and safety of law-abiding citizens, the Congress passed and President Bush signed the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, which allows active and retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed guns in public while off-duty. We support efforts by the Administration and Congress to enhance the instant background check system for gun purchases and to ensure that records of lawful transactions are destroyed in a timely manner. We applaud Congressional Republicans for seeking to stop frivolous lawsuits against firearms manufacturers, which is a transparent attempt to deprive citizens of their Second Amendment rights. We oppose federal licensing of law-abiding gun owners and national gun registration as a violation of the Second Amendment and an invasion of privacy of honest citizens.

We agree that the best way to deter crime is to enforce existing laws and hand down tough penalties against anyone who commits a crime with a gun. This approach is working. Since Project Safe Neighborhoods was instituted in 2001, hundreds of new federal, state, and local prosecutors have been hired to target criminals who use guns. Prosecutions are up 68 percent, and the violent crime victimization rate is down 21 percent. The Republican Party and President Bush support a federal Constitutional amendment for victims of violent crime that would provide specific rights for victims protected under the U.S. Constitution. We support courts having the option to impose the death penalty in capital murder cases. We praise President Bush and Republicans in Congress for the measures they have taken to protect pregnant women from violent crime by passing Laci and Conner's law, which recognizes the common-sense proposition that when a crime of violence against a pregnant woman kills or injures her unborn child, there are two victims and two offenses that should be punished.

Helping Ex-Offenders Contribute to Society

This year, more than 600,000 inmates will be released from prison. Studies show that, without intervention, approximately two-thirds will likely be rearrested within three years of their release. The President has proposed a four-year, $300 million initiative to reduce recidivism and help released inmates contribute to their communities. The initiative will harness the resources and experience of faith-based and community organizations in providing job training and placement services to 50,000 non-violent adult ex-offenders, transitional housing for up to 30,000, and voluntary mentoring support for those desiring it.
Promoting Drug-Free Communities

Drug abuse and addiction ruin lives. There can be no debate about it. Every adult has a responsibility to teach children about the dangers of drugs – in terms of both physical harm and potential death, as well as lost opportunities for success. After witnessing eight years of Presidential inaction on the war against drugs during the prior Administration, we applaud President Bush for his steady commitment to reducing drug use among teens. The Administration recently exceeded its two-year goal of reducing drug use among young people. The most recent survey shows an 11 percent drop between 2001 and 2003 in the use of illicit drugs by teenagers. Among teens, some drugs— such as LSD— have dropped to record-low levels of use. For other drugs, we are seeing the lowest levels of use in almost a decade.

To continue this progress, we must ensure that jail time is used as an effective deterrent to drug use and support the continued funding of grants to assist schools in drug testing. At the same time, we should make drug treatment available to people willing to take the courageous step of admitting they have a problem and working hard to overcome it. The President's Access to Recovery (ATR) program is giving individuals seeking drug treatment expanded access to effective providers through a new voucher program.
Faith-Based and Community Initiatives

The renewal of entire communities is an awesome task that involves one human face, and one human heart at a time. But the American people have a long and seasoned history of working wonders. Government does have a role to play, but as a partner, not a rival, to the armies of compassion. These forces have roots in the areas they serve, often based in local churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples. Their leaders are people to whom the disadvantaged are not statistics, but neighbors, friends, and moral individuals created in the image of God.

We applaud President Bush's efforts to promote the generous and compassionate work of America's faith-based and neighborhood charities. The President established the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in the White House to coordinate federal, state, and local efforts to tear down barriers that have prevented religiously affiliated groups from applying for government grants on an equal footing with secular organizations. While the federal government must not promote religious activity, advocate on behalf of any religion, or fund any organization that discriminates on the basis of religion when providing taxpayer-funded services, no organization should be disqualified from receiving federal funds simply because it displays religious symbols, has a statement of faith in its mission statement, or has a religious leader on its board.

As a result of the President's leadership, the federal government is ending discrimination against faith-based organizations and now welcomes these groups as partners and allies in the effort to deliver social services to people in need. Faith-based groups must show that their programs are effective at providing help – whether it be serving the needs of the homeless, mentoring children, or helping Americans who battle addiction. Faith can often be a crucial element in the struggle to overcome personal challenges – and now Americans have the option of receiving treatment that meets their physical as well as spiritual needs. We commend the President for his steadfast support of people and institutions of faith, and we urge the Congress to act on legislative proposals to enhance private-sector works of charity and compassion. We also affirm that the hiring rights of religious organizations must be maintained so that religious charities do not have to abandon their religious character in order to provide publicly funded services.
Calling Americans to Service

We support the President's efforts to encourage volunteer service and civic involvement to strengthen our communities and our nation, and to help people in need. In 2002, the President called on all Americans to dedicate at least two years or 4,000 hours over the course of their lifetimes to serving others, and created the USA Freedom Corps to strengthen America's culture of service. Today more than 63 million Americans are answering the call to serve. The number of volunteers has increased by 4 million since 2002. The new Citizens Corps is training people to respond to law enforcement and emergency needs in more than 1,300 communities across America and Peace Corps enrollment is at its highest level in 28 years.
Ensuring Equal Opportunities

Our nation is a land of opportunity for all, and our communities must represent the ideal of equality and justice for every citizen. The Republican Party favors aggressive, proactive measures to ensure that no individual is discriminated against on the basis of race, national origin, gender, or other characteristics covered by our civil rights laws. We also favor recruitment and outreach policies that cast the widest possible net so that the best qualified individuals are encouraged to apply for jobs, contracts, and university admissions. We believe in the principle of affirmative access – taking steps to ensure that disadvantaged individuals of all colors and ethnic backgrounds have the opportunity to compete economically and that no child is left behind educationally. We support a reasonable approach to Title IX that seeks to expand opportunities for women without adversely affecting men's athletics. We praise President Bush for his strong record on civil rights enforcement, and for becoming the first President ever to ban racial profiling by the federal government. Finally, because we are opposed to discrimination, we reject preferences, quotas, and set-asides based on skin color, ethnicity, or gender, which perpetuate divisions and can lead people to question the accomplishments of successful minorities and women.
Voting Rights

The foundation of our democratic republic is our commitment to conducting free and fair elections. Unfortunately, in November 2000, too many people believed they were denied the right to vote. Many African Americans, Hispanics, and others fear they may lose the right to vote because of inaccurate or insecure technology or because of a rolling back in the gains made by the passage of civil rights legislation. Our national commitment to a voting process that has integrity was underscored in 2002 when the Congress passed and the President signed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). We will continue to do all we can to ensure that every lawful vote counts for all Americans.
Removing Barriers for Americans with Disabilities

We support the New Freedom Initiative, President Bush's plan for fully integrating Americans with disabilities into all aspects of American life. The New Freedom Initiative is helping Americans with disabilities by increasing access to assistive technologies, expanding educational opportunities, increasing the ability of Americans with disabilities to integrate into the workforce, and promoting increased access into daily community life. These are strong efforts to help Americans with disabilities lead independent, fulfilling lives.

We applaud the President and Congress for increasing funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which requires that eligible students with disabilities be provided a free, appropriate public education. We also endorse efforts to protect children and their parents from being coerced into administering a controlled substance in order to attend school.
Native Americans

The federal government has a special responsibility, ethical and legal, to make the American dream accessible to Native Americans. Unfortunately, the resources that the United States holds in trust for them, financial and otherwise, have been misused and abused. While many tribes have become energetic participants in the mainstream of American life, the serious social ills afflicting some reservations have been worsened by decades of mismanagement from Washington. In its place, we offer these guiding principles:

* Tribal governments are best situated to gauge the needs of their communities and members.
* Political self-determination and economic self-sufficiency are twin pillars of an effective Indian policy.
* Private sector initiatives, rather than public assistance, can best improve material conditions in Indian communities.
* High taxes and unreasonable regulations stifle new and expanded businesses and thwart the creation of job opportunities and prosperity.

We will continue to work with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to make the tribal recognition process more transparent. We will strengthen Native American self-determination by respecting tribal sovereignty, encouraging economic development on Native lands, and working with them to reorganize the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service. We applaud President Bush for keeping his promise to eliminate within five years the maintenance and repairs backlog afflicting Indian schools. This promise will be achieved in only four years with funding in the 2005 budget. We support efforts to provide higher quality health care through the Indian Health Service. We uphold the unique government-to-government relationship between the tribes and the United States and honor our nation's trust obligations to them. We support efforts to ensure equitable participation in federal programs by Native Americans, Native Alaskans, and Native Hawaiians and to preserve their cultures and languages.

In an age of new threats, we recognize the critical role tribes play in securing our homeland and contributing to our national defense. We honor the sacrifices made by Native Americans serving in the military today. They are upholding the high ideal of service on behalf of liberty. We will ensure that Indian veterans receive the care and respect they have earned through their service to America.
Supporting Judges Who Uphold the Law

In the federal courts, scores of judges with activist backgrounds in the hard-left now have lifetime tenure. Recent events have made it clear that these judges threaten America's dearest institutions and our very way of life. In some states, activist judges are redefining the institution of marriage. The Pledge of Allegiance has already been invalidated by the courts once, and the Supreme Court's ruling has left the Pledge in danger of being struck down again – not because the American people have rejected it and the values that it embodies, but because a handful of activist judges threaten to overturn commonsense and tradition. And while the vast majority of Americans support a ban on partial birth abortion, this brutal and violent practice will likely continue by judicial fiat. We believe that the self-proclaimed supremacy of these judicial activists is antithetical to the democratic ideals on which our nation was founded. President Bush has established a solid record of nominating only judges who have demonstrated respect for the Constitution and the democratic processes of our republic, and Republicans in the Senate have strongly supported those nominees. We call upon obstructionist Democrats in the Senate to abandon their unprecedented and highly irresponsible filibuster of President Bush's highly qualified judicial nominees, and to allow the Republican Party to restore respect for the law to America's courts.

The sound principle of judicial review has turned into an intolerable presumption of judicial supremacy. A Republican Congress, working with a Republican president, will restore the separation of powers and re-establish a government of law. There are different ways to achieve that goal, such as using Article III of the Constitution to limit federal court jurisdiction; for example, in instances where judges are abusing their power by banning the use of "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance or prohibiting depictions of the Ten Commandments, and potential actions invalidating the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Additionally, we condemn judicial activists and their unwarranted and unconstitutional restrictions on the free exercise of religion in the public square.
Leading the Fight against HIV/AIDS – At Home and Abroad

HIV/AIDS is one of the deadliest epidemics in human history. An estimated 38 million people worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS and more than 20 million people have died as a result of the disease. This disease has created an estimated 14 million HIV/AIDS orphans – children who have lost at least one parent to HIV/AIDS. In the U.S., nearly one million Americans are believed to be infected with HIV.

We fully support the President's leadership in dramatically expanding resources to find an HIV/AIDS vaccine and in devoting at least $15 billion over five years towards global prevention, care, and treatment programs. Since taking office, President Bush has virtually tripled the United States' annual financial commitment to the global war on HIV/AIDS.

We support the emphasis on prevention in the President's Emergency Plan for HIV/AIDS relief and endorse its embrace of the successful Ugandan model promoting the "ABC" approach to prevention that encourages abstinence and being faithful to one lifetime partner, along with other behavioral changes intended to eliminate or reduce exposure risk. We support the President's Advancing HIV Prevention Initiative that emphasizes routine testing, early diagnosis, ongoing monitoring, and elimination of HIV/AIDS in newborn babies and infants. We also support the President's efforts to double the amount spent on abstinence-only education and to promote healthy relationships.

We recognize the unique and special vulnerability of women and girls to HIV infection from abusive and coercive behavior beyond their control and encourage expanded efforts to address this problem through legal and cultural reform. We also support more efforts to eradicate sex trafficking and prostitution and their underlying causes.

We support the expansion of programs providing support for those orphaned by HIV/AIDS. We fully support the use of faith-based organizations as partners on the ground in HIV/AIDS relief efforts because they often have the most capability, credibility, and conviction for performing this important work in different communities, regions, and countries. We also believe treatment and prevention of drug abuse are essential components of HIV protection.

We commend the President for his support of the Ryan White CARE Act and call for its reauthorization. We believe that ensuring access to treatment must be the priority of HIV/AIDS care programs. The President's policy is to provide safe, effective, high quality HIV/AIDS drugs at the lowest possible cost. He has accelerated the FDA review process for HIV/AIDS drugs and therapies for use under the Emergency Plan for HIV/AIDS Relief.

President Bush led the G-8 in endorsing the establishment of a Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, a virtual consortium to accelerate HIV vaccine development. The President also announced plans to establish a second HIV Vaccine Research and Development Center in the U.S., in addition to the one at the National Institutes of Health. The new center will become a key component of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise.
Americans In The Territories

We welcome greater participation in all aspects of the political process by Americans residing in Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Northern Marianas, and Puerto Rico. Since no single approach can meet the needs of those diverse communities, we emphasize respect for their wishes regarding their relationship to the rest of the Union. We affirm their right to seek the full extension of the Constitution, with all the rights and responsibilities it entails.

We support the Native American Samoans' efforts to preserve their culture and land-tenure system, which fosters self-reliance and strong extended-family values.

We support increased local self-government for the United States citizens of the Virgin Islands, and closer cooperation between the local and federal governments to promote private sector-led development and self-sufficiency. We recognize that Guam is a strategically vital U.S. territory in the far western Pacific, an American fortress in the Asian region. We affirm our support for the patriotic U.S. citizens of Guam to achieve greater local self-government, an improved federal-territorial relationship, new economic development strategies, and continued self-determination as desired with respect to political status.

We support the right of the United States citizens of Puerto Rico to be admitted to the Union as a fully sovereign state after they freely so determine. We recognize that Congress has the final authority to define the Constitutionally valid options for Puerto Rico to achieve a permanent non-territorial status with government by consent and full enfranchisement. As long as Puerto Rico is not a state, however, the will of its people regarding their political status should be ascertained by means of a general right of referendum or specific referenda sponsored by the United States government.
Supporting Humane and Legal Immigration

The Republican Party supports reforming the immigration system to ensure that it is legal, safe, orderly and humane. It also supports measures to ensure that the immigration system is structured to address the needs of national security. America is a stronger and better nation because of the hard work and entrepreneurial spirit of immigrants, and the Republican Party honors them. A growing economy requires a growing number of workers, and President Bush has proposed a new temporary worker program that applies when no Americans can be found to fill the jobs. This new program would allow workers who currently hold jobs to come out of the shadows and to participate legally in America's economy. It would allow men and women who enter the program to apply for citizenship in the same manner as those who apply from outside the United States. There must be strong workplace enforcement with tough penalties against employees and employers who violate immigration laws. We oppose amnesty because it would have the effect of encouraging illegal immigration and would give an unfair advantage to those who have broken our laws.

To better ensure that immigrants enter the United States only through legal means that allow for verification of their identity, reconnaissance cameras, border patrol agents, and unmanned aerial flights have all been increased at the border. In addition, Border Patrol agents now have sweeping new powers to deport illegal aliens without having first to go through the cumbersome process of allowing the illegal alien to have a hearing before an immigration judge. We support these efforts to enforce the law while welcoming immigrants who enter America through legal avenues.

PROTECTING OUR FAMILIES

"We are living in a time of great change – in our world, in our economy, in science and medicine. Yet some things endure – courage and compassion, reverence and integrity, respect for differences of faith and race. The values we try to live by never change. And they are instilled in us by fundamental institutions, such as families and schools and religious congregations. These institutions, these unseen pillars of civilization, must remain strong in America, and we will defend them. We must stand with our families to help them raise healthy, responsible children."

— President George W. Bush

Families are the cornerstone of our culture — the building blocks of a strong society. In families, children learn values and ideals, as well as the basic lessons that get them started on a lifelong path of education. We believe that every child deserves the chance to be born and grow up in a loving family. We also believe that while families exist in many different forms, there are ideals to strive for. Evidence shows us that children have the best chance at success when raised by a mother and a father who love and respect each other as well as their children. We also know that family breakdown makes America less stable. To create a sturdy foundation for the strength and success of our citizens and our nation, Republicans support policies that promote strong families. We also support a government that makes it easier for parents to raise their children in a world that offers unprecedented opportunities and new challenges. We offer an approach based on our common values and our common hopes. It will lead to a better America, one family at a time.

The Next Steps in Welfare Reform

In 1996, the Republican Congress made history by passing welfare reform that revolutionized the way the government helps people build better lives for themselves. The federal government gave states the flexibility to manage the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, and both states and federal authorities began treating welfare as a step up rather than a way of life. Since the 1996 Republican-led law, welfare caseloads have declined by half, and nearly three million Americans have been lifted out of poverty.

But there is more work to do. We need to build on the results of the 1996 reforms and continue to move welfare recipients into jobs and off the welfare rolls. This is especially important for single women and mothers, who continue to rely on welfare and fear that they cannot find a job or enter a training program because they need to care for their children.

We endorse President Bush's plan to extend the benefits of welfare reform by strengthening work requirements and promoting healthy marriages, and offering training, transportation, and child care services to help people become self-sufficient. Every American deserves a chance to know the pride of earning a paycheck and providing for his or her family.
Promoting Healthy Marriages and Responsible Fatherhood

We support the President's welfare reform proposals that promote child wellbeing and stronger marriages. We recognize the importance of having in the home a father and a mother who are married. The two-parent family still provides the best environment of stability, discipline, responsibility, and character. We recognize that fathers play a critical role in providing stability for their children. Studies show that children are much more likely to do well in school and avoid crime and drugs when they have a responsible father in their lives. Promoting responsible fatherhood will have long-lasting benefits for families and for communities. We support President Bush's initiatives to reaffirm the important role fathers play in their children's lives and to help men meet the responsibilities of fatherhood.
Supporting Adoption and Foster Children

We support the President's strong efforts to promote adoption through increased tax incentives and bonuses to states that place older children in permanent family homes, as well as his efforts to promote foster care by increasing the allocation of funds for preventive and family services.
Promoting Healthy Choices, Including Abstinence

Children's health remains a top priority for every family and for our country. Despite advances in medicine, environmental progress, and increased efforts to keep children safe at home and in communities, alarming trends in overweight children and childhood obesity jeopardize the health of millions of children. Too many of America's youth do not exercise, are overweight, and have poor dietary habits. This leads to complications in childhood and as adults. Five chronic diseases associated with obesity – heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (such as bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma), and diabetes – account for more than two-thirds of all deaths in the United States.

Extensive research, much of it conducted or funded by the federal government, has shown that improving overall health, and thus preventing disease and premature death, is as easy as making small adjustments and improvements in the activities of daily life. We applaud the President's effort to increase public awareness about the benefits of physical fitness through programs like "HealthierUS," which focuses on physical activity; a nutritious diet; medical screenings; and healthy choices – and "VERB," which encourages young people to be physically active every day.

Each year more than three million American teenagers contract sexually transmitted diseases, causing emotional harm and serious health consequences, even death. We support efforts to educate teens and parents about the health risks associated with early sexual activity and provide the tools needed to help teens make healthy choices. Abstinence from sexual activity is the only protection that is 100 percent effective against out-of-wedlock pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, including sexually transmitted HIV/AIDS. Therefore, we support doubling abstinence education funding. We oppose school-based clinics that provide referrals, counseling, and related services for contraception and abortion. We oppose school-based mental health programs that include recommendations for the use of psychotropic drugs.
Improving Work Schedule Flexibility

The President and Republicans in Congress are working to provide private-sector workers the same flexible scheduling options that government employees already enjoy. Now that more families have both parents in the workforce, American workers need more control over their work schedules. More flexibility in the workplace will help Americans to better manage the demands of work and family. And that will make families stronger. Comp-time and flex-time enable employees to choose paid time off as an alternative to overtime pay. Both of these programs would be voluntary to employees and would include employee protections to prevent employers from coercing or forcing employees to take time off in lieu of receiving overtime pay.
Protecting Family Privacy

President Bush created the National Do Not Call Registry, a tool that will help ensure that telemarketers respect the privacy of our nation's citizens. It will allow people to limit most unwanted telemarketing calls by registering their home or cell phone numbers. Registration can be completed by phone or over the Internet, and it is free of charge. The service also comes at no expense to the taxpayers.

Unauthorized and unwelcome email, commonly known as spam, interferes with efficient and effective business and family communications. We support efforts to address this growing problem.

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing financial crimes in our nation. Last year alone, nearly 10 million Americans had their identities stolen by criminals who robbed them and the nation's businesses of nearly $50 billion through fraudulent transactions. The crime of identity theft undermines the basic trust on which our economy depends. And like other forms of stealing, identity theft leaves the victim poorer and feeling terribly violated.

We praise President Bush and Republicans in Congress for passing the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, which established a national system of fraud detection so that identity thieves can be stopped before they run up tens of thousands of dollars in illegal purchases. Thanks to this law, victims can make one phone call to report the crime to alert all three major credit rating agencies and to protect their credit ratings. We further praise President Bush and Republicans in Congress for passing the Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act, which provides a real deterrent by toughening the prison sentences for those who use identity theft to commit other crimes, including terrorism. It reflects our government's resolve to answer serious offenses with serious penalties. And we praise President Bush for the broader effort he has waged to prevent identity theft. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the FBI, and Secret Service are working with local and state officials to crack down on the criminal networks that are responsible for much of the identity theft that occurs in America. The Federal Trade Commission is training local law enforcement in the detection of identity theft and has set up the ID Theft Data Clearinghouse, which keeps track of complaints across the country and provides those records to prosecutors seeking to take down organized identity theft rings.
Protecting the Educational Rights of Parents and Students

As stated earlier, we applaud efforts to promote school choice initiatives that give parents more control over their children's education. By the same token, we defend the option for home schooling and call for vigilant enforcement of laws designed to protect family rights and privacy in education. Children should not be compelled to answer offensive or intrusive questionnaires. We will continue to work for the return of voluntary school prayer to our schools and will strongly enforce the Republican legislation that guarantees equal access to school facilities by student religious groups. We strongly support voluntary student-initiated prayer in school without governmental interference. We strongly disagree with the Supreme Court's rulings against student-initiated prayer.
Protecting Children from Obscenity and Exploitation

The Republican Party shares the position of the United States Supreme Court in Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973), that obscene material is "unprotected by the first amendment" (413 U.S. at 23) and that "to equate the free and robust exchange of ideas and political debate with commercial exploitation of obscene material demeans the grand conception of the first amendment and its high purposes in the historic struggle for freedom." Miller, 413 U.S. at 34. We therefore support vigorous prosecution of obscene material by the U.S. Department of Justice.

We applaud the Congress for passing, and the President for signing, the Protect Act. As the President said, this law "will greatly assist law enforcement in tracking criminals who would harm our children, and will greatly help in rescuing the youngest victims of crime." The law formally established a national Amber Alert coordinator in the Department of Justice to help facilitate efforts to find missing children. It also added important tools to fight child exploitation by making obscene images of children, even those created with computer technology, illegal. We agree that strengthening the laws against child abuse will protect our children, help preserve the family structure, and promote a healthy environment in which our children can grow.

With ever more children accessing material over the Internet, we support efforts to bolster online protections that prevent children from being exposed to pornographic images and solicitations. And we applaud public and private efforts to create online safe areas for children. We praise President Bush and Congressional Republicans for their leadership in passing the Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act, which created a secure domain on the Internet where parents know that it is safe for their children to learn and play and explore.
Protecting Marriage

We strongly support President Bush's call for a Constitutional amendment that fully protects marriage, and we believe that neither federal nor state judges nor bureaucrats should force states to recognize other living arrangements as equivalent to marriage. We believe, and the social science confirms, that the well-being of children is best accomplished in the environment of the home, nurtured by their mother and father anchored by the bonds of marriage. We further believe that legal recognition and the accompanying benefits afforded couples should be preserved for that unique and special union of one man and one woman which has historically been called marriage.

After more than two centuries of American jurisprudence, and millennia of human experience, a few judges and local authorities are presuming to change the most fundamental institution of civilization, the union of a man and a woman in marriage. Attempts to redefine marriage in a single state or city could have serious consequences throughout the country, and anything less than a Constitutional amendment, passed by the Congress and ratified by the states, is vulnerable to being overturned by activist judges. On a matter of such importance, the voice of the people must be heard. The Constitutional amendment process guarantees that the final decision will rest with the American people and their elected representatives. President Bush will also vigorously defend the Defense of Marriage Act, which was supported by both parties and passed by 85 votes in the Senate. This common sense law reaffirms the right of states not to recognize same-sex marriages licensed in other states.

President Bush said, "We will not stand for judges who undermine democracy by legislating from the bench and try to remake America by court order." The Republican House of Representatives has responded to this challenge by passing H.R. 3313, a bill to withdraw jurisdiction from the federal courts over the Defense of Marriage Act. We urge Congress to use its Article III power to enact this into law, so that activist federal judges cannot force 49 other states to approve and recognize Massachusetts' attempt to redefine marriage.
Promoting a Culture of Life

As a country, we must keep our pledge to the first guarantee of the Declaration of Independence. That is why we say the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and we endorse legislation to make it clear that the Fourteenth Amendment's protections apply to unborn children. Our purpose is to have legislative and judicial protection of that right against those who perform abortions. We oppose using public revenues for abortion and will not fund organizations which advocate it. We support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent human life.

Our goal is to ensure that women with problem pregnancies have the kind of support, material and otherwise, they need for themselves and for their babies, not to be punitive towards those for whose difficult situation we have only compassion. We oppose abortion, but our pro-life agenda does not include punitive action against women who have an abortion. We salute those who provide alternatives to abortion and offer adoption services, and we commend Congressional Republicans for expanding assistance to adopting families and for removing racial barriers to adoption. We join the President in supporting crisis pregnancy programs and parental notification laws. And we applaud President Bush for allowing states to extend health care coverage to unborn children.

We praise the President for his bold leadership in defense of life. We praise him for signing the Born Alive Infants Protection Act. This important legislation ensures that every infant born alive – including an infant who survives an abortion procedure – is considered a person under federal law.

We praise Republicans in Congress for passing, with strong bipartisan support, a ban on the inhumane procedure known as partial birth abortion. And we applaud President Bush for signing legislation outlawing partial birth abortion and for vigorously defending it in the courts.

In signing the partial birth abortion ban, President Bush reminded us that "the most basic duty of government is to defend the life of the innocent. Every person, however frail or vulnerable, has a place and a purpose in this world." We affirm the inherent dignity and worth of all people. We oppose the non-consensual withholding of care or treatment because of disability, age, or infirmity, just as we oppose euthanasia and assisted suicide, which especially endanger the poor and those on the margins of society. We support President Bush's decision to restore the Drug Enforcement Administration's policy that controlled substances shall not be used for assisted suicide. We applaud Congressional Republicans for their leadership against those abuses and their pioneering legislation to focus research and treatment resources on the alleviation of pain and the care of terminally ill patients.

SUMMARY AND CALL TO ACTION

For 150 years, our Party has found its purpose in its principles. We confront big challenges instead of passing them on to future generations. We move forward with needed reforms to make the government work better for citizens. We fight important battles and champion freedom because by expanding liberty, we make our nation more secure.

This is the choice the American people face – moving forward or looking back, reforming government or settling for the status quo, producing results or playing politics. As Republicans, we know who we are and what we believe. As the Party of the open door, while steadfast in our commitment to our ideals, we respect and accept that members of our Party can have deeply held and sometimes differing views. This diversity is a source of strength, not a sign of weakness, and so we welcome into our ranks all who may hold differing positions. We commit to resolve our differences with civility, trust, and mutual respect, and to affirm the common goals and beliefs that unite us.

As the Party of Lincoln, we stand for freedom.

We stand for the freedom of families and individuals to have good schools, good health care, and affordable housing and services.

We stand for the freedom that comes with a good paying job in a growing economy.

We stand for the freedom and dignity of every human life, in every stage of life.

We know that freedom is not America's gift to the world; freedom is the Almighty's gift to every man, woman, and child in the world. And we stand for a hopeful tomorrow that will come from total and complete victory in the War on Terror.

These are values worthy of a great nation. And they are values worth fighting for. That is exactly what President George W. Bush continues to do. He is protecting us from danger by being prepared, strong, and steadfast. Vigilance is never easy. But it is always essential, now more than ever.

George W. Bush has done the hard work and made the hard choices required of an American President in challenging times. Because of his leadership, we are strong. Because of his vision, we will be even stronger. That is the pledge of this platform … and the promise of this convention.

REPORTED BY FULL COMMITTEE August 26, 2004 Jacob K. Javits Convention Center New York, New York

THE PLATFORM COMMITTEE

Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie

Chairman Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D.

Co-Chairs Governor Bill Owens Representative Melissa Hart

SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRS

Winning the War on Terror

Bill Owens Joe Acinapura

Ushering in an Ownership Era

Janet Creighton Paul Harris

Building an Innovative, Globally Competitive Economy

Phil English

Beth Harwell

Strengthening our Communities

Melissa Hart Eric Tanenblatt

Protecting our Families

Haley Barbour Ann Wagner

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

ALABAMA Linda Maynor

J.T. Jabo Waggoner

ALASKA Jonathon Lack Gloria Shriver

AMERICAN SAMOA Tautai Fa'alevao Sa'eu Scanlan

ARIZONA Michael Andrews Shiree Verdone

ARKANSAS Jonathan Barnett Anne Britton

CALIFORNIA Araceli Gonzalez Timothy LeFever

COLORADO Lilly Nunez Bill Owens

CONNECTICUT John Frey Patricia Longo

DELAWARE Elizabeth Field Patrick Murray

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA William Evans Betsy Werronen

FLORIDA Sharon Day

J. Allison DeFoor GEORGIA Linda Herren Eric Tanenblatt

GUAM Joanne Brown Fred Castro

HAWAII Willes Lee Janice Pechauer IDAHO Thomas Luna Karen McGee

ILLINOIS Maureen Murphy Harold Smith

INDIANA James Bopp Judith Singleton

IOWA Paula Dierenfeld Morris Hurd

KANSAS Stephen Cloud June Cooper

KENTUCKY Karen Engle

G. Hunter Bates

LOUISIANA Russell Pavich Peggy Wilson

MAINE Mark Ellis Janet Staples

MARYLAND Katja Bullock Louis Pope

MASSACHUSETTS William McKinney Amy Speer

MICHIGAN Glenn Clark Cynthia Pine

MINNESOTA Christopher Georgacas Annette Meeks

MISSISSIPPI Haley Barbour Virginia Carlton

MISSOURI Mark "Thor" Hearne Ann Wagner

MONTANA Erik Iverson Shirley Warehime

NEBRASKA Patricia Dorwart Adrian Smith

NEVADA Rew Goodenow Bonnie Weber

NEW HAMPSHIRE Richard Ashooh Ruth Griffin

NEW JERSEY Alex DeCroce Barbara Sobel

NEW MEXICO Joseph Carraro Cecilia Levatino

NEW YORK Mary Donohue Raymond Meier

NORTH CAROLINA Linda Daves Woody White

NORTH DAKOTA Curly Haugland Karen Karls

OHIO Michael Allen Janet Creighton

OKLAHOMA Baren Healey Joy Pittman

OREGON Jeff Grossman June Hartley

PENNSYLVANIA Philip English Melissa Hart

PUERTO RICO Carlos Chardon Miriam Ramirez

RHODE ISLAND Bernard Jackvony Patricia Morgan

SOUTH CAROLINA Mike Fair Kristin Maguire

SOUTH DAKOTA Mary Jean Jensen Ron Schmidt TENNESSEE Bill Frist Beth Harwell

TEXAS Cathie Adams Kelly Shackelford

UTAH Dannie McConkie Gayle Ruzicka

VERMONT Joseph Acinapura Darcie Johnston

VIRGIN ISLANDS Samuel Baptiste April Newland

VIRGINIA Kate Griffin Paul Harris

WASHINGTON Betty Hanes Michael Young

WEST VIRGINIA Cindy Frich

WISCONSIN Crystal Berg Don Taylor

WYOMING William Cubin Diana Vaughan

Platform Staff Anne Phelps, Executive Director Ginny Wolfe, Communications Director Jim Neill, Administrative Director Bob Dove, Parliamentarian Alex Vogel, General Counsel Eric Ueland, Special Counselor

Rebekah Krimmel, Platform Assistant Anne Marie Falk, Platform Assistant Kate Kobiashvili, Platform Assistant

Editorial Staff Ed Walsh

Chairmen's Staff Eric Ueland, Senator Bill Frist, M.D. Sean Duffy, Governor Bill Owens Bill Ries, Representative Melissa Hart

Subcommittee Staff

Winning the War on Terror Steve Biegun, Clerk

Ushering in an Ownership Era Rohit Kumar, Clerk

Building an Innovative, Globally Competitive Economy Libby Jarvis, Clerk

Strengthening Our Communities Dean Rosen, Clerk

Protecting Our Families

Bill Wichterman, Clerk

Graphic Designer Karen Portik

A special thanks to all our volunteers

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