We Believe in Americastorage.googleapis.com/wzukusers/user-21497220/...ii REPUBLICAN PLATFORM 2012...

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R E P U B L I C A N P L A T F O R M

We Believe in America

This platform is dedicated with appreciation and reverence for:

The wisdom of the Framers

of the United States Constitution,

who gave us a Republic,

as Benjamin Franklin cautioned,

if we can keep it.

Paid for by the Committee on Arrangements for the 2012 Republican National Convention

Not Authorized By Any Candidate Or Candidate’s Committee

www.gopconvention2012.com

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The 2012 Republican Platform is a statement ofwho we are and what we believe as a Party and ourvision for a stronger and freer America.

The pursuit of opportunity has defined Americafrom our very beginning. This is a land of opportu-nity. The American Dream is a dream of equal op-portunity for all. And the Republican Party is theparty of opportunity.

Today, that American Dream is at risk.Our nation faces unprecedented uncertainty

with great fiscal and economic challenges, and underthe current Administration has suffered through thelongest and most severe economic downturn sincethe Great Depression.

Many Americans have experienced the burdenof lost jobs, lost homes, and lost hopes. Our middleclass has felt that burden most acutely. Meanwhile,the federal government has expanded its size andscope, its borrowing and spending, its debt anddeficit. Federalism is threatened and liberty retreats.

For the world, this has been four years of lostAmerican leadership, leadership that depends uponeconomic vitality and peace through strength.

Put simply: The times call for trustworthy lead-ership and honest talk about the challenges we face.Our nation and our people cannot afford the statusquo. We must begin anew, with profound changes inthe way government operates; the way it budgets,taxes, and regulates. Jefferson’s vision of a “wise andfrugal government” must be restored.

Providence has put us at the fork in the road,and we must answer the question: If not us, who? Ifnot now, when?

That is the choice facing the American peoplethis November. Every voter will be asked to choosebetween the chronic high unemployment and the

unsustainable debt produced by a big governmententitlement society, or a positive, optimistic view ofan opportunity society, where any American whoworks hard, dreams big and follows the rules canachieve anything he or she wants.

The American people possess vast reserves ofcourage and determination and the capacity to hearthe truth and chart a strong course. They are eagerfor the opportunity to take on life’s challenges and,through faith and hard work, transform the futurefor the better. They are the most generous people onearth, giving sacrificially of their time, talent, andtreasure.

This platform affirms that America has alwaysbeen a place of grand dreams and even grander re-alities; and so it will be again, if we return govern-ment to its proper role, making it smaller andsmarter. If we restructure government’s most impor-tant domestic programs to avoid their fiscal collapse.If we keep taxation, litigation, and regulation to aminimum. If we celebrate success, entrepreneurship,and innovation. If we lift up the middle class. If wehand over to the next generation a legacy of growthand prosperity, rather than entitlements and indebt-edness.

That same commitment must be present bothhere at home and abroad. We are a party that knowsthe difference between international acclaim andworld leadership. We will lift the torch of freedomand democracy to inspire all those who would befree. As President Reagan issued the clarion call to“tear down this Wall,” so must we always standagainst tyranny and oppression. We will always sup-port and cherish our men and women in uniformwho defend our liberties with their lives.

As we embark upon this critical mission, we are

R E P U B L I C A N P L A T F O R M 2 0 1 2

Preamble

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not without guidance. We possess an owner’s man-ual: the Constitution of the United States, the great-est political document ever written. That sacreddocument shows us the path forward. Trust the peo-ple. Limit government. Respect federalism. Guaran-tee opportunity, not outcomes. Adhere to the rule oflaw. Reaffirm that our rights come from God, areprotected by government, and that the only just gov-ernment is one that truly governs with the consentof the governed.

The principles written in the Constitution aresecured by the character of the American people.President George Washington said in his first inau-gural address: “The propitious smiles of Heaven cannever be expected on a nation that disregards theeternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself

has ordained.” Values matter. Character counts. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan understand these

great truths. They share a positive vision forAmerica – a vision of America renewed and strong.They know America’s best days lay ahead. It willtake honest results-oriented, conservative leadershipto enact good policies for our people. They willprovide it.

We respectfully submit this platform to theAmerican people. It is both a vision of where we areheaded and an invitation to join us in that journey.It is about the great dreams and opportunities thathave always been America and must remain theessence of America for generations to come.

May God continue to shed his grace on theUnited States of America.

Congressman Marsha BlackburnCo-Chair

Governor Bob McDonnellChairman

Senator John HoevenCo-Chair

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1 Restoring the American Dream:

Rebuilding the Economy and Creating Jobs

9 We The People: A Restoration of Constitutional Government

15 America’s Natural Resources:

Energy, Agriculture and the Environment

21Reforming Government to Serve the People

31Renewing American Values to Build Healthy Families,

Great Schools and Safe Neighborhoods

39 American Exceptionalism


Table of Contents

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We are the party of maximum economic freedomand the prosperity freedom makes possible. Prosper-ity is the product of self-discipline, work, savings, andinvestment by individual Americans, but it is not anend in itself. Prosperity provides the means by whichindividuals and families can maintain their inde-pendence from government, raise their children bytheir own values, practice their faith, and buildcommunities of self-reliant neighbors. It is also themeans by which the United States is able to assertglobal leadership. The vigor of our economy makespossible our military strength and is critical to ournational security.

This year’s election is a chance to restore theproven values of the American free enterprise system.We offer our Republican vision of a free people usingtheir God-given talents, combined with hard work,self-reliance, ethical conduct, and the pursuit of op-portunity, to achieve great things for themselves andthe greater community. Our vision of an opportunitysociety stands in stark contrast to the current Admin-istration’s policies that expand entitlements andguarantees, create new public programs, and provideexpensive government bailouts. That road has cre-ated a culture of dependency, bloated government,and massive debt.

Republicans believe in the Great AmericanDream, with its economics of inclusion, enablingeveryone to have a chance to own, invest, build, andprosper. It is the opposite of the policies which, forthe last three and a half years, have stifled growth,destroyed jobs, halted investment, created unprece-dented uncertainty, and prolonged the worst eco-nomic downturn since the Great Depression. Thosepolicies have placed the federal government in thedriver’s seat, rather than relying on energetic and en-trepreneurial Americans to rebuild the economy fromthe ground up. Excessive taxation and regulation im-pede economic development. Lowering taxes pro-

motes substantial economic growth and reducingregulation encourages business formation and jobcreation. Knowing that, a Republican President andCongress will jumpstart an economic renewal thatcreates opportunity, rewards work and saving, andunleashes the productive genius of the American peo-ple. Because the GOP is the Great Opportunity Party,this is our pledge to workers without jobs, familieswithout savings, and neighborhoods without hope:together we can get our country back on track, ex-panding its bounty, renewing its faith, and fulfillingits promise of a better life.

Job Creation: Getting Americans Back to Work

The best jobs program is economic growth. Wedo not offer yet another made-in-Washington pack-age of subsidies and spending to create temporary orartificial jobs. We want much more than that. Wewant a roaring job market to match a roaring econ-omy. Instead, what this Administration has given usis 42 consecutive months of unemployment above 8percent, the longest period of high unemploymentsince the Great Depression. Republicans will pursuefree market policies that are the surest way to boostemployment and create job growth and economicprosperity for all.

In all the sections that follow, as well as else-where in this platform, we explain what must be doneto achieve that goal. The tax system must be simpli-fied. Government spending and regulation must bereined in. American companies must be more com-petitive in the world market, and we must be aggres-sive in promoting U.S. products abroad and securingopen markets for them. A federal-State-private part-nership must invest in the nation’s infrastructure:roads, bridges, airports, ports, and water systems,among others. Federal training programs have to beoverhauled and made relevant for the workplace of


Restoring the American Dream:Rebuilding the Economy and Creating Jobs

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the twenty-first century. Potential employers needcertainty and predictability for their hiring decisions,and the team of a Republican President and Congresswill create the confidence that will get Americansback to work.

Small Business and Entrepreneurship

America’s small businesses are the backboneof the U.S. economy, employing tens of millionsof workers. Small businesses create the vastmajority of jobs, patents, and U.S. exporters. Underthe current Administration, we have the lowestrate of business startups in thirty years. Small busi-nesses are the leaders in the world’s advances intechnology and innovation, and we pledge tostrengthen that role and foster small business entre-preneurship.

While small businesses have significantly con-tributed to the nation’s economic growth, our govern-ment has failed to meet its small business goals yearafter year and failed to overcome burdensome regu-latory, contracting, and capital barriers. This impedestheir growth.

We will reform the tax code to allow businessesto generate enough capital to grow and create jobs forour families, friends and neighbors all across Amer-ica. We will encourage investments in small busi-nesses. We will create an environment whereadequate financing and credit are available to spurmanufacturing and expansion. We will serve as ag-gressive advocates for small businesses.

Tax Relief to Grow the Economy and Create Jobs

Taxes, by their very nature, reduce a citizen’sfreedom. Their proper role in a free society should beto fund services that are essential and authorized bythe Constitution, such as national security, and thecare of those who cannot care for themselves. We re-ject the use of taxation to redistribute income, fundunnecessary or ineffective programs, or foster thecrony capitalism that corrupts both politicians andcorporations.

Our goal is a tax system that is simple, transpar-ent, flatter, and fair. In contrast, the current IRS codeis like a patchwork quilt, stitched together over timefrom mismatched pieces, and is beyond the compre-

hension of the average citizen. A reformed codeshould promote simplicity and coherence, savingsand innovation, increase American competitiveness,and recognize the burdens on families with children.To that end, we propose to:

Extend the 2001 and 2003 tax reliefpackages—commonly known as the Bush taxcuts—pending reform of the tax code, to keeptax rates from rising on income, interest, divi-dends, and capital gains;

Reform the tax code by reducing marginaltax rates by 20 percent across-the-board in arevenue-neutral manner;

Eliminate the taxes on interest, dividends,and capital gains altogether for lower andmiddle-income taxpayers;

End the Death Tax; andRepeal the Alternative Minimum Tax.

American Competitiveness in a Global Economy

American businesses now face the world’s high-est corporate tax rate. It reduces their worldwidecompetitiveness, encourages corporations to moveoverseas, lessens investment, cripples job creation,lowers U.S. wages, and fosters the avoidance of tax li-ability—without actually increasing tax revenues. Tolevel the international playing field, and to spur jobcreation here at home, we call for a reduction of thecorporate rate to keep U.S. corporations competitiveinternationally, with a permanent research and de-velopment tax credit, and a repeal of the corporatealternative minimum tax. We also support the rec-ommendation of the National Commission on FiscalResponsibility and Reform, as well as the currentPresident’s Export Council, to switch to a territorialsystem of corporate taxation, so that profits earnedand taxed abroad may be repatriated for job-creatinginvestment here at home without additional penalty.

Fundamental Tax Principles

We oppose retroactive taxation; and we con-demn attempts by activist judges, at any level of gov-ernment, to seize the power of the purse by orderinghigher taxes. We oppose tax policies that divideAmericans or promote class warfare.

Because of the vital role of religious organiza-


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tions, charities, and fraternal benevolent societies infostering benevolence and patriotism, they shouldnot be subject to taxation, and donations to themshould continue to be tax deductible.

In any restructuring of federal taxation, to guardagainst hypertaxation of the American people, anyvalue added tax or national sales tax must be tied tothe simultaneous repeal of the Sixteenth Amend-ment, which established the federal income tax.

Reining in Out-of-Control Spending, Balancing the Budget, and Ensuring Sound Monetary Policy

The massive federal government is structurallyand financially broken. For decades it has beenpushed beyond its core functions, increasing spend-ing to unsustainable levels. Elected officials haveoverpromised and overspent, and now the bills aredue. Unless we take dramatic action now, youngAmericans and their children will inherit an unprece-dented legacy of enormous and unsustainable debt,with the interest alone consuming an ever-increasingportion of the country’s wealth.The specter of national bank-ruptcy that now hangs over muchof Europe is a warning to us aswell. Over the last three and ahalf years, while cutting the de-fense budget, the current Admin-istration has added an additional$5.3 trillion to the nationaldebt—now approximately $16trillion, the largest amount inU.S. history. In fiscal year 2011,spending reached $3.6 trillion,nearly a quarter of our gross do-mestic product. Adjusted for in-flation, that’s more than threetimes its peak level in World War II, and almost halfof every dollar spent was borrowed money. Threeprograms—Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Secu-rity— account for over 40 percent of total spending.While these levels of spending and debt are alreadyharming job creation and growth, projections of fu-ture spending growth are nothing short of cata-strophic, both economically and socially. And thosedire projections do not include the fiscal nightmare

of Obamacare, with over $1 trillion in new taxes, mul-tiple mandates, and a crushing price tag.

We can preempt the debt explosion. Backed bya Republican Senate and House, our next Presidentwill propose immediate reductions in federal spend-ing, as a down payment on the much larger task oflong-range fiscal control. We suggest a tripartite testfor every federal activity. First, is it within the consti-tutional scope of the federal government? Second, isit effective and absolutely necessary? And third, is itsufficiently important to justify borrowing, especiallyforeign borrowing, to fund it? Against those stan-dards we will measure programs from internationalpopulation control to California’s federally subsidizedhigh-speed train to nowhere, and terminate pro-grams that don’t measure up.

Balancing the Budget

Cutting spending is not enough; it must be ac-companied by major structural reforms, increasedproductivity, use of technology, and long-term gov-ernment downsizing that both reduce debt and

deficits and ignite economicgrowth. We must restructure thetwentieth century entitlementstate so the missions of impor-tant programs can succeed in thetwenty-first century. Medicare,in particular, is the largest driverof future debt. Our reform ofhealthcare will empower mil-lions of seniors to control theirpersonal healthcare decisions,unlike Obamacare that empow-ered a handful of bureaucrats tocut Medicare in ways that willdeny care for the elderly.

We must also change thebudget process itself. From its beginning, its designhas enabled, rather than restrained, reckless spend-ing by giving procedural cover to Members of Con-gress. The budget process gave us the insidious term“tax expenditure,” which means that any earnings thegovernment allows a taxpayer to keep through a de-duction, exemption, or credit are equivalent tospending the same amount on some program. It alsolumped a broad range of diverse programs under the


Our goal is a tax systemthat is simple, transparent,

flatter, and fair… A reformedcode should promote simplicity

and coherence, savings andinnovation, increase

American competitiveness,and recognize the burdens

on families…

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heading of “entitlement,” as if veterans’ benefits andwelfare checks belong in the same category. Farworse, the process assumes every spending programwill be permanent and every tax cut will be tempo-rary. It refuses to recognize the beneficial budgetaryimpact of lower tax rates, and it calls a spending in-crease a cut if it is less than the rate of inflation.

Republican Members of Congress have repeat-edly tried to reform the budget process to make itmore transparent and accountable, in particular byvoting for a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Con-stitution, following the lead of 33 States which haveput that restraint into their own constitutions. Wecall for a Constitutional amendment requiring asuper-majority for any tax increase, with exceptionsfor only war and national emergencies, and imposinga cap limiting spending to the historical averagepercentage of GDP so that future Congresses cannotbalance the budget by raising taxes.

Inflation and the Federal Reserve

A sound monetary policy is critical for maintain-ing a strong economy. Inflation diminishes the pur-chasing power of the dollar at home and abroad andis a hidden tax on the American people. Moreover,the inflation tax is regressive, punishes those whosave, transfers wealth from Main Street to WallStreet, and has grave implications for seniors livingon fixed incomes.

Because the Federal Reserve’s monetary policyactions affect both inflation and economic activity,those actions should be transparent. Moreover,the Fed’s important role as a lender of last resortshould also be carried out in a more transparentmanner. A free society demands that the sun shineon all elements of government. Therefore, the Repub-lican Party will work to advance substantive legisla-tion that brings transparency and accountability tothe Federal Reserve, the Federal Open Market Com-mittee, and the Fed’s dealings with foreign centralbanks. The first step to increasing transparency andaccountability is through an annual audit of theFederal Reserve’s activities. Such an audit wouldneed to be carefully implemented so that the FederalReserve remains insulated from political pressuresand so its decisions are based on sound economicprinciples and sound money rather than on political

pressures for easy money and loose credit.Determined to crush the double-digit inflation

that was part of the Carter Administration’s economiclegacy, President Reagan, shortly after his inaugura-tion, established a commission to consider the feasi-bility of a metallic basis for U.S. currency. Thecommission advised against such a move. Now, threedecades later, as we face the task of cleaning up thewreckage of the current Administration’s policies, wepropose a similar commission to investigate possibleways to set a fixed value for the dollar.

Ending the Housing Crisis and Expanding Opportunities for Homeownership

Homeownership expands personal liberty,builds communities, and helps Americans createwealth. “The American Dream” is not a stale slogan.It is the lived reality that expresses the aspirations ofall our people. It means a decent place to live, a safeplace to raise kids, a welcoming place to retire. It be-speaks the quiet pride of those who work hard toshelter their family and, in the process, create caringneighborhoods. Homeownership is best fostered bya growing economy with low interest rates, as well asprudent regulation, financial education, and targetedassistance to responsible borrowers.

The collapse of the housing market over the lastfour years has been not only a severe blow to the en-tire economy, but also a personal tragedy to millionsof Americans whose homes have lost value and to somany others who have lost their homes. Combinedwith high unemployment, that decline has left count-less homeowners saddled with mortgages exceedingthe value of their homes. The response of the currentAdministration has done little to improve, and muchto worsen, the situation. By discouraging private sec-tor investment, it has stalled the housing recovery.Its massive intervention in the housing market, withthe Federal Housing Administration (FHA), FannieMae and Freddie Mac backing nearly all new mort-gages, has hit the taxpayers with a bill for almost$200 billion to bail out the latter two institutions. Ithas spent billions more on poorly designed and inef-fective housing assistance programs. Making mattersworse, the Congress, under Democrat control, en-acted the Dodd-Frank Act, a massive labyrinth of


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costly new regulations that deter lenders from lend-ing to creditworthy homebuyers and that dispropor-tionately harms small and community banks. As aresult, home sales remain weak, investment in hous-ing remains depressed, construction industry jobs re-main down, and mortgage lending has yet to recoverto pre-crisis levels.

Rebuilding Homeownership

We must establish a mortgage finance systembased on competition and free enterprise that is trans-parent, encourages the private sector to return tohousing, and promotes personal responsibility on thepart of borrowers. Policies that promote reliance onprivate capital, like private mortgage insurance, willbe critical to scaling back the federal role in the hous-ing market and avoiding future taxpayer bailouts. Re-forms should provide clear and prudent underwritingstandards and guidelines on acceptable lending prac-tices. Compliance with regulatory standards shouldprovide a legal safe harbor to guard against oppor-tunistic litigation. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac werea primary cause of the housing crisis because their im-plicit government guarantee allowed them to avoidmarket discipline and make risky investments. Theirfavored political status enriched their politically-connected executives and their shareholders at the ex-pense of the nation. Both Fannie Mae and FreddieMac should be wound down in size and scope, andtheir officials should be held to account.

The FHA, tripled in size to more than $1 trillionunder the current Administration, has crowded outthe private sector and is at risk of requiring a taxpayerbailout. It must be downsized and limited to helpingfirst-time homebuyers and low- and moderate-income borrowers. Taxpayer dollars should not beused to bail out borrowers and lenders by fundingprincipal write-downs. While the federal governmentmust prosecute mortgage fraud and other financialcrimes, any settlements received thereby should bedirected to individuals harmed by the misconduct,not diverted to pay for unrelated programs.

FDIC insurance for bank depositors must be pre-served. However, to correct for the moral hazard cre-ated by deposit insurance, banks should be wellcapitalized, which is the best insurance against futuretaxpayer bailouts.

The federal government has a role in housing byenforcing non-discrimination laws and assisting low-income families and the elderly with safe and ade-quate shelter, especially through the use of housingvouchers. Homeownership is an important goal, butpublic policy must be balanced to reflect the needs ofAmericans who choose to rent. A comprehensivehousing policy should address the demand for apart-ments and multi-family housing. Any assistanceshould be subject to stringent oversight to ensure thatfunds are spent wisely.

Infrastructure: Building the Future

America’s infrastructure networks are critical foreconomic growth, international competitiveness, andnational security. Infrastructure programs have tra-ditionally been non-partisan; everyone recognizedthat we all need clean water and safe roads, rail,bridges, ports, and airports. The current Administra-tion has changed that, replacing civil engineeringwith social engineering as it pursues an exclusivelyurban vision of dense housing and government tran-sit. In the vaunted stimulus package, less than sixpercent of the funds went to transportation, withmost of that to cosmetic “shovel-ready” projectsrather than fundamental structural improvements.All the while, the Democrats’ Davis-Bacon law con-tinues to drive up infrastructure construction andmaintenance costs for the benefit of that party’sunion stalwarts.

What most Americans take for granted—thesafety and availability of our water supply—is in per-ilous condition. Engineering surveys report crum-bling drinking water systems, aging dams, andoverwhelmed wastewater infrastructure. Investmentin these areas, as well as with levees and inland wa-terways, can renew communities, attract businesses,and create jobs. Most importantly, it can assure thehealth and safety of the American people.

The nation’s ports have become a bottleneck ininternational trade. America’s exporters sometimesuse Canadian ports in order to reach the world mar-ket in a timely manner. With the widening of thePanama Canal, our East Coast and Gulf ports have anextraordinary opportunity to boost container trafficbut require major improvement to remain competi-tive receivers of large vessels.


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Interstate infrastructure has long been a federalresponsibility shared with the States, and a renewedfederal-State partnership and new public-privatepartnerships are urgently needed to maintain andmodernize our country’s travel lifelines to facilitateeconomic growth and job creation. In the last twoyears, Congressional Republicans have taken the leadwith initiatives like the FAA Modernization and Re-form Act; the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty,and Job Creation Act; and the Coast Guard and Mar-itime Transportation Act. The recent highway bill re-forming the federal highway program included somekey reforms. It will shorten the project approvalprocess, eliminate unnecessary programs, and giveStates more flexibility to address their particularneeds. It is a return to the principles of federalism,and it contains not a single earmark. It should be fol-lowed by reform of the 42-year old National Environ-mental Policy Act to create regulatory certainty forinfrastructure projects, expedite their timetables, andlimit litigation against them.

Securing sufficient funding for the HighwayTrust Fund remains a challenge given the debt anddeficits and the need to reduce spending. Republi-cans will make hard choices and set priorities, andinfrastructure will be among them. In some Stateswith elected officials dominated by the DemocraticParty, a proportion of highway funds is diverted toother purposes. This must stop. We oppose any fund-ing mechanism that would involve governmentalmonitoring of every car and truck in the nation.

Amtrak continues to be, for the taxpayers, anextremely expensive railroad. The public has tosubsidize every ticket nearly $50. It is long past timefor the federal government to get out of way andallow private ventures to provide passenger serviceto the northeast corridor. The same holds true withregard to high-speed and intercity rail acrossthe country.

International Trade: More American Jobs, Higher Wages, and ABetter Standard of Living

International trade is crucial for our economy. Itmeans more American jobs, higher wages, and a bet-ter standard of living. Every $1 billion in additional

U.S. exports means another 5,000 jobs here at home.The Free Trade Agreements negotiated with friendlydemocracies since President Reagan’s trailblazingpact with Israel in 1985 facilitated the creation ofnearly ten million jobs supported by our exports.That record makes all the more deplorable thecurrent Administration’s slowness in completingagreements begun by its predecessor and its failureto pursue any new trade agreements with friendlynations.

This worldwide explosion of trade has had adownside, however, as some governments have useda variety of unfair means to limit American access totheir markets while stealing our designs, patents,brands, know-how, and technology—the “intellectualproperty” that drives innovation. The chief offenderis China, which has built up its economy in part bypiggybacking onto Western technological advances,manipulates its currency to the disadvantage ofAmerican exporters, excludes American productsfrom government purchases, subsidizes Chinesecompanies to give them a commercial advantage, andinvents regulations and standards designed to keepout foreign competition. The current Administra-tion’s way of dealing with all these violations of worldtrade standards has been a virtual surrender.

Republicans understand that you can succeed ina negotiation only if you are willing to walk awayfrom it. Thus, a Republican President will insist onfull parity in trade with China and stand ready to im-pose countervailing duties if China fails to amend itscurrency policies. Commercial discrimination will bemet in kind. Counterfeit goods will be aggressivelykept out of the country. Victimized private firms willbe encouraged to raise claims in both U.S. courts andat the World Trade Organization. Punitive measureswill be imposed on foreign firms that misappropriateAmerican technology and intellectual property. UntilChina abides by the WTO’s Government Procure-ment Agreement, the United States government willend procurement of Chinese goods and services.

Because American workers have shown that, ona truly level playing field, they can surpass the com-petition in international trade, we call for the restora-tion of presidential Trade Promotion Authority. Itwill ensure up or down votes in Congress on any newtrade agreements, without meddling by special inter-


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ests. A Republican President will complete negotia-tions for a Trans-Pacific Partnership to open rapidlydeveloping Asian markets to U.S. products. Beyondthat, we envision a worldwide multilateral agreementamong nations committed to the principles of openmarkets, what has been called a “Reagan EconomicZone,” in which free trade will truly be fair trade forall concerned.

A Twenty-First Century Workforce

The greatest asset of the American economy isthe hard-working American. The high rates ofunemployment over the last three and a half years—disastrously high among youth, minorities, and veter-ans—have thus been a tragic waste of energy and ideas,compounded by the waste of billions in “stimulus”funds with no payoff in jobs. The chief cause has beenan unprecedented uncertainty in the American free en-terprise system due to the overreaching policies of thecurrent Administration. Nothingmatters more than getting theAmerican people back to work. Inaddition to cutting spending,keeping taxes low, and curtailingbureaucratic red tape, we must re-place outdated policies and inef-fectual training programs with aplan to develop a twenty-first cen-tury workforce to make the mostof our country’s human capital.

It is critical that the UnitedStates has a highly trained andskilled workforce. Nine federal agencies currentlyrun 47 retraining programs at a total cost of $18 bil-lion annually with dismal results. Both the traineesin those programs and the taxpayers who fund themdeserve better. We propose consolidation of thoseprograms into State block grants so that training canbe coordinated with local schools and employers.That will be critically important if States establishPersonal Reemployment Accounts, letting traineesdirect resources in ways that will steer them towardlong-term employment, especially through on-the-job training with participating employers.

We can accelerate the process of restoring ourdomestic economy—and reclaiming this country’straditional position of dominance in international

trade—by a policy of strategic immigration, grantingmore work visas to holders of advanced degrees inscience, technology, engineering, and math fromother nations. Highly educated immigrants can as-sist in creating new services and products. In thesame way, foreign students who graduate from anAmerican university with an advanced degree in sci-ence, technology, engineering or math should be en-couraged to remain here and contribute to economicprosperity and job creation. Highly skilled, English-speaking, and integrated into their communities, theyare too valuable a resource to lose. As in past gener-ations, we should encourage the world’s innovatorsand inventors to create our common future and theirpermanent homes here in the United States.

Republicans believe that the employer-employeerelationship of the future will be built upon employeeempowerment and workplace flexibility, which is whyRepublicans support employee ownership. We be-

lieve employee stock ownershipplans create capitalists and ex-pand the ownership of privateproperty and are therefore theessence of a high-performingfree enterprise economy, whichcreates opportunity for thosewho work and honors thosevalues that have made our nationso strong. Today’s workforce isindependent, wants flexibilityin working conditions, needsfamily-friendly options, and is

most productive when allowed to innovate and re-think the status quo. The federal government shouldset an example in making those adaptations, espe-cially in promoting portability in pension plans andhealth insurance.

Freedom in the Workplace

The current Administration has chosen a differ-ent path with regard to labor, clinging to antiquatednotions of confrontation and concentrating power inthe Washington offices of union elites. It has stronglysupported the anti-business card check legislation todeny workers a secret ballot in union organizing cam-paigns and, through the use of Project Labor Agree-ments, barred 80 percent of the construction


Today’s workforce isindependent, wants flexibility in

working conditions, needsfamily-friendly options, and ismost productive when allowed

to innovate and rethink thestatus quo.

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workforce from competing for jobs in many stimulusprojects. The current Administration has turned theNational Labor Relations Board into a partisan advo-cate for Big Labor, using threats and coercion outsidethe law to attack businesses and, through “snap elec-tions” and “micro unions,” limit the rights of workersand employers alike.

We will restore the rule of law to labor law byblocking “card check,” enacting the Secret Ballot Pro-tection Act, enforcing the Hobbs Act against labor vi-olence, and passing the Raise Act to allow all workersto receive well-earned raises without the approval oftheir union representative. We demand an end to theProject Labor Agreements; and we call for repeal ofthe Davis-Bacon Act, which costs the taxpayersbillions of dollars annually in artificially high wageson government projects. We support the right ofStates to enact Right-to-Work laws and encouragethem to do so to promote greater economic liberty.

Ultimately, we support the enactment of a NationalRight-to-Work law to promote worker freedom andto promote greater economic liberty. We will aggres-sively enforce the recent decision by the SupremeCourt barring the use of union dues for political pur-poses without the consent of the worker.

We salute the Republican Governors and Statelegislators who have saved their States fromfiscal disaster by reforming their laws governingpublic employee unions. We urge elected officialsacross the country to follow their lead in order toavoid State and local defaults on their obligations andthe collapse of services to the public. To safeguardthe free choice of public employees, no governmentat any level should act as the dues collector forunions. A Republican President will protect therights of conscience of public employees by proposinglegislation to bar mandatory dues for politicalpurposes.


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We are the party of the Constitution, the solemncompact which confirms our God-given individualrights and assures that all Americans stand equal be-fore the law. Perhaps the greatest political documentever written, it defines the purposes and limits of gov-ernment and is the blueprint for ordered liberty thatmakes the U.S. the world’s freest, most stable, andmost prosperous nation. Its Constitutional ideals havebeen emulated around the world, and with them hascome unprecedented prosperity for billions of people.

In the spirit of the Constitution, we consider dis-crimination based on sex, race, age, religion, creed,disability, or national originunacceptable and immoral. Wewill strongly enforce anti-discrimination statutes and askall to join us in rejecting theforces of hatred and bigotryand in denouncing all who prac-tice or promote racism, anti-Semitism, ethnic prejudice, orreligious intolerance. We sup-port efforts to help low-incomeindividuals get a fair chancebased on their potential and individual merit; but wereject preferences, quotas, and set-asides as the bestor sole methods through which fairness can beachieved, whether in government, education, or cor-porate boardrooms. In a free society, the primaryrole of government is to protect the God-given, in-alienable, inherent rights of its citizens, including therights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.Merit, ability, aptitude, and results should be the fac-tors that determine advancement in our society.

The Republican Party includes Americansfrom every faith and tradition, and our policies and po-sitions respect the right of every American tofollow his or her beliefs and underscore ourreverence for the religious freedom envisioned by theFounding Fathers of our nation and of our party.

As a matter of principle, we oppose the creation of anynew race-based governments within the United States.

A Restoration of Constitutional Order: Congress and the Executive

We salute Republican Members of the House ofRepresentatives for enshrining in the Rules of theHouse the requirement that every bill must cite theprovision of the Constitution which permits its intro-duction. Their adherence to the Constitution standsin stark contrast to the antipathy toward the Consti-tution demonstrated by the current Administration

and its Senate allies by appoint-ing “czars” to evade the confir-mation process, making unlawful“recess” appointments when theSenate is not in recess, using ex-ecutive orders to bypass the sep-aration of powers and its checksand balances, encouraging illegalactions by regulatory agenciesfrom the NLRB to the EPA,openly and notoriously display-ing contempt for Congress, the

Judiciary, and the Constitutional prerogatives of theindividual States, refusing to defend the nation’s lawsin federal courts or enforce them on the streets, ig-noring the legal requirement for legislative enact-ment of an annual budget, gutting welfare reform byunilaterally removing its statutory work requirement,buying senatorial votes with special favors, and evad-ing the legal requirement for congressional consulta-tion regarding troop commitments overseas. ARepublican President and Republican Senate will joinHouse Republicans in living by the rule of law, thefoundation of the American Republic.

Protecting America is the first and most impor-tant duty of our federal government. The Constitu-tion wisely distributes important roles in the area ofnational security to both the President and Congress.


We The People:A Restoration of Constitutional Government

We are the party of theConstitution, the solemn

compact which confirms ourGod-given individual rights andassures that all Americans stand

equal before the law.

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It empowers the President to serve as Commander inChief, making him the lead instrument of the Amer-ican people in matters of national security and for-eign affairs. It also bestows authority on Congress,including the powers to declare war, regulate com-merce, and authorize the funds needed to keep andprotect our Nation. The United States of America isstrongest when the President and Congress workclosely together—in war and in peace—to advance ourcommon interests and ideals. By uniting our govern-ment and our citizens, our foreign policy will securefreedom, keep America safe, and ensure that we re-main the “last best hope on Earth.”

Defending Marriage AgainstAn Activist Judiciary

A serious threat to our country’s constitutionalorder, perhaps even more dangerous than presiden-tial malfeasance, is an activist judiciary, in whichsome judges usurp the powers reserved to otherbranches of government. A blatant example has beenthe court-ordered redefinition of marriage in severalStates. This is more than a matter of warring legalconcepts and ideals. It is an assault on the founda-tions of our society, challenging the institution which,for thousands of years in virtually every civilization,has been entrusted with the rearing of children andthe transmission of cultural values.

A Sacred Contract: Defense of Marriage

That is why Congressional Republicans took thelead in enacting the Defense of Marriage Act, affirm-ing the right of States and the federal government notto recognize same-sex relationships licensed in otherjurisdictions. The current Administration’s open de-fiance of this constitutional principle—in its handlingof immigration cases, in federal personnel benefits,in allowing a same-sex marriage at a military base,and in refusing to defend DOMA in the courts—makes a mockery of the President’s inaugural oath.We commend the United States House of Represen-tatives and State Attorneys General who have de-fended these laws when they have been attacked inthe courts. We reaffirm our support for a Constitu-tional amendment defining marriage as the union ofone man and one woman. We applaud the citizens ofthe majority of States which have enshrined in their

constitutions the traditional concept of marriage, andwe support the campaigns underway in several otherStates to do so.

Living Within Our Means: A Constitutional Budget

Republican Members of Congress have repeat-edly tried to reform the budget process to make itmore transparent and accountable, in particular byvoting for a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Con-stitution, following the lead of 33 States which haveput that restraint into their own constitutions. Wecall for a Constitutional amendment requiring asuper-majority for any tax increase with exceptionsfor only war and national emergencies, and imposinga cap limiting spending to the historical average per-centage of GDP so that future Congresses cannot bal-ance the budget by raising taxes.

Federalism and The Tenth Amendment

We support the review and examination of allfederal agencies to eliminate wasteful spending, op-erational inefficiencies, or abuse of power to deter-mine whether they are performing functions that arebetter performed by the States. These functions, asappropriate, should be returned to the States in ac-cordance with the Tenth Amendment of the UnitedStates Constitution. We affirm that all legislation,rules, and regulations must conform and public ser-vants must adhere to the U.S. Constitution, as origi-nally intended by the Framers. Whether suchlegislation is a State or federal matter must be deter-mined in accordance with the Tenth Amendment, inconjunction with Article I, Section 8.

When the Constitution is evaded, transgressed,or ignored, so are the freedoms it guarantees. In thatcontext, the elections of 2012 will be much more thana contest between parties. They are a referendum onthe future of liberty in America.

The Republican Party, born in opposition to thedenial of liberty, stands for the rights of individuals,families, faith communities, institutions – and ofthe States which are their instruments of self-government. In establishing a federal system of gov-ernment, the Framers viewed the States as laborato-ries of democracy and centers of innovation, as do we.To maintain the integrity of their system, they


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bequeathed to successive generations an instrumentby which we might correct any misalignment of powerbetween our States and the federal government, theTenth Amendment:

The powers not delegated to theUnited States by the Constitution, nor

prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to theStates respectively, or to the people.

In fidelity to that principle, we condemn the cur-rent Administration’s continued assaults on State gov-ernments in matters ranging from voter ID laws toimmigration, from healthcare programs to land usedecisions. Our States are the laboratories of democracyfrom which the people propel our nation forward, solv-ing local and State problems through local and Stateinnovations. We pledge to restore the proper balancebetween the federal government and the governmentsclosest to, and most reflective of, the American people.Scores of entrenched federal programs violate the con-stitutional mandates of federalism by taking moneyfrom the States, laundering it through various federalagencies, only to return to the States shrunken grantswith mandates attached. We propose wherever feasi-ble to leave resources where they originate: in thehomes and neighborhoods of the taxpayers. We callon the federal government to do a systematic analysisof laws and regulations to eliminate costly bureau-cratic mandates on the States and the people.

With every right comes a responsibility. A fewStates and their political subdivisions are currentlyin dire fiscal situations, largely because of theirspending, debt, and failure to rein in public employeeunions. In the event those conditions worsen, the fed-eral government must not assume the State govern-ments’ or their political subdivisions’ financialresponsibility or require the nation’s taxpayers to payfor the misrule of a few State governments. Nor shallthe States assume the federal government’s financialresponsibility.

The Continuing Importance of Protecting the Electoral College

We oppose the National Popular Vote InterstateCompact or any other scheme to abolish or distort theprocedures of the Electoral College. We recognizethat an unconstitutional effort to impose “national

popular vote” would be a mortal threat to our federalsystem and a guarantee of corruption as every ballotbox in every state would become a chance to steal thepresidency.

Voter Integrity to Ensure Honest Elections

Honest elections are the foundation of represen-tative government. We support State efforts to ensureballot access for the elderly, the handicapped, militarypersonnel, and all authorized voters. For the same rea-son, we applaud legislation to require photo identifica-tion for voting and to prevent election fraud,particularly with regard to registration and absenteeballots. We support State laws that require proof of cit-izenship at the time of voter registration to protect ourelectoral system against a significant and growing formof voter fraud. Every time that a fraudulent vote is cast,it effectively cancels out a vote of a legitimate voter.

Voter fraud is political poison. It strikes at theheart of representative government. We call on everycitizen, elected official, and member of the judiciaryto preserve the integrity of the vote. We call for vig-orous prosecution of voter fraud at the State and fed-eral level. To do less disenfranchises present andfuture generations. We recognize that having a phys-ical verification of the vote is the best way to ensurea fair election. “Let ambition counter ambition,” asJames Madison said. When all parties have repre-sentatives observing the counting of ballots in atransparent process, integrity is assured. We stronglysupport the policy that all electronic voting systemshave a voter verified paper audit trail.

States or political subdivisions that use all-mailelections cannot ensure the integrity of the ballot.When ballots are mailed to every registered voter,ballots can be stolen or fraudulently voted by unau-thorized individuals because the system does nothave a way to verify the identity of the voter. We callfor States and political subdivisions to adopt votingsystems that can verify the identity of the voter.

Military men and women must not be disenfran-chised from the very freedom they defend. We affirmthat our troops, wherever stationed, be allowed tovote and those votes be counted in the Novemberelection and in all elections. To that end, the entirechain of command, from President and the Secretaryof Defense, to base and unit commanders—must en-


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sure the timely receipt and return of all ballots andthe utilization of electronic delivery of ballots whereallowed by State law.

We support changing the way that the decennialcensus is conducted, so that citizens are distinguishedfrom lawfully present aliens and illegal aliens. Inorder to preserve the principle of one-person, one-vote, the apportionment of representatives among theStates should be according to the number of citizens.

The First Amendment: The Foresight of Our Founders to Protect Religious Freedom

The first provision of the First Amendment con-cerns freedom of religion. That guarantee reflectedThomas Jefferson’s Virginia Statute for ReligiousFreedom, which declared that no one should “sufferon account of his religious opinion or belief, but thatall men shall be free to profess, and by argument tomaintain, their opinion in matters of religion….” Thatassurance has never been more needed than it istoday, as liberal elites try to drive religious beliefs—and religious believers—out of the public square. TheFounders of the American Republic universally agreethat democracy presupposes a moral people and that,in the words of George Washington’s Farewell Ad-dress, “Of all the dispositions and habits which leadto political prosperity, religion and morality are indis-pensable supports.”

The most offensive instance of this war on reli-gion has been the current Administration’s attemptto compel faith-related institutions, as well as believ-ing individuals, to contravene their deeply held reli-gious, moral, or ethical beliefs regarding healthservices, traditional marriage, or abortion. Thisforcible secularization of religious and religiously af-filiated organizations, including faith-based hospitalsand colleges, has been in tandem with the currentAdministration’s audacity in declaring which faith-related activities are, or are not, protected by the FirstAmendment—an unprecedented aggression repudi-ated by a unanimous Supreme Court in its Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC decision.

We pledge to respect the religious beliefs andrights of conscience of all Americans and to safeguardthe independence of their institutions from govern-ment. We support the public display of the Ten Com-

mandments as a reflection of our history and of ourcountry’s Judeo-Christian heritage, and we affirm theright of students to engage in prayer at public schoolevents in public schools and to have equal access topublic schools and other public facilities to accom-modate religious freedom in the public square. Weassert every citizen’s right to apply religious values topublic policy and the right of faith-based organiza-tions to participate fully in public programs withoutrenouncing their beliefs, removing religious symbols,or submitting to government-imposed hiring prac-tices. We oppose government discrimination againstbusinesses due to religious views. We support theFirst Amendment right of freedom of association ofthe Boy Scouts of America and other service organi-zations whose values are under assault and condemnthe State blacklisting of religious groups which de-cline to arrange adoptions by same-sex couples. Wecondemn the hate campaigns, threats of violence, andvandalism by proponents of same-sex marriageagainst advocates of traditional marriage and call fora federal investigation into attempts to deny religiousbelievers their civil rights.

The First Amendment: Speech that is Protected

The rights of citizenship do not stop at the ballotbox. They include the free speech right to devote one’sresources to whatever cause or candidate one sup-ports. We oppose any restrictions or conditions thatwould discourage Americans from exercising theirconstitutional right to enter the political fray or limittheir commitment to their ideals. As a result, we sup-port repeal of the remaining sections of McCain-Feingold, support either raising or repealing contribu-tion limits, and oppose passage of the DISCLOSE Actor any similar legislation designed to vitiate theSupreme Court’s recent decisions protecting politicalspeech in Wisconsin Right to Life v. Federal ElectionCommission and Citizens United v. Federal ElectionCommission. We insist that there should be no regu-lation of political speech on the Internet. By thesame token, we oppose governmental censorship ofspeech through the so-called Fairness Doctrine orby government enforcement of speech codes,free speech zones, or other forms of “political correct-ness” on campus.


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The Second Amendment: Our Right to Keep and Bear Arms

We uphold the right of individuals to keep andbear arms, a right which antedated the Constitutionand was solemnly confirmed by the Second Amend-ment. We acknowledge, support, and defend the law-abiding citizen’s God-given right of self-defense. Wecall for the protection of such fundamental individualrights recognized in the Supreme Court’s decisions inDistrict of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v.Chicago affirming that right, and we recognize the in-dividual responsibility to safely use and storefirearms. This also includes the right to obtain andstore ammunition without registration. We supportthe fundamental right to self-defense wherever a law-abiding citizen has a legal right to be, and we supportfederal legislation that would expand the exercise ofthat right by allowing those with state-issued carrypermits to carry firearms in any state that issues suchpermits to its own residents. Gun ownership is re-sponsible citizenship, enabling Americans to defendtheir homes and communities. We condemn frivolouslawsuits against gun manufacturers and oppose fed-eral licensing or registration of law-abiding gun own-ers. We oppose legislation that is intended to restrictour Second Amendment rights by limiting the capac-ity of clips or magazines or otherwise restoring the ill-considered Clinton gun ban. We condemn the recklessactions associated with the operation known as “Fastand Furious,” conducted by the Department of Jus-tice, which resulted in the murder of a U.S. Border Pa-trol Agent and others on both sides of the border. Weapplaud the Members of the U.S. House of Represen-tatives in holding the current Administration’s Attor-ney General in contempt of Congress for his refusal tocooperate with their investigation into that debacle.We oppose the improper collection of firearms salesinformation in the four southern border states, whichwas imposed without congressional authority.

The Fourth Amendment: Liberty and Privacy

Affirming “the right of the people to be secure intheir houses, papers, and effects, against unreason-able searches and seizures,” we support pending leg-islation to prevent unwarranted or unreasonablegovernmental intrusion through the use of aerial sur-

veillance or flyovers on U.S. soil, with the exceptionof patrolling our national borders. All security meas-ures and police actions should be viewed through thelens of the Fourth Amendment; for if we trade libertyfor security, we shall have neither.

The Fifth Amendment: Protecting Private Property

The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment–“nor shall private property be taken for public usewithout just compensation”–is a bulwark againsttyranny; for without property rights, individual rightsare diminished. That is why we deplore the SupremeCourt’s Kelo v. New London decision, allowing localgovernments to seize a person’s home or land, not forvital public use, but for transfer to private developers.We call on State legislatures to moot the impact of theKelo decision in their States by appropriate legisla-tion or constitutional amendments. Equally impor-tant, we pledge to enforce the Takings Clause in theactions of federal agencies to ensure just compensa-tion whenever private property is needed to achievea compelling public use. This includes the taking ofproperty in the form of water rights in the West andelsewhere and the taking of property by environmen-tal regulations that destroy its value.

The Ninth Amendment: Affirming the People’s Rights

This speaks most eloquently for itself: “The enu-meration in the Constitution of certain rights shallnot be construed to deny or disparage others retainedby the people.” This provision codifies the conceptthat our government derives its power from the peo-ple and all powers not delegated to the governmentare retained by the people. This is an essential fea-ture of our governmental system, and we thereforecelebrate the grassroots rediscovery of this and otherconstitutional guarantees over the last four years andwelcome to our ranks all our fellow citizens who aredetermined to reclaim the rights of the people thathave been ignored or violated by government.

The Sanctity and Dignity of Human Life

Faithful to the “self-evident” truths enshrined inthe Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanc-tity of human life and affirm that the unborn child


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has a fundamental individual right to life which can-not be infringed. We support a human life amend-ment to the Constitution and endorse legislation tomake clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protec-tions apply to unborn children. We oppose usingpublic revenues to promote or perform abortion orfund organizations which perform or advocate it andwill not fund or subsidize health care which includesabortion coverage. We support the appointment ofjudges who respect traditional family values and thesanctity of innocent human life. We oppose the non-consensual withholding or withdrawal of care ortreatment, including food and water, from peoplewith disabilities, including newborns, as well as theelderly and infirm, just as we oppose active and pas-sive euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Republican leadership has led the effort to pro-hibit the barbaric practice of partial-birth abortionand permitted States to extend health care coverageto children before birth. We urge Congress tostrengthen the Born Alive Infant Protection Act byenacting appropriate civil and criminal penalties onhealthcare providers who fail to provide treatmentand care to an infant who survives an abortion, in-cluding early induction delivery where the death ofthe infant is intended. We call for legislation to bansex-selective abortions – gender discrimination in itsmost lethal form—and to protect from abortion un-born children who are capable of feeling pain; and weapplaud U.S. House Republicans for leading the ef-fort to protect the lives of pain-capable unborn chil-dren in the District of Columbia. We call for a ban onthe use of body parts from aborted fetuses for re-search. We support and applaud adult stem cell re-search to develop lifesaving therapies, and we opposethe killing of embryos for their stem cells. We opposefederal funding of embryonic stem cell research.

We also salute the many States that have passedlaws for informed consent, mandatory waiting peri-ods prior to an abortion, and health-protective clinicregulation. We seek to protect young girls from ex-ploitation through a parental consent requirement;and we affirm our moral obligation to assist, ratherthan penalize, women challenged by an unplanned

pregnancy. We salute those who provide them withcounseling and adoption alternatives and empowerthem to choose life, and we take comfort in thetremendous increase in adoptions that has followedRepublican legislative initiatives.

Respect for Our Flag: Symbol of the Constitution

The symbol of our constitutional unity, to whichwe all pledge allegiance, is the flag of the UnitedStates of America. By whatever legislative method ismost feasible, Old Glory should be given legal protec-tion against desecration. We condemn decisions byactivist judges to deny children the opportunity to saythe Pledge of Allegiance in its entirety, including“Under God,” in public schools and encourage Statesto promote the pledge. We condemn the actions ofthose who deny our children the means by which toshow respect for our great country and the constitu-tional principles represented by our flag.

American Sovereignty in U.S. Courts

Subjecting American citizens to foreign laws isinimical to the spirit of the Constitution. It is one rea-son we oppose U.S. participation in the InternationalCriminal Court. There must be no use of foreign lawby U.S. courts in interpreting our Constitution andlaws. Nor should foreign sources of law be used inState courts’ adjudication of criminal or civil matters.

The Lacey Act of 1900, designed to protect en-dangered wildlife in interstate commerce, is now ap-plied worldwide, making it a crime to use, in ourdomestic industries, any product illegally obtained inthe country of origin, whether or not the user hadanything to do with its harvesting. This unreasonableextension of the Act not only hurts American busi-nesses and American jobs, but also subordinates ourown rule of law to the legal codes of 195 other gov-ernments. It must be changed.

Just as George Washington wisely warnedAmerica to avoid foreign entanglements and enterinto only temporary alliances, we oppose the adop-tion or ratification of international treaties thatweaken or encroach upon American sovereignty.


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We are the party of sustainable jobs and eco-nomic growth – through American energy, agricul-ture, and environmental policy. We are also the partyof America’s growers and producers, farmers, ranch-ers, foresters, miners, and all those who bring fromthe earth the minerals and energy that are thelifeblood of our nation’s historically strong economy.We are as well the party of traditional conservation:the wise development of resources that keeps in mindboth the sacrifices of past generations to secure thatbounty and our responsibility to preserve it for futuregenerations.

Domestic Energy Independence: An “All of the Above” Energy Policy

The Republican Party is committed to domesticenergy independence. The United States and itsneighbors to the North and South have been blessedwith abundant energy resources, tapped and un-tapped, traditional and alternative, that are amongthe largest and most valuable on earth. Advancingtechnology has given us a more accurate understand-ing of the nation’s enormous reserves that are oursfor the development. The role of public officials mustbe to encourage responsible development across theboard. Unlike the current Administration, we willnot pick winners and losers in the energy market-place. Instead, we will let the free market and thepublic’s preferences determine the industry out-comes. In assessing the various sources of potentialenergy, Republicans advocate an all-of-the-above di-versified approach, taking advantage of all our Amer-ican God-given resources. That is the best way toadvance North American energy independence.

Our policies aim at energy security to ensure anaffordable, stable, and reliable energy supply for allparts of the country and all sectors of the economy.Energy security is intimately linked to national secu-rity both in terms of our current dependence uponforeign supplies and because some of the hundreds

of billions of dollars we pay for foreign oil ends up inthe hands of terrorist groups that wish to harm us. Agrowing, prosperous economy and our standard ofliving and quality of life, moreover, depend on afford-able and abundant domestic energy supplies.

A strong and stable energy sector is a job gener-ator and a catalyst of economic growth, not only inthe labor-intensive energy industry but also in its sec-ondary markets. The Republican Party will encour-age and ensure diversified domestic sources ofenergy, from research and development, exploration,production, transportation, transmission, and con-sumption in a way that is economically viable andjob-producing, as well as environmentally sound.When our energy industry is revitalized, millionsmore Americans will find work in manufacturing,food production, metals, minerals, packaging, trans-portation and other fields – because of the jobs thatwill be created in, and as a result of, the energy sector.We are determined to create jobs, spur economicgrowth, lower energy prices, and strengthen ourenergy industry.

Our Nation’s Energy Abundance

Coal is a low-cost and abundant energy sourcewith hundreds of years of supply. We look toward theprivate sector’s development of new, state-of-the-artcoal-fired plants that will be low-cost, environmen-tally responsible, and efficient. We also encourageresearch and development of advanced technologiesin this sector, including coal-to-liquid, coal gasifica-tion, and related technologies for enhanced oilrecovery.

The current Administration—with a Presidentwho publicly threatened to bankrupt anyone whobuilds a coal-powered plant—seems determined toshut down coal production in the United States, eventhough there is no cost-effective substitute for it orfor the hundreds of thousands of jobs that go with itas the nation’s largest source of electricity generation.


America’s Natural Resources:Energy, Agriculture and the Environment

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We will end the EPA’s war on coal and encourage theincreased safe development in all regions of thenation’s coal resources, the jobs it produces, andthe affordable, reliable energy that it provides forAmerica. Further, we oppose any and all cap andtrade legislation.

All estimates of America’s oil and natural gasreserves indicate an incredible bounty for the use ofmany generations to come. At a time when unem-ployment has been above 8 percent for 42 consecu-tive months, the longest stretch since the GreatDepression, and some 23 million Americans are ei-ther unemployed, underemployed, or have given upon finding work, we should bepursuing our oil and gas re-sources both on and offshore. Itis nonsensical to spurn real jobcreation by putting almost allof our coastal waters off limitsto energy exploration, whileurging other nations to exploretheir coasts. We call for a rea-soned approach to all offshoreenergy development on the EastCoast and other appropriate wa-ters, and support the right ofStates to a reasonable share of the resulting revenueand royalties. We support opening the Outer Conti-nental Shelf (OCS) for energy exploration anddevelopment and ending the current Administra-tion’s moratorium on permitting; opening the coastalplain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)for exploration and production of oil and naturalgas; and allowing for more oil and natural gasexploration on federally owned and controlled land.We support this development in accordance withapplicable environmental, health and safety laws, andregulations.

The current President personally blocked one ofthe most important energy and jobs projects in years.The Keystone XL Pipeline—which would havebrought much needed Canadian and American oil toU.S. refineries—would create thousands of jobs.The current President’s job-killing combination ofextremism and ineptitude threatens to create a per-manent energy shortage. We are committed to ap-proving the Keystone XL Pipeline and to streamlining

permitting for the development of other oil and nat-ural gas pipelines.

Nuclear energy, now generating about 20 per-cent of our electricity through 104 power plants, mustbe expanded. No new nuclear generating plants havebeen licensed and constructed for thirty years.We call for timely processing of new reactor applica-tions currently pending at the Nuclear RegulatoryCommission.

The federal government’s failure to address thestorage and disposal of spent nuclear fuel has lefthuge bills for States and taxpayers. Our countryneeds a more proactive approach to managing spent

nuclear fuel, including throughdeveloping advanced reprocess-ing technologies.

We encourage the cost-effective development of renew-able energy, but the taxpayersshould not serve as venture capi-talists for risky endeavors. It isimportant to create a pathway to-ward a market-based approachfor renewable energy sourcesand to aggressively develop alter-native sources for electricity gen-

eration such as wind, hydro, solar, biomass,geothermal, and tidal energy. Partnerships betweentraditional energy industries and emerging renew-able industries can be a central component in meet-ing the nation’s long-term needs. Alternative formsof energy are part of our action agenda to power thehomes and workplaces of the nation.

Pulling the Plug on American Energy Independence: The Failure of the Current Administration

The current Administration has used taxpayerdollars to pick winners and losers in the energy sectorwhile publicly threatening to bankrupt anyone whobuilds a new coal-fired plant and has stopped theKeystone XL Pipeline. The current President hasdone nothing to disavow the scare campaign againsthydraulic fracturing. Furthermore, he has wasted bil-lions of taxpayers’ dollars by subsidizing favoredcompanies like Solyndra, which generated bankrupt-cies rather than kilowatts.


Unlike the currentAdministration, we will not pickwinners and losers in the energymarketplace. Instead, we will letthe free market and the public’s

preferences determine theindustry outcomes.

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Since the current President took office in 2009,consumers pay approximately twice as much for gasat the pump. Our common theme is to promote de-velopment of all forms of energy, enable consumerchoice to keep energy costs low, and ensure thatAmerica remains competitive in the global market-place. We will respect the States’ proven ability toregulate the use of hydraulic fracturing, continue de-velopment of oil and gas resources in places like theBakken formation and Marcellus Shale, and reviewthe environmental laws that often thwart new energyexploration and production. We salute the Republi-can Members of the House of Representatives forpassing the Domestic Energy and Jobs Act, a vitalpiece of pro-growth legislation now introduced byRepublicans in the Senate.

Agriculture

Abundant Harvests: Protecting Our Farmers

Agricultural production and agricultural exportsare a fundamental part of the U.S. economy, and thevigor of U.S. agriculture is central to our agenda forjobs, growth, and prosperity. Our farmers and ranch-ers are responsible for millions of jobs and for gener-ating a trade surplus of more than $137 billionannually. Our producers provide America with abun-dant food, export food to hungry people around theworld, and create a positive trade balance. Becauseof their care for the land, the United States does notdepend on foreign imports for sustenance the way wedepend on others for much of our energy. However,Americans are concerned about the increasing costof their food under the current Administration poli-cies that restrict energy production and raise costs forproducers due to increased regulation. Our depend-ence on foreign imports of fertilizer could threatenour food supply, and we support the development ofdomestic production of fertilizer. The success of oursystem of risk management policies will enable farm-ers and ranchers to continue to feed and fuel the na-tion and much of the world.

Restoring Economic Stability for Our Farmers

Uncertainty is threatening the survival of our na-tion’s farmers. America’s growers and farmers areaging and much of America’s farmland will be passed

to the next generation of farmers with families. Un-certainties in estate and capital gains tax lawsthreaten the survival of multigenerational familyfarms. The proposals for tax reforms contained else-where in this document will make certain that familyfarms will not be lost.

The Proper Federal Role in Agriculture

Agricultural producers and the jobs they gener-ate throughout the entire food chain must confrontvolatility in both the weather and the markets. Wesupport farm programs that enable them to managethe extraordinary risk they meet in the fields everyyear. These programs should be as cost-effective asthey are functional, offering risk management toolsthat improve producers’ ability to operate when timesare tough.

Just as all other federal programs must con-tribute to the deficit reduction necessary to put ourcountry back on a sound fiscal footing, so must farmprograms contribute to balancing the budget.

Programs like the Direct Payment programshould end in favor of those, like crop insurance, thathelp manage risk and are counter-cyclical in nature.

We support the historic role of the USDA in agri-cultural research that has transformed farming hereand around the world. Because food safety is a majorconcern of the American people, we urge Congress toensure adequate resources for the Department’s re-sponsibilities in that regard.

The U. S. Forest Service controls about 193 mil-lion acres of land and employs 30,000 workers. TheForest Service should be charged to use these re-sources to the best economic potential for the nation.We must limit injunctions by activist judges regardingenvironmental management. In order to secure oneof the country’s most important natural resources, wewill review the way the Forest Service handles wild-fires. This summer’s lack of rainfall over much of agri-cultural America highlights the importance of accessto water for farmers and ranchers alike. We stand withgrowers and producers in defense of their water rightsagainst attempts by the EPA and the Army Corps ofEngineers to expand jurisdiction over water, includingwater that is clearly not navigable.

The productivity of America’s farmers makespossible the generosity of U.S. food aid efforts around


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the world. These programs are fragmented betweenthe Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Agencyfor International Development. They should bestreamlined into one agency with a concentration onreducing overhead to maximize delivery of the actualgoods.

The food stamp program now accounts for nearly80 percent of the entire USDA budget. In finding waysto fight fraud and abuse, the Congress should considerblock-granting that program to the States, along withthe other domestic nutrition programs.

Protecting Our Environment

The environment is getting cleaner and health-ier. The nation’s air and waterways, as a whole, aremuch healthier than they werejust a few decades ago. Efforts toreduce pollution, encourage re-cycling, educate the public, andavoid ecological degradationhave been a success. To ensuretheir continued support by theAmerican people, however, weneed a dramatic change in theattitude of officials in Washing-ton, a shift from a job-killingpunitive mentality to a spirit ofcooperation with producers,landowners, and the public. Animportant factor is full trans-parency in development of thedata and modeling that driveregulations. Legislation to restore the authority ofStates in environmental protection is essential. Weencourage the use of agricultural best managementpractices among the States to reduce pollution.

Our Republican Party’s Commitment to Conservation

Conservation is a conservative value. As the pi-oneer of conservation over a century ago, the Repub-lican Party believes in the moral obligation of thepeople to be good stewards of the God-given naturalbeauty and resources of our country and bases envi-ronmental policy on several common-sense princi-ples. For example, we believe people are the most

valuable resource, and human health and safety arethe most important measurements of success. A pol-icy protecting these objectives, however, must bal-ance economic development and private propertyrights in the short run with conservation goals overthe long run. Also, public access to public lands forrecreational activities such as hunting, fishing, andrecreational shooting should be permitted on all ap-propriate federal lands.

Moreover, the advance of science and technologyadvances environmentalism as well. Science allowsus to weigh the costs and benefits of a policy so thatwe can prudently deal with our resources. This is es-pecially important when the causes and long-rangeeffects of a phenomenon are uncertain. We must re-

store scientific integrity to ourpublic research institutions andremove political incentives frompublicly funded research.

Private Stewardship of theEnvironment

Experience has shown that,in caring for the land and water,private ownership has been ourbest guarantee of conscientiousstewardship, while the worst in-stances of environmental degra-dation have occurred undergovernment control. By the sametoken, the most economicallyadvanced countries–those that

respect and protect private property rights—also havethe strongest environmental protections, becausetheir economic progress makes possible the conser-vation of natural resources. In this context, Congressshould reconsider whether parts of the federal gov-ernment’s enormous landholdings and control ofwater in the West could be better used for ranching,mining, or forestry through private ownership. Tim-ber is a renewable natural resource, which providesjobs to thousands of Americans. All efforts should bemade to make federal lands managed by the U.S. For-est Service available for harvesting. The enduringtruth is that people best protect what they own.

It makes sense that those closest to a situation


As the pioneer of conservationover a century ago, the

Republican Party believesin the moral obligation of thepeople to be good stewards ofthe God-given natural beautyand resources of our country

and bases environmentalpolicy on several

common-sense principles.

19

are best able to determine its remedy. That is why asite- and situation-specific approach to an environ-mental problem is more likely to solve it, instead of anational rule based on the ideological concerns ofpoliticized central planning. We therefore endorselegislation to require congressional approval beforeany rule projected to cost in excess of $100 million toAmerican consumers can go into effect.

The Republican Party supports appointing pub-lic officials to federal agencies who will properly andcorrectly apply environmental laws and regulations,always in support of economic development, job cre-ation, and American prosperity and leadership. Fed-eral agencies charged with enforcing environmentallaws must stop regulating beyond their authority.There is no place in regulatory agencies for activistregulators.

Reining in the EPA

Since 2009, the EPA has moved forward with ex-pansive regulations that will impose tens of billionsof dollars in new costs on American businesses andconsumers. Many of these new rules are creating reg-ulatory uncertainty, preventing new projects fromgoing forward, discouraging new investment, andstifling job creation.

We demand an end to the EPA’s participation in“sue and settle” lawsuits, sweetheart litigationbrought by environmental groups to expand theAgency’s regulatory activities against the wishes ofCongress and the public. We will require full trans-parency in litigation under the nation’s environmen-tal laws, including advance notice to all State andlocal governments, tribes, businesses, landowners,and the public who could be adversely affected. Welikewise support pending legislation to ensure cumu-lative analysis of EPA regulations, and to require fulltransparency in all EPA decisions, so that the publicwill know in advance their full impact on jobs and theeconomy. We oppose the EPA’s unwarranted revo-cation of existing permits. We also call on Congressto take quick action to prohibit the EPA from movingforward with new greenhouse gas regulationsthat will harm the nation’s economy and threatenmillions of jobs over the next quarter century. Themost powerful environmental policy is liberty, thecentral organizing principle of the American Republicand its people. Liberty alone fosters scientific in-quiry, technological innovation, entrepreneurship,and information exchange. Liberty must remainthe core energy behind America’s environmentalimprovement.


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We are the party of government reform. At a timewhen the federal government has become bloated, an-tiquated and unresponsive to taxpayers, it is our in-tention not only to improve management and providebetter services, but also to rethink and restructuregovernment to bring it into the twenty-first century.Government reform requires constant vigilance andeffort because government by its nature tends to ex-pand in both size and scope. Our goal is not just lessspending in Washington but something far more im-portant for the future of our nation: protecting theconstitutional rights of citizens, sustainable prosper-ity, and strengthening the American family.

It isn’t enough to merely downsize government,having a smaller version of the same failed systems.We must do things in a dramatically different way byreversing the undermining offederalism and the centralizingof power in Washington. Welook to the example set by Re-publican Governors and legisla-tors all across the nation. Theirleadership in reforming andreengineering government clos-est to the people vindicates therole of the States as the laborato-ries of democracy.

Our approach, like theirs, istwo-fold. We look to govern-ment—local, State, and federal—for the things government mustdo, but we believe those dutiescan be carried out more efficiently and at less cost.For all other activities, we look to the private sector;for the American people’s resourcefulness, produc-tivity, innovation, fiscal responsibility, and citizen-leadership have always been the true foundation ofour national greatness.

For much of the last century, an opposing viewhas dominated public policy where we have witnessedthe expansion, centralization, and bureaucracy in anentitlement society. Government has lumbered on,

stifling innovation, with no incentive for fundamentalchange, through antiquated programs begun genera-tions ago and now ill-suited to present needs and fu-ture requirements. As a result, today’s taxpayers—andfuture generations—face massive indebtedness, whileCongressional Democrats and the current Adminis-tration block every attempt to turn things around.This man-made log-jam—the so-called stalemate inWashington—particularly affects the government’sthree largest programs, which have become central tothe lives of untold millions of Americans: Medicare,Medicaid, and Social Security.

Saving Medicare for Future Generations

The Republican Party is committed to savingMedicare and Medicaid. Unless the programs’ fiscal

ship is righted, the individualshurt the first and the worst will bethose who depend on them themost. We will save Medicare bymodernizing it, by empoweringits participants, and by putting iton a secure financial footing. Thiswill be an enormous undertaking,and it should be a non-partisanone. We welcome to the effortall who sincerely want to ensurethe future for our seniors andthe poor. Republicans are deter-mined to achieve that goal with acandid and honest presentationof the problem and its solutions

to the American people.Despite the enormous differences between

Medicare and Medicaid, the two programs share thesame fiscal outlook: their current courses cannot besustained. Medicare has grown from more than 20million enrolled in 1970 to more than 47 million en-rolled today, with a projected total of 80 million in2030. Medicaid counted almost 30 million enrolleesin 1990, has about 54 million now, and under Oba-macare would include an additional 11 million.


Reforming Government to Serve the People

At a time when the federalgovernment has becomebloated, antiquated and

unresponsive to taxpayers, it isour intention not only to improvemanagement and provide betterservices, but also to rethink andrestructure government to bringit into the twenty-first century.

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Medicare spent more than $520 billion in 2010 andhas close to $37 trillion in unfunded obligations,while total Medicaid spending will more than doubleby 2019. In many States, Medicaid’s mandates andinflexible bureaucracy have become a budgetaryblack hole, growing faster than most other budgetlines and devouring funding for many other essentialgovernmental functions.

The problem goes beyond finances. Poor qualityhealthcare is the most expensive type of care becauseit prolongs affliction and leads to ever more compli-cations. Even expensive prevention is preferable tomore costly treatment later on. When approximately80 percent of healthcare costs are related to lifestyle–smoking, obesity, substance abuse–far greater em-phasis has to be put upon personal responsibility forhealth maintenance. Our goal for both Medicare andMedicaid must be to assure that every participant re-ceives the amount of care they need at the time theyneed it, whether for an expectant mother and her babyor for someone in the last moments of life. Absent re-forms, these two programs are headed for bankruptcythat will endanger care for seniors and the poor.

The first step is to move the two programs awayfrom their current unsustainable defined-benefitentitlement model to a fiscally sound defined-contribution model. This is the only way to limit costsand restore consumer choice for patients and intro-duce competition; for in healthcare, as in any othersector of the economy, genuine competition is thebest guarantee of better care at lower cost. It is alsothe best guard against the fraud and abuse that haveplagued Medicare in its isolation from free marketforces, which in turn costs the taxpayers billions ofdollars every year. We can do this without makingany changes for those 55 and older. While retainingthe option of traditional Medicare in competitionwith private plans, we call for a transition to a pre-mium-support model for Medicare, with an income-adjusted contribution toward a health plan of theenrollee’s choice. This model will include privatehealth insurance plans that provide catastrophic pro-tection, to ensure the continuation of doctor-patientrelationships. Without disadvantaging retirees orthose nearing retirement, the age eligibility forMedicare must be made more realistic in terms oftoday’s longer life span.

Strengthening Medicaid in the States

Medicaid, as the dominant payer in the healthmarket in regards to long-term care, births, and in-dividuals with mental illness, is the next frontier ofwelfare reform. It is simply too big and too flawed tobe managed in its current condition from Washing-ton. Republican Governors have taken the lead inproposing a host of regulatory changes that couldmake the program more flexible, innovative, and ac-countable. There should be alternatives to hospital-ization for chronic health problems. Patients could berewarded for participating in disease prevention ac-tivities. Excessive mandates on coverage should beeliminated. Patients with long-term care needs mightfare better in a separately designed program.

As those and other specific proposals show, Re-publican Governors and State legislatures are readyto do the hard work of modernizing Medicaid for thetwenty-first century. We propose to let them do allthat and more by block-granting the program to theStates, providing the States with the flexibility to de-sign programs that meet the needs of their low in-come citizens. Such reforms could be achievedthrough premium supports or a refundable tax credit,allowing non-disabled adults and children to bemoved into private health insurance of their choice,where their needs can be met on the same basis asthose of more affluent Americans. For the aged anddisabled under Medicaid, for whom monthly costscan be extremely high, States would have flexibilityto improve the quality of care and to avoid the inap-propriate institutional placing of patients who preferto be cared for at home.

Security For Those Who Need It: Ensuring Retirement Security

While no changes should adversely affect anycurrent or near-retiree, comprehensive reformshould address our society’s remarkable medical ad-vances in longevity and allow younger workers theoption of creating their own personal investment ac-counts as supplements to the system. Younger Amer-icans have lost all faith in the Social Security system,which is understandable when they read the non-partisan actuary’s reports about its future fundingstatus. Born in an old industrial era beyond the mem-


23

ory of most Americans, it is long overdue for majorchange, not just another legislative stopgap that post-pones a day of reckoning. To restore public trust inthe system, Republicans are committed to setting iton a sound fiscal basis that will give workers controlover, and a sound return on, their investments. Thesooner we act, the sooner those close to retirementcan be reassured of their benefits and younger work-ers can take responsibility for planning their own re-tirement decades from now.

Unlike Social Security, the problems facing pri-vate pension plans are both demographic andethical. While pension law may be complicated, thecurrent bottom line is that many plans are increas-ingly underfunded by overestimating their rates of re-turn on investments. This in turn endangers theintegrity of the Pension Guaranty Benefit Corpora-tion, which is itself seriously underfunded. In bothcases, the taxpayers will be expected to pay for abailout. As the first step toward possible corrective ac-tion, we call for a presidential panel to review the pri-vate pension system in this country of only thoseprivate pensions that are backed by the PensionGuaranty Benefit Corporation and to make publicits findings.

The situation of public pension systems demandsimmediate remedial action. The irresponsible prom-ises of politicians at every level of government havecome back to haunt today’s taxpayers with enormousunfunded pension liabilities. Many cities face bank-ruptcy because of excessive outlays for early retire-ment, extravagant health plans, and overly generouspension benefits. We salute the Republican Governorsand State legislators who have, in the face ofabuse and threats of violence, reformed their Statepension systems for the benefit of both taxpayers andretirees alike.

Regulatory Reform: The Key to Economic Growth

The proper purpose of regulation is to set forthclear rules of the road for the citizens, so that businessowners and workers can understand in advance whatthey need to do, or not do, to augment the possibilitiesfor success within the confines of the law. Regulationsmust be drafted and implemented to balance legiti-mate public safety or consumer protection goals and

job creation. Constructive regulation should be a help-ful guide, not a punitive threat. Worst of all, over-regulation is a stealth tax on everyone as the costs ofcompliance with the whims of federal agencies arepassed along to the consumers at the cost of $1.75 tril-lion a year. Many regulations are necessary, like thosewhich ensure the safety of food and medicine, espe-cially from overseas. But no peril justifies the regula-tory impact of Obamacare on the practice of medicine,the Dodd-Frank Act on financial services, or the EPA’sand OSHA’s overreaching regulation agenda. A Re-publican Congress and President will repeal the firstand second, and rein in the third. We support a sun-set requirement to force reconsideration of out-of-date regulations, and we endorse pending legislationto require congressional approval for all new majorand costly regulations.

The bottom line on regulations is jobs. In listen-ing to America, one constant we have heard is the job-crippling effect of even well-intentioned regulation.That makes it all the more important for federal agen-cies to be judicious about the impositions they createon businesses, especially small businesses. We call fora moratorium on the development of any new majorand costly regulations until a Republican Administra-tion reviews existing rules to ensure that they have asound basis in science and will be cost-effective.

Protecting Internet Freedom

The Internet has unleashed innovation, enabledgrowth, and inspired freedom more rapidly and ex-tensively than any other technological advance inhuman history. Its independence is its power. The In-ternet offers a communications system uniquely freefrom government intervention. We will remove reg-ulatory barriers that protect outdated technologiesand business plans from innovation and competition,while preventing legacy regulation from interferingwith new and disruptive technologies such as mobiledelivery of voice video data as they become crucialcomponents of the Internet ecosystem. We will resistany effort to shift control away from the successfulmulti-stakeholder approach of Internet governanceand toward governance by international or other in-tergovernmental organizations. We will ensure thatpersonal data receives full constitutional protectionfrom government overreach and that individuals re-


24

tain the right to control the use of their data by thirdparties; the only way to safeguard or improve thesesystems is through the private sector.

A Vision for the Twenty-First Century: Technology, Telecommunications and the Internet

The most vibrant sector of the American econ-omy, indeed, one-sixth of it, is regulated by the fed-eral government on precedents from the nineteenthcentury. Today’s technology and telecommunica-tions industries are overseen by the Federal Commu-nications Commission, established in 1934 and giventhe jurisdiction over telecommunications formerlyassigned to the Interstate Commerce Commission,which had been created in 1887 to regulate the rail-roads. This is not a good fit. Indeed, the developmentof telecommunications advances so rapidly that eventhe Telecom Act of 1996 is woe-fully out of date. An industrythat invested $66 billion in 2011alone needs, and deserves, amore modern relationship withthe federal government for thebenefit of consumers here andworldwide.

The current Administrationhas been frozen in the past. Ithas conducted no auction ofspectrum, has offered no incen-tives for investment, and,through the FCC’s net neutrality rule, is trying to mi-cromanage telecom as if it were a railroad network. Itinherited from the previous Republican Administra-tion 95 percent coverage of the nation with broad-band. It will leave office with no progress toward thegoal of universal coverage – after spending $7.2 bil-lion more. That hurts rural America, where farmers,ranchers, and small business manufacturers needconnectivity to expand their customer base and oper-ate in real time with the world’s producers. We en-courage public-private partnerships to providepredictable support for connecting rural areas so thatevery American can fully participate in the globaleconomy.

We call for an inventory of federal agency spec-trum to determine the surplus that could be auc-

tioned for the taxpayers’ benefit. With special recog-nition of the role university technology centers areplaying in attracting private investment to the field,we will replace the administration’s Luddite ap-proach to technological progress with a regulatorypartnership that will keep this country the worldleader in technology and telecommunications.

Protecting the Taxpayers: No More “Too Big to Fail”

For more than a century, the U.S. was the worldleader in financial services. The visionary manage-ment of capital was the lifeblood of the entire econ-omy. By giving responsible access to credit, it helpedsmall businesses grow, created jobs, and made Amer-icans the best-housed people in history. By fundinginnovation, financial services underwrote our future.Then came the financial collapse of 2008 and a crit-

ical reassessment of the role andcondition of financial institu-tions—most of which, it must besaid, were responsible andhealthy, especially those closest totheir investors and borrowers.

In cases of malfeasance orother criminal behavior, the fullforce of the law should be used.But in all cases, this rule mustapply: No financial institution istoo big to fail. The taxpayers mustnever again be on the hook for the

losses of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The publicmust never again be left holding the bag for WallStreet giants, which is why we decry the current Ad-ministration’s record of over-regulation and selectiveintervention, which has already frozen investmentand job creation and threatens to make financial in-stitutions the coddled wards of government.

A far better approach—protecting consumers andtaxpayers alike—is institutional transparency. Banksneed to know that they could be at risk, and investorsneed clear rules that are not subject to political med-dling. The same holds true for the equity marketregulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.We propose reasonable federal oversight of financialinstitutions, practical safeguards for consumers,and – what is crucial for this country’s economic re-


The Internet has unleashedinnovation, enabled growth, and inspired freedom more

rapidly and extensively than any other technological advance

in human history. Itsindependence is its power.

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bound – sound spending, tax, and regulatory policiesthat will allow those institutions to once again becomethe builders of the next American century. Westrongly support tax reform; in the event we do notachieve this, we must preserve the mortgage interestdeduction.

Judicial Activism: A Threat to the U.S. Constitution

Despite improvements as a result of Republicannominations to the judiciary, some judges in the fed-eral courts remain far afield from their constitutionallimitations. The U.S. Constitution is the law of theland. Judicial activism which includes reliance onforeign law or unratified treaties undermines Amer-ican law. The sole solution, apart from impeachment,is the appointment of constitutionalist jurists, whowill interpret the law as it was originally intendedrather than make it. That is both a presidential re-sponsibility, in selecting judicial candidates, and asenatorial responsibility, in confirming them. Weurge Republican Senators to do all in their power toprevent the elevation of additional leftist ideologuesto the courts, particularly in the waning days of thecurrent Administration.

In addition to appointing activist judges, the cur-rent Administration has included an activist andhighly partisan Department of Justice. With a Re-publican Administration, the Department will stopsuing States for exercising those powers reserved tothe States, will stop abusing its preclearance author-ity to block photo-ID voting laws, and will fulfill itsresponsibility to defend all federal laws in court, in-cluding the Defense of Marriage Act.

Restructuring the U.S. Postal Service for the Twenty-First Century

The dire financial circumstances of the PostalService require dramatic restructuring. In a world ofrapidly advancing telecommunications, mail deliveryfrom the era of the Pony Express cannot long survive.We call on Congress to restructure the Service to en-sure the continuance of its essential function of de-livering mail while preparing for the downsizingmade inevitable by the advance of internet commu-nication. In light of the Postal Service’s seriously un-derfunded pension system, Congress should explore

a greater role for private enterprise in appropriate as-pects of the mail-processing system.

Protecting Travelers and their Rights: Reforming the TSA for Security and Privacy

While the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacksbrought about a greater need for homeland security,the American people have already delivered their ver-dict on the Transportation Security Administration:its procedures – and much of its personnel – need tobe changed. It is now a massive bureaucracy of65,000 employees who seem to be accountable to noone for the way they treat travelers. We call for theprivate sector to take over airport screening whereverfeasible and look toward the development of securitysystems that can replace the personal violation offrisking.

The Rule of Law: Legal Immigration

The greatest asset of the American economy isthe American worker. Just as immigrant laborhelped build our country in the past, today’s legal im-migrants are making vital contributions in every as-pect of our national life. Their industry andcommitment to American values strengthens oureconomy, enriches our culture, and enables us to bet-ter understand and more effectively compete with therest of the world. Illegal immigration underminesthose benefits and affects U.S. workers. In an age ofterrorism, drug cartels, human trafficking, and crim-inal gangs, the presence of millions of unidentifiedpersons in this country poses grave risks to the safetyand the sovereignty of the United States. Our highestpriority, therefore, is to secure the rule of law both atour borders and at ports of entry.

We recognize that for most of those seekingentry into this country, the lack of respect for the ruleof law in their homelands has meant economic ex-ploitation and political oppression by corrupt elites.In this country, the rule of law guarantees equal treat-ment to every individual, including more than onemillion immigrants to whom we grant permanentresidence every year. That is why we oppose anyform of amnesty for those who, by intentionally vio-lating the law, disadvantage those who have obeyedit. Granting amnesty only rewards and encouragesmore law breaking. We support the mandatory use


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of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements(S.A.V.E.) program—an internet-based system thatverifies the lawful presence of applicants—prior tothe granting of any State or federal government enti-tlements or IRS refunds. We insist upon enforce-ment at the workplace through verification systemsso that jobs can be available to all legal workers. Useof the E-verify program—an internet-based systemthat verifies the employment authorization and iden-tity of employees—must be made mandatory nation-wide. State enforcement effortsin the workplace must be wel-comed, not attacked. WhenAmericans need jobs, it is ab-solutely essential that we protectthem from illegal labor in theworkplace. In addition, it is whywe demand tough penalties forthose who practice identity theft,deal in fraudulent documents,and traffic in human beings. It iswhy we support Republican leg-islation to give the Department ofHomeland Security long-termdetention authority to keep dangerous but unde-portable aliens off our streets, expedite expulsion ofcriminal aliens, and make gang membership a de-portable offense.

The current Administration’s approach to immi-gration has undermined the rule of law at every turn.It has lessened work-site enforcement—and even al-lows the illegal aliens it does uncover to walk downthe street to the next employer—and challenged le-gitimate State efforts to keep communities safe, suingthem for trying to enforce the law when the federalgovernment refuses to do so. It has created a back-door amnesty program unrecognized in law, grantingworker authorization to illegal aliens, and shown lit-tle regard for the life-and-death situations facing themen and women of the border patrol.

Perhaps worst of all, the current Administrationhas failed to enforce the legal means for workers oremployers who want to operate within the law.

In contrast, a Republican Administration andCongress will partner with local governmentsthrough cooperative enforcement agreements in Sec-tion 287g of the Immigration and Nationality Act to

make communities safer for all and will consider, inlight of both current needs and historic practice, theutility of a legal and reliable source of foreign laborwhere needed through a new guest worker program.We will create humane procedures to encourage ille-gal aliens to return home voluntarily, while enforcingthe law against those who overstay their visas.

State efforts to reduce illegal immigration mustbe encouraged, not attacked. The pending Depart-ment of Justice lawsuits against Arizona, Alabama,

South Carolina, and Utah mustbe dismissed immediately. Thedouble-layered fencing on the bor-der that was enacted by Congressin 2006, but never completed,must finally be built. In order torestore the rule of law, federalfunding should be denied to sanc-tuary cities that violate federal lawand endanger their own citizens,and federal funding should be de-nied to universities that provide in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens,in open defiance of federal law.

We are grateful to the thousands of new immi-grants, many of them not yet citizens, who are servingin the Armed Forces. Their patriotism should encour-age us all to embrace the newcomers legally amongus, assist their journey to full citizenship, and helptheir communities avoid isolation from the main-stream of society. To that end, while we encouragethe retention and transmission of heritage tongues,we support English as the nation’s official language,a unifying force essential for the educational and eco-nomic advancement of—not only immigrant commu-nities—but also our nation as a whole.

Honoring Our Relationship with American Indians

Based on both treaty and other law, the federalgovernment has a unique government-to-govern-ment relationship with and trust responsibility for In-dian Tribal Governments and American Indians andAlaska Natives. These obligations have not been suf-ficiently honored. The social and economic problemsthat plague Indian country have grown worse overthe last several decades; we must reverse that trend.


The greatest asset of theAmerican economy is theAmerican worker. Just as

immigrant labor helped buildour country in the past, today’slegal immigrants are making

vital contributions in everyaspect of our national life.

27

Ineffective federal programs deprive American Indi-ans of the services they need, and long-term failuresthreaten to undermine tribal sovereignty itself.

American Indians have established elected tribalgovernments to carry out the public policies of thetribe, administer services to its tribal member con-stituents, and manage relations with federal, State,and local governments. We respect the tribal govern-ments as the voice of their communities and encour-age federal, State, and local governments to heedthose voices in developing programs and partner-ships to improve the quality of life for AmericanIndians and their neighbors in their communities.

Republicans believe that economic self-sufficiency is the ultimate answer to the challengesconfronting Indian country. We believe that tribalgovernments and their communities, not Washing-ton bureaucracies, are best situated to craft solutionsthat will end systemic problems that create povertyand disenfranchisement. Just as the federal govern-ment should not burden States with regulations, itshould not stifle the development of resources withinthe reservations, which need federal assistance to ad-vance their commerce nationally through roads andtechnology. Federal and State regulations that thwartjob creation must be withdrawn or redrawn so thattribal governments acting on behalf of American In-dians are not disadvantaged. It is especially egregiousthat the Democratic Party has persistently under-mined tribal sovereignty in order to provide advan-tage to union bosses in the tribal workplace.

Republicans recognize that each tribe has theright of consultation before any new regulatory policyis implemented on tribal land. To the extent possible,such consultation should take place in Indian coun-try with the tribal government and its members. Be-fore promulgating and imposing any new laws orregulations affecting trust land or members, the fed-eral government should encourage Indian tribes todevelop their own policies to achieve program objec-tives, and should defer to tribes to develop their ownstandards, or standards in conjunction with Stategovernments.

Republicans reject a one-size-fits-all approach tofederal-tribal-State partnerships and will work to ex-pand local autonomy where tribal governments seekit. Better partnerships will help us to expand eco-

nomic opportunity, deliver top-flight education to fu-ture generations, modernize and improve the IndianHealth Service to make it more responsive to localneeds, and build essential infrastructure in Indiancountry in cooperation with tribal neighbors. Our ap-proach is to empower American Indians, throughtribal self-determination and self-governance poli-cies, to develop their greatest assets, human re-sources and the rich natural resources on their lands,without undue federal interference.

Like all Americans, American Indians want safecommunities for their families; but inadequate re-sources and neglect have, over time, allowed criminalactivities to plague Indian country. To protect every-one—and especially the most vulnerable: children,women, and elders—the legal system in tribal com-munities must provide stability and protect propertyrights. Everyone’s due process and civil rights mustbe safeguarded.

We support efforts to ensure equitable partici-pation in federal programs by American Indians, in-cluding Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians and topreserve their culture and languages that we considerto be national treasures. Lastly, we recognize thatAmerican Indians have responded to the call for mil-itary service in percentage numbers far greater thanhave other groups of Americans. We honor that com-mitment, loyalty, and sacrifice of all American Indi-ans serving in the military today and in years pastand will ensure that all veterans and their families re-ceive the care and respect they have earned throughtheir loyal service to America.

Preserving the District of Columbia

The nation’s capital city, a special responsibilityof the federal government, belongs both to its resi-dents and to all Americans, millions of whom visit itevery year. Congressional Republicans havetaken the lead in efforts to foster homeownership andopen access to higher education for Washington res-idents. Against the opposition of the current Presi-dent and leaders of the Democratic Party, they havefought to establish, and now to expand, the D.C.Opportunity Scholarship Program, through whichthousands of low-income children have been able toattend a school of their choice and receive a qualityeducation.



D.C.’s Republicans have been in the forefront ofexposing and combating the chronic corruptionamong the city’s top Democratic officials. We jointheir call for a non-partisan elected AttorneyGeneral to clean up the city’s political culture and forcongressional action to enforce the spirit of the HomeRule Act assuring minority representation on theCity Council. After decades of inept one-party rule,the city’s structural deficit demands congressionalattention.

As the center of our government, the Districtcontains many potential targets for terrorist attacks.Federal security agencies should work closely withlocal officials and regional administrations like theWashington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority. Atop priority must be ensuring that all public trans-portation, especially Metro rails, is functioning in theevent of an emergency evacuation. Also, to ensureprotection of the fundamental right to keep and beararms, we call on the governing authority to pass lawsconsistent with the Supreme Court’s decisions in theDistrict of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v.Chicago cases, which upheld the fundamental right tokeep and bear arms for self-defense.

We oppose statehood for the District of Columbia.

Modernizing the Federal Civil Service

The federal workforce bears great responsibili-ties and sometimes wields tremendous power, espe-cially when Congress delegates to it the execution ofcomplicated and far-reaching legislation. We recog-nize the dedication of federal workers and the diffi-culty of their thankless task of implementing poorlydrafted or open-ended legislation.

Under the current Administration, the civil serv-ice has grown by at least 140,000 workers, while thenumber making at least $150,000 has doubled. At atime when the national debt has increased to over$15.9 trillion under the current Administration, thisis grossly irresponsible. The American people worktoo hard and too long to support a bloated govern-ment. We call for a reduction, through attrition, inthe federal payroll of at least 10 percent and the ad-justment of pay scales and benefits to reflect those ofthe private sector. We must bring the 130-year old

Civil Service System into the twenty-first century.The federal pay system should be sufficiently flexibleto acknowledge and reward those who dare to inno-vate, reduce overhead, optimize processes, and expe-dite paperwork.

Delinquency in paying taxes and repaying stu-dent loans has been too common in some segments ofthe civil service. A Republican Administration willmake enforcement among its own employees a prior-ity and, unlike the current Administration, will nameto public office no one who has failed to meet their fi-nancial obligations to the government and fellow tax-payers.

America’s Future in Space: Continuing this Quest

The exploration of space has been a key part ofU.S. global leadership and has supported innovationand ownership of technology. Over the last half-century, in partnership with our aerospace industry,the work of NASA has helped define and strengthenour nation’s technological prowess. From buildingthe world’s most powerful rockets to landing men onthe Moon, sending robotic spacecraft throughoutour solar system and beyond, building the Interna-tional Space Station, and launching space-basedtelescopes that allow scientists to better understandour universe, NASA science and engineeringhave produced spectacular results. The technologiesthat emerged from those programs propelled ouraerospace industrial base and directly benefit our na-tional security, safety, economy, and quality of life.Through its achievements, NASA has inspired gener-ations of Americans to study science, technology,engineering, and mathematics, leading to careersthat drive our country’s technological and economicengines.

Today, America’s leadership in space is chal-lenged by countries eager to emulate—and surpass—NASA’s accomplishments. To preserve our nationalsecurity interests and foster innovation and competi-tiveness, we must sustain our preeminence in space,launching more science missions, guaranteeing unfet-tered access, and maintaining a source of high-valueAmerican jobs.

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Honoring and Supporting Americans in the Territories

We honor the extraordinary sacrifices of the menand women of the territories who protect our free-dom through their service in the U.S. Armed Forces.We welcome their greater participation in all aspectsof the political process and affirm their right to seekthe full extension of the Constitution, with all therights and responsibilities it entails.

U.S. territories face serious economic challengesas they struggle to retain existing industries and de-velop new ones. Development of local energy optionsis crucial to reduce their dependence on imported fueland promote economic stability. The Pacific territo-ries should have flexibility to determine the minimumwage, which has seriously restricted progress in the

private sector. A stronger private sector can raisewages, reduce dependence on public sector employ-ment, and lead toward local self-sufficiency. All un-reasonable economic impediments must be removed,including unreasonable U.S. customs practices.

We support the right of the United States citi-zens of Puerto Rico to be admitted to the Union as afully sovereign state if they freely so determine. Werecognize that Congress has the final authority to de-fine the constitutionally valid options for Puerto Ricoto achieve a permanent non-territorial status withgovernment by consent and full enfranchisement. Aslong as Puerto Rico is not a State, however, the willof its people regarding their political status shouldbe ascertained by means of a general right of referen-dum or specific referenda sponsored by the U.S.government.


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We are the party of independent individualsand the institutions they create—families, schools,congregations, neighborhoods—to advance theirideals and make real their dreams. Foremost amongthose institutions is the American family. It is thefoundation of our society and the first level of self-government. Its daily lessons–cooperation, patience,mutual respect, responsibility, self-reliance – are fun-damental to the order and progress of our Republic.Government can never replace the family. That iswhy we insist that public policy, from taxation toeducation, from healthcare to welfare, be formulatedwith attention to the needs and strengths of thefamily.

Preserving and Protecting Traditional Marriage

The institution of marriage is the foundation ofcivil society. Its success as an institution will deter-mine our success as a nation. It has been proven byboth experience and endless social science studiesthat traditional marriage is best for children. Chil-dren raised in intact married families are morelikely to attend college, are physically and emotion-ally healthier, are less likely to use drugs or alcohol,engage in crime, or get pregnant outside of marriage.The success of marriage directly impacts the eco-nomic well-being of individuals. Furthermore, thefuture of marriage affects freedom. The lack of familyformation not only leads to more government costs,but also to more government control over the livesof its citizens in all aspects. We recognize and honorthe courageous efforts of those who bear the manyburdens of parenting alone, even as we believe thatmarriage, the union of one man and one woman mustbe upheld as the national standard, a goal to standfor, encourage, and promote through laws governingmarriage. We embrace the principle that all Ameri-cans should be treated with respect and dignity.

Creating a Culture of Hope: Raising Families Beyond Poverty

The Republican-led welfare reforms enacted in1996 marked a revolution in government’s approachto poverty. They changed the standard for policy suc-cess from the amount of income transferred to thepoor to the number of poor who moved from welfareto economic independence. We took the belief ofmost Americans—that welfare should be a hand up,not a hand out—and made it law. Work requirements,though modest, were at the heart of this success. Thatis why so many are now outraged by the current Ad-ministration’s recent decision to permit waivers forwork requirements for welfare benefits, in otherwords, to administratively repeal the most successfulanti-poverty policy in memory. Instead of undermin-ing the expectation that low-income parents and in-dividuals should strive to support themselves, benefitprograms like food stamps must ensure that thosebenefits are better targeted to those who need helpthe most.

For the sake of low-income families as well as thetaxpayers, the federal government’s entire system ofpublic assistance should be reformed to ensure thatit promotes work. Each year, this system dispensesnearly $1 trillion in taxpayer funds across a maze ofapproximately 80 programs that are neither coordi-nated nor effective in solving poverty and lifting upfamilies. For many individuals collecting benefitsfrom multiple categorical programs, efforts to workor earn more actually result in less money in theirpocket through the resulting loss of benefits. Thispoverty trap would ensnare even more Americans ifObamacare were implemented. Taking a part timejob, working an extra shift, or even just marryingsomeone who works, would result in a loss of bene-fits, thereby discouraging the very acts necessary toachieve the American Dream.


Renewing American Values to Build Healthy Families,Great Schools and Safe Neighborhoods

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Adoption and Foster Care

Families formed or enlarged by adoptionstrengthen our communities and ennoble our nation.We applaud the Republican legislative initiatives thatled to a significant increase in adoptions in recentyears, and we call upon the private sector to considerthe needs of adoptive families on a par with others.Any restructuring of the federal tax code should rec-ognize the financial impact of the adoption processand the commitment made by adoptive families.

The nation’s foster care system remains a neces-sary fallback for youngsters from troubled families.Because of reforms initiated by many States, thenumber of foster children has declined to just over400,000. A major problem of the system is its lack ofsupport, financial and otherwise, for teens who ageout of foster care and into a world in which many arenot prepared to go it alone. We urge States to workwith the faith-based and other community groupswhich reach out to these young people in need.

Making the Internet Family-Friendly

Millions of Americans suffer from problem orpathological gambling that can destroy families. Wesupport the prohibition of gambling over the Internetand call for reversal of the Justice Department’s de-cision distorting the formerly accepted meaning ofthe Wire Act that could open the door to Internetbetting.

The Internet must be made safe for children. Wecall on service providers to exercise due care to en-sure that the Internet cannot become a safe haven forpredators while respecting First Amendment rights.We congratulate the social networking sites that barknown sex offenders from participation. We urge ac-tive prosecution against child pornography, which isclosely linked to the horrors of human trafficking.Current laws on all forms of pornography and ob-scenity need to be vigorously enforced.

Advancing Americans with Disabilities

We renew our commitment to the inclusion ofAmericans with disabilities in all aspects of our na-tional life. In keeping with that commitment, we op-pose the non-consensual withholding of care ortreatment from people with disabilities, includingnewborns, as well as the elderly and infirm, just as

we oppose euthanasia and assisted suicide, which en-danger especially those on the margins of society. Be-cause government should set a positive standard inhiring and contracting for the services of personswith disabilities, we need to update the statutory au-thority for the Ability One program, a major avenueby which those productive members of our societycan offer high quality services.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act(IDEA) has opened up unprecedented opportunitiesfor many students, and we reaffirm our support forits goal of minimizing the separation of children withdisabilities from their peers. We urge preventive ef-forts in early childhood, especially assistance in gain-ing pre-reading skills, to help many students movebeyond the need for IDEA’s protections. We endorsethe program of Employment First, developed bymajor disability rights groups, to replace dependencywith jobs in the mainstream of the Americanworkforce.

Repealing Obamacare

The Patient Protection and Affordable CareAct—Obamacare—was never really about healthcare,though its impact upon the nation’s health is disas-trous. From its start, it was about power, the expan-sion of government control over one sixth of oureconomy, and resulted in an attack on our Constitu-tion, by requiring that U.S. citizens purchase healthinsurance. We agree with the four dissenting justicesof the Supreme Court: “In our view the entire Act be-fore us is invalid in its entirety.” It was the high-watermark of an outdated liberalism, the latest attempt toimpose upon Americans a euro-style bureaucracy tomanage all aspects of their lives. Obamacare hasbeen struck down in the court of public opinion andis falling by the weight of its own confusing, unwork-able, budget-busting, and conflicting provisions. Itwould tremendously expand Medicaid without sig-nificant reform, leaving the States to assume unsus-tainable financial burdens. If fully implemented, itcould not function; and Republican victories in theNovember elections will guarantee that it is never im-plemented. Congressional Republicans are commit-ted to its repeal; and a Republican President, on thefirst day in office, will use his legitimate waiver au-thority under that law to halt its progress and then


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will sign its repeal. Then the American people,through the free market, can advance affordable andresponsible healthcare reform that meets the needsand concerns of patients and providers. ThroughObamacare, the current Administration has pro-moted the notion of abortion as healthcare. We, how-ever, affirm the dignity of women by protecting thesanctity of human life. Numerous studies haveshown that abortion endangers the health and well-being of women, and we stand firmly against it.

Our Prescription for American Healthcare:Improve Quality and Lower Costs

We believe that taking care of one’s health is anindividual responsibility. Chronic diseases, many ofthem related to lifestyle, drive healthcare costs, ac-counting for more than 75 percent of the nation’smedical spending. To reduce demand, and therebylower costs, we must foster personal responsibilitywhile increasing preventive serv-ices to promote healthy lifestyles.We believe that all Americansshould have improved access toaffordable, coordinated, qualityhealthcare, including individualsstruggling with mental illness.

Our goal is to encourage thedevelopment of a healthcare sys-tem that provides higher qualitycare at a lower cost to all Ameri-cans while protecting the patient-physician relationship based onmutual trust, informed consent,and privileged patient confiden-tiality. We seek to increase healthcare choice and op-tions, contain costs and reduce mandates, simplifythe system for patients and providers, restore cutsmade to Medicare, and equalize the tax treatment ofgroup and individual health insurance plans. Formost Americans, those who are insured now or whoseek insurance in the future, our practical, non-intru-sive reforms will promote flexibility in State leader-ship in healthcare reform, promote a free-marketbased system, and empower consumer choice. All ofwhich will return direction of the nation’s healthcareto the people and away from the federal government.

To return the States to their proper role of regu-

lating local insurance markets and caring for theneedy, we propose to block grant Medicaid and otherpayments to the States; limit federal requirements onboth private insurance and Medicaid; assist all pa-tients, including those with pre-existing conditions,through reinsurance and risk adjustment; and pro-mote non-litigation alternatives for dispute resolu-tion. We call on State officials to carefully considerthe increased costs of medical mandates, imposedunder their laws, which may price many low-incomefamilies out of the insurance market. We call on thegovernment to permanently ban all federal fundingand subsidies for abortion and healthcare plans thatinclude abortion coverage.

To achieve a free market in healthcare and ensurecompetition, we will promote price transparency sothat consumers will know the actual cost of treat-ments before they undergo them. When patients areaware of costs, they are less likely to over-utilize serv-

ices. We support legislation tocap non-economic damages inmedical malpractice lawsuits,thereby relieving conscientiousproviders of burdens that are notrightly theirs and addressing aserious cause of escalating med-ical bills. We will empower indi-viduals and small businesses toform purchasing pools in orderto expand coverage to the unin-sured. Individuals with pre-existing conditions who main-tain continuous insurance cover-age should be protected from

discrimination. We support technology enhance-ments for medical health records and data systemswhile affirming patient privacy and ownership ofhealth information.

Ensuring Consumer Choice in Healthcare

Consumer choice is the most powerful factor inhealthcare reform. Today’s highly mobile work forcerequires portability of insurance coverage that can gowith them from job to job. The need to maintain cov-erage should not dictate where families have to liveand work. Putting the patient at the center of policydecisions will increase choice and reduce costs while


Consumer choice is the mostpowerful factor in healthcarereform… Putting the patient

at the center of policy decisionswill increase choice and reduce

costs while ensuring thatservices provide what

Americans actually want.

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ensuring that services provide what Americans actu-ally want. We must end tax discrimination against theindividual purchase of insurance and allow con-sumers to purchase insurance across State lines.While promoting “co-insurance” products and alter-natives to “fee for service,” government must pro-mote Health Savings Accounts and HealthReimbursement Accounts to be used for insurancepremiums and should encourage the private sector torate competing insurance plans. We will ensure thatAmerica’s aging population has access to safe and af-fordable care. Because seniors overwhelmingly de-sire to age at home, we will make home care a priorityin public policy. We will champion the right of indi-vidual choice in senior care. We will aggressively im-plement programs to protect against elder abuse, andwe will work to ensure that quality care is providedacross the care continuum from home to nursinghome to hospice.

Supporting Federal Healthcare Research and Development

We support federal investment in healthcare de-livery systems and solutions creating innovativemeans to provide greater, more cost-effective accessto high quality healthcare. We also support federalinvestment in basic and applied biomedical research,especially the neuroscience research that mayhold great potential for dealing with diseasesand disorders such as Autism, Alzheimer’s, andParkinson’s. If we are to make significant headwayagainst breast and prostate cancer, diabetes, andother killers, research must consider the specialneeds of formerly neglected groups. We call forexpanded support for the stem-cell research that nowoffers the greatest hope for many afflictions–with adult stem cells, umbilical cord blood, and cellsreprogrammed into pluripotent stem cells–withoutthe destruction of embryonic human life. We urge aban on human cloning and on the creation of or ex-perimentation on human embryos. We supportrestoring the Drug Enforcement Administration banon the use of controlled substances for physician-assisted suicide. We oppose the FDA approval ofMifeprex, formerly known as RU-486, and similardrugs that terminate innocent human life afterconception.

Protecting Individual Conscience in Healthcare

No healthcare professional or organizationshould ever be required to perform, provide for, with-hold, or refer for a medical service against their con-science. This is especially true of the religiousorganizations which deliver a major portion of Amer-ica’s healthcare, a service rooted in the charity of faithcommunities. We do not believe, however, thathealthcare providers should be allowed to withholdservices because the healthcare provider believes thepatient’s life is not worth living. We support the abil-ity of all organizations to provide, purchase, or enrollin healthcare coverage consistent with their religious,moral or ethical convictions without discriminationor penalty. We likewise support the right of parentsto consent to medical treatment for their children, in-cluding mental health treatment, drug treatment, andtreatment involving pregnancy, contraceptives andabortion. We urge enactment of pending legislationthat would require parental consent to transport girlsacross state lines for abortions.

Reforming the FDA

America’s leadership in life sciences R&D andmedical innovation is being threatened. As a country,we must work together now or lose our leadership po-sition in medical innovation, U.S. job creation, and ac-cess to life-saving treatments for U.S. patients. TheUnited States has led the global medical device andpharmaceutical industries for decades. This leader-ship has made the U.S. the medical innovation capitalof the world, bringing millions of high-paying jobs toour country and life-saving devices and drugs to ournation’s patients. But that leadership position is atrisk; patients, innovators, and job creators point to thelack of predictability, consistency, transparency andefficiency at the Food and Drug Administration thatis driving innovation overseas, benefiting foreign, notU.S., patients.

We pledge to reform the FDA so we can ensurethat the U.S. remains the world leader in medical in-novation, that device and drug jobs stay in the U.S.,that U.S. patients benefit first from new devices anddrugs, and that the FDA no longer wastes U.S. tax-payer and innovators’ resources because of bureau-cratic red tape and legal uncertainty.


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Reducing Costs through Tort Reform

Frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits have bal-looned the cost of healthcare for the average Ameri-can. Physicians are increasingly practicing defensivemedicine because of the looming threat of malprac-tice liability. Moreover, some medical practitionersare avoiding patients with complex and high-riskmedical problems because of the high costs of med-ical malpractice lawsuits. Rural America is hurt es-pecially hard as obstetricians, surgeons, and otherhealthcare providers are moving to urban settings orretiring, causing a significant healthcare workforceshortage and subsequently decreasing access to carefor all patients. We are committed to aggressivelypursuing tort reform legislation to help avoid thepractice of defensive medicine, to keep healthcarecosts low, and improve healthcare quality.

Education: A Chance for Every Child

Parents are responsible for the education of theirchildren. We do not believe in a one size fits all ap-proach to education and support providing broad ed-ucation choices to parents and children at the Stateand local level. Maintaining American preeminencerequires a world-class system of education, with highstandards, in which all students can reach their poten-tial. Today’s education reform movement calls for ac-countability at every stage of schooling. It affirmshigher expectations for all students and rejects thecrippling bigotry of low expectations. It recognizes thewisdom of State and local control of our schools, andit wisely sees consumer rights in education—choice—as the most important driving force for renewing ourschools.

Education is much more than schooling. It is thewhole range of activities by which families and com-munities transmit to a younger generation, not justknowledge and skills, but ethical and behavioral normsand traditions. It is the handing over of a personal andcultural identity. That is why education choice has ex-panded so vigorously. It is also why American educa-tion has, for the last several decades, been the focus ofconstant controversy, as centralizing forces outside thefamily and community have sought to remake educa-tion in order to remake America. They have not suc-ceeded, but they have done immense damage.

Attaining Academic Excellence for All

Since 1965 the federal government has spent $2trillion on elementary and secondary education withno substantial improvement in academic achieve-ment or high school graduation rates (which cur-rently are 59 percent for African-American studentsand 63 percent for Hispanics). The U.S. spends an av-erage of more than $10,000 per pupil per year inpublic schools, for a total of more than $550 billion.That represents more than 4 percent of GDP devotedto K-12 education in 2010. Of that amount, federalspending was more than $47 billion. Clearly, ifmoney were the solution, our schools would beproblem-free.

More money alone does not necessarily equalbetter performance. After years of trial and error, weknow what does work, what has actually made a dif-ference in student advancement, and what is power-ing education reform at the local level all acrossAmerica: accountability on the part of administra-tors, parents and teachers; higher academic stan-dards; programs that support the development ofcharacter and financial literacy; periodic rigorous as-sessments on the fundamentals, especially math, sci-ence, reading, history, and geography; renewed focuson the Constitution and the writings of the FoundingFathers, and an accurate account of American historythat celebrates the birth of this great nation; trans-parency, so parents and the public can discover whichschools best serve their pupils; flexibility and free-dom to innovate, so schools can adapt to the specialneeds of their students and hold teachers and admin-istrators responsible for student performance. Wesupport the innovations in education reform occur-ring at the State level based upon proven results. Re-publican Governors have led in the effort to reformour country’s underperforming education system,and we applaud these advancements.

We advocate the policies and methods that haveproven effective: building on the basics, especiallySTEM subjects (science, technology, engineering,and math) and phonics; ending social promotions;merit pay for good teachers; classroom discipline;parental involvement; and strong leadership by prin-cipals, superintendents, and locally elected schoolboards. Because technology has become an essentialtool of learning, proper implementation of technol-


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ogy is a key factor in providing every child equal ac-cess and opportunity.

Consumer Choice in Education

The Republican Party is the party of fresh and in-novative ideas in education. We support options forlearning, including home schooling and local innova-tions like single-sex classes, full-day school hours, andyear-round schools. School choice—whether throughcharter schools, open enrollment requests, college labschools, virtual schools, career and technical educa-tion programs, vouchers, or tax credits—is importantfor all children, especially for families with childrentrapped in failing schools. Getting those youngstersinto decent learning environments and helping themto realize their full potential is the greatest civil rightschallenge of our time. We support the promotion oflocal career and technical educational programs andentrepreneurial programs that have been supportedby leaders in industry and will retrain and retool theAmerican workforce, which is the best in the world.A young person’s ability to achieve in school must bebased on his or her God-given talent and motivation,not an address, zip code, or economic status.

In sum, on the one hand enormous amounts ofmoney are being spent for K-12 public education withoverall results that do not justify that spending. Onthe other hand, the common experience of families,teachers, and administrators forms the basis of whatdoes work in education. We believe the gap betweenthose two realities can be successfully bridged, andCongressional Republicans are pointing a new wayforward with major reform legislation. We supportits concept of block grants and the repeal of numer-ous federal regulations which interfere with State andlocal control of public schools.

The bulk of the federal money through Title I forlow-income children and through IDEA for disabledyoungsters should follow the students to whateverschool they choose so that eligible pupils, throughopen enrollment, can bring their share of the fundingwith them. The Republican-founded D.C. Opportu-nity Scholarship Program should be expanded as amodel for the rest of the country. We deplore the ef-forts by Congressional Democrats and the currentPresident to kill this successful program for disad-vantaged students in order to placate the leaders of

the teachers’ unions. We support putting the needsof students before the special interests of unionswhen approaching elementary and secondary educa-tion reform.

Because parents are a child’s first teachers, wesupport family literacy programs, which improve thereading, language, and life skills of both parents andchildren from low-income families. To ensure that allstudents have access to the mainstream of Americanlife, we support the English First approach and op-pose divisive programs that limit students’ ability toadvance in American society. We renew our call forreplacing “family planning” programs for teens withabstinence education which teaches abstinence untilmarriage as the responsible and respected standardof behavior. Abstinence from sexual activity is theonly protection that is 100 percent effective againstout-of-wedlock pregnancies and sexually-transmitteddiseases including HIV/AIDS when transmitted sex-ually. It is effective, science-based, and empowersteens to achieve optimal health outcomes and avoidrisks of sexual activity. We oppose school-based clin-ics that provide referrals, counseling, and relatedservices for abortion and contraception. We supportkeeping federal funds from being used in mandatoryor universal mental health, psychiatric, or socio-emotional screening programs.

We applaud America’s great teachers, whoshould be protected against frivolous litigation andshould be able to take reasonable actions to maintaindiscipline and order in the classroom. We supportlegislation that will correct the current law provisionwhich defines a “Highly Qualified Teacher” merely byhis or her credentials, not results in the classroom.We urge school districts to make use of teaching tal-ent in business, STEM fields, and in the military, es-pecially among our returning veterans. Rigid tenuresystems based on the “last in, first out” policy shouldbe replaced with a merit-based approach that can at-tract fresh talent and dedication to the classroom. Allpersonnel who interact with school children shouldpass background checks and be held to the higheststandards of personal conduct.

Improving Our Nation’s Classrooms

Higher education faces its own challenges, manyof which stem from the poor preparation of students


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before they reach college. One consequence has beenthe multiplying number of remedial courses forfreshmen. Even so, our universities, large and small,public or private, form the world’s greatest assem-blage of learning. They drive much of the researchthat keeps America competitive and, by admittinglarge numbers of foreign students, convey our valuesand culture to the world.

Ideological bias is deeply entrenched within thecurrent university system. Whatever the solution inprivate institutions may be, in State institutions thetrustees have a responsibility to the public to ensurethat their enormous investment is not abused for po-litical indoctrination. We call on State officials to en-sure that our public colleges and universities beplaces of learning and the exchange of ideas, notzones of intellectual intolerance favoring the Left.

Addressing Rising College Costs

College costs, however, are on an unsustainabletrajectory, rising year by year far ahead of overall in-flation. Nationwide, student loan debt now exceedscredit card debt, roughly $23,300 for each of the35,000,000 debtors, taking years to pay off. Over 50percent of recent college grads are unemployed orunderemployed, working at jobs for which their ex-pensive educations gave them no training. It is timeto get back to basics and to higher education pro-grams directly related to job opportunities.

The first step is to acknowledge the need forchange when the status quo is not working. New sys-tems of learning are needed to compete with tradi-tional four-year colleges: expanded communitycolleges and technical institutions, private trainingschools, online universities, life-long learning, andwork-based learning in the private sector. New mod-els for acquiring advanced skills will be ever more im-portant in the rapidly changing economy of thetwenty-first century, especially in science, technol-ogy, engineering, and math. Public policy should ad-vance the affordability, innovation, and transparencyneeded to address all these challenges and to makeaccessible to everyone the emerging alternatives,with their lower cost degrees, to traditional collegeattendance.

Federal student aid is on an unsustainable path,and efforts should be taken to provide families with

greater transparency and the information they needto make prudent choices about a student’s future:completion rates, repayment rates, future earnings,and other factors that may affect their decisions. Thefederal government should not be in the business oforiginating student loans; however, it should serve asan insurance guarantor for the private sector as theyoffer loans to students. Private sector participationin student financing should be welcomed. Any regu-lation that drives tuition costs higher must be reeval-uated to balance its worth against its negative impacton students and their parents.

Justice for All: Safe Neighborhoods and Prison Reform

The most effective forces in reducing crime andother social ills are strong families and caring com-munities supported by excellent law enforcement.Both reinforce constructive conduct and ethical stan-dards by setting examples and providing safe havensfrom dangerous and destructive behaviors. But evenunder the best social circumstances, strong, well-trained law enforcement is necessary to protect us all,and especially the weak and vulnerable, from preda-tors. Our national experience over the last severaldecades has shown that citizen vigilance, tough butfair prosecutors, meaningful sentences, protection ofvictims’ rights, and limits on judicial discretion canpreserve public safety by keeping criminals off thestreets.

Liberals do not understand this simple axiom:criminals behind bars cannot harm the general pub-lic. To that end, we support mandatory prison sen-tencing for gang crimes, violent or sexual offensesagainst children, repeat drug dealers, rape, robberyand murder. We support a national registry for con-victed child murderers. We oppose parole for dan-gerous or repeat felons. Courts should have theoption of imposing the death penalty in capitalmurder cases.

In solidarity with those who protect us, we callfor mandatory prison time for all assaults involvingserious injury to law enforcement officers. Criminalsinjured in the course of their crimes should not beable to seek monetary damages from their intendedvictims or from the public.

While getting criminals off the street is essential,


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more attention must be paid to the process of restor-ing those individuals to the community. Prisonsshould do more than punish; they should attempt torehabilitate and institute proven prisoner reentry sys-tems to reduce recidivism and future victimization.We endorse State and local initiatives that are tryingnew approaches, often called accountability courts.

Government at all levels should work with faith-based institutions that have proven track records indiverting young and first time, non-violent offendersfrom criminal careers, for which we salute them.Their emphasis on restorative justice, to make thevictim whole and put the offender on the right path,can give law enforcement the flexibility it needs indealing with different levels of criminal behavior. Weendorse State and local initiatives that are trying newapproaches to curbing drug abuse and diverting first-time offenders to rehabilitation.

Public authorities must regain control of theircorrectional institutions, for we cannot allow prisonsto become ethnic or racial battlegrounds. Personsjailed for whatever cause should be protected againstcruel or degrading treatment by other inmates. Insome cases, the institution of family-friendly policiesmay curtail prison violence and reduce the rate of re-cidivism, thus reducing the enormous fiscal and so-cial costs of incarceration. Breaking the cycle of crimebegins with the children of those who are prisoners.Deprived of a parent through no fault of their own,these youngsters should be a special concern of ourschools, social services, and religious institutions.

Thirty years ago, President Reagan’s Task Forceon Victims of Crime, calling the neglect of crime vic-tims a “national disgrace,” proposed a Constitutionalamendment to secure their formal rights. Whilesome progress has been made to rectify that situa-tion, the need for national action still persists in theunacceptable treatment of innocent victims. We callon the States to make it a bipartisan priority to pro-tect the rights of crime victims, who should also beassured of access to social and legal services; and wecall on the Congress to make the federal courts amodel in this regard for the rest of the country.

The resources of the federal government’slaw enforcement and judicial systems have beenstrained by two unfortunate expansions: the over-criminalization of behavior and the over-federaliza-tion of offenses. The number of criminal offenses inthe U.S. Code increased from 3,000 in the early1980s to over 4,450 by 2008. Federal criminal lawshould focus on acts by federal employees or actscommitted on federal property – and leave the restto the States. Then Congress should withdraw fromfederal departments and agencies the power to crim-inalize behavior, a practice which, according to theCongressional Research Service, has created “tens ofthousands” of criminal offenses. No one other thanan elected representative should have the authorityto define a criminal act and set criminal penalties. Inthe same way, Congress should reconsider the extentto which it has federalized offenses traditionallyhandled on the State or local level.


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We are the party of peace through strength. Pro-fessing American exceptionalism—the conviction thatour country holds a unique place and role in humanhistory—we proudly associate ourselves with thoseAmericans of all political stripes who, more than threedecades ago in a world as dangerous as today’s, cametogether to advance the cause of freedom. Repudiat-ing the folly of an amateur foreign policy and defyinga worldwide Marxist advance, they announced theirstrategy in the timeless slogan we repeat today: peacethrough strength—an enduring peace based on free-dom and the will to defend it, and American demo-cratic values and the will to promote them. While thetwentieth century was undeniably an American cen-tury—with strong leadership, adherence to the prin-ciples of freedom and democracy our Founders’enshrined in our nation’s Declaration of Independ-ence and Constitution, and a continued reliance onDivine Providence—the twenty-first century will beone of American greatness as well.

Today’s adversaries are different, as are theirweapons and their ideology, but this remains thesame: the unity of Americans, beyond party, in grat-itude to those who have defended our country, pur-sued its attackers to the ends of the earth, and todaystand vigilant guard in our cities, on our coasts, andin alien lands. We pledge to our servicemen andwomen the authority and resources they need to pro-tect the nation and defend America’s freedom. Con-tinued vigilance, especially in travel and commerce,is necessary to prevent bioterrorism, cyber terrorism,and other asymmetric or non-traditional warfare at-tacks and to ensure that the horror of September 11,2001 is never repeated on our soil.

Our country and its way of life have enemiesboth abroad and within our shores. We affirm theneed for our military to protect the nation by findingand capturing our enemies and the necessity for thePresident to have the tools to deal with these threats.As history has sadly shown, even our fellow citizensmay rarely become enemies of their country. Never-

theless, our government must continue to ensure theprotections under our Constitution to all citizens,particularly the rights of habeas corpus and dueprocess of law.

History proves that the best way to promotepeace and prevent costly wars is to ensure that weconstantly renew America’s economic strength. Ahealthy American economy is what underwrites andsustains American power. The current Administra-tion is weakening America at home through anemicgrowth, high unemployment, and record-settingdebt. We must therefore rebuild our economy andsolve our fiscal crisis. In an American century, Amer-ica will have the strongest economy and the strongestmilitary in the world.

The Current Administration’s Failure: Leading From Behind

The Republican Party is the advocate for a strongnational defense as the pathway to peace, economicprosperity, and the protection of those yearning to befree. Since the end of World War II, American mili-tary superiority has been the cornerstone of a strategythat seeks to deter aggression or defeat those whothreaten our national security interests. In 1981,President Reagan came to office with an agenda ofstrong American leadership, beginning with arestoration of our country’s military strength. Therest is history, written in the rubble of the Berlin Walland the Iron Curtain.

We face a similar challenge today. The currentAdministration has responded with weakness tosome of the gravest threats to our national securitythis country has faced, including the proliferation oftransnational terrorism, continued belligerence by anuclear-armed North Korea, an Iran in pursuit of nu-clear weapons, rising Chinese hegemony in the AsiaPacific region, Russian activism, and threats fromcyber espionage and terrorism. In response to thesegrowing threats, President Obama has reduced thedefense budget by over $487 billion over the next


American Exceptionalism

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decade and fought Republican efforts to avoid an-other $500 billion in automatic budget cuts througha sequestration in early 2013 that will take a meat axto all major defense programs.

The Dangers of A Hollow Force: The Looming Sequestration

Sequestration—which is severe, automatic,across-the-board cuts in defense spending over thenext decade—of the nation’s military budget wouldbe a disaster for national security, imperiling thesafety of our servicemen and women, accelerating thedecline of our nation’s defense industrial base, andresulting in the layoff of more than 1 million skilledworkers. Opposition to sequester is bipartisan; eventhe current Secretary of Defense has said the cuts willbe “devastating” to America’s military. Yet the cur-rent President supported sequestration, signed it intolaw, and has threatened to veto Republican efforts toprevent it. If he allows an additional half trilliondollars to be cut from the defense budget, Americawill be left with the smallest ground force since 1940,the smallest number of ships since 1915, and thesmallest Air Force in its history—at a time when ourNation faces a growing range of threats to ournational security and a struggling economy that canill afford to lose 1.5 million defense-related jobs.

Leaks for Political Purposes

The current Administration’s leaks of classifiedinformation have imperiled intelligence assets whichare vital to American security. This conduct is con-temptible. It betrays our national interest. It compro-mises our men and women in the field. And itdemands a full and prompt investigation by a specialcounsel. Equally threatening to the long-termstrength and safety of our Armed Forces are the cur-rent Administration’s efforts to sacrifice our nationalsecurity for political gain and a partisan agenda. Wegive the current President credit for maintaining hispredecessor’s quiet determination and planning tobring to justice the man behind the 9/11 attack onAmerica, but he has tolerated publicizing the detailsof the operation to kill the leader of Al Qaeda; thoseleaks exposed the tactics and techniques of our Spe-cial Operations forces and denied our nation an un-precedented intelligence opportunity. Subsequent

leaks by senior Administration officials regardingcyber warfare, the use of drones against Al Qaeda andits operatives, and the targeting of our enemies—un-precedented leaks that compromised key sources andmethods and damaged our national security—servedthe single purpose of propping up the image of a weakPresident.

A Failed National Security Strategy

The current Administration’s most recent Na-tional Security Strategy reflects the extreme elementsin its liberal domestic coalition. It is a budget-con-strained blueprint that, if fully implemented, will di-minish the capabilities of our Armed Forces. Thestrategy significantly increases the risk of future con-flict by declaring to our adversaries that we will nolonger maintain the forces necessary to fight and winmore than one conflict at a time. It relies on the goodintentions and capabilities of international organiza-tions to justify constraining American military readi-ness. Finally, the strategy subordinates our nationalsecurity interests to environmental, energy, andinternational health issues, and elevates “climatechange” to the level of a “severe threat” equivalent toforeign aggression. The word “climate,” in fact, ap-pears in the current President’s strategy more oftenthan Al Qaeda, nuclear proliferation, radical Islam,or weapons of mass destruction. The phrase “globalwar on terror” does not appear at all, and has beenpurposely avoided and changed by his Administra-tion to “overseas contingency operations.”

Conventional Forces in Decline

More than a century ago, Republican PresidentTheodore Roosevelt predicted that America’s futurewas in the Pacific. That future is here today, but it candevelop peacefully only under the shield of AmericanNaval and Air power. Yet the current Administrationplans to significantly curtail production of our mostadvanced combat aircraft, decommission 6 of 60 AirForce tactical squadrons, and eliminate critical air mo-bility assets, including 27 giant C-5As and 65 C-130s,while divesting the nation of the brand new C-27.

The President plans to reduce our naval forcesby retiring seven cruisers and slowing work on am-phibious ships and attack submarines, further reduc-ing the Navy that already has the smallest fleet since



the early years of the twentieth century. And he willreduce ground forces by separating 100,000 soldiersand Marines—many of whom will be discharged afterrecently returning from combat—and another100,000 under the sequester.

These plans limit our strategic flexibility in anincreasingly dangerous world. The current Presidentis repeating the disastrous cuts of the post-Vietnamwar era, putting our nation in danger of returning tothe “hollow force” of the Carter Administration, whenthe U.S. military was not respected in the world.

Nuclear Forces and Missile Defense Imperiled

We recognize that the gravest terror threat weface—a nuclear attack made possible by nuclear pro-liferation—requires a comprehensive strategy for re-ducing the world’s nuclear stockpiles and preventingthe spread of those armaments. But the U.S. can leadthat effort only if it maintains an effective strategicarsenal at a level sufficient to fulfill its deterrent pur-poses, a notable failure of the current Administration.

The United States is the only nuclear power notmodernizing its nuclear stockpile. It took the currentAdministration just one year to renege on the Presi-dent’s commitment to modernize the neglected infra-structure of the nuclear weapons complex—acommitment made in exchange for approval of theNew START treaty. In tandem with this, the currentAdministration has systematically underminedAmerica’s missile defense, abandoning the missiledefense bases in Poland and the Czech Republic, re-ducing the number of planned interceptors in Alaska,and cutting the budget for missile defense. In an em-barrassing open microphone discussion with formerRussian President Medvedev, the current Presidentmade clear that, if he wins a second term, he intendsto exercise “more flexibility” to appease Russia, whichmeans further undermining our missile defensecapabilities. A Republican President will be honestand forthright with the American people abouthis policies and plans and not whisper promises toauthoritarian leaders.

A strong and effective strategic arsenal is stillnecessary as a deterrent against competitors like Rus-sia or China. But the danger in this age of asymmet-ric or non-traditional warfare comes from other

quarters as well. With unstable regimes in Iran andNorth Korea determined to develop nuclear-tippedmissiles capable of reaching the United States, withthe possibility that a terrorist group could gain con-trol of a nuclear weapon, it is folly to abandon amissile shield for the country.

A Twenty-First Century Threat: The Cybersecurity Danger

The frequency, sophistication, and intensity ofcyber-related incidents within the United States haveincreased steadily over the past decade and will con-tinue to do so until it is made clear that a cyber attackagainst the United States will not be tolerated. Thecurrent Administration’s cyber security policies havefailed to curb malicious actions by our adversaries,and no wonder, for there is no active deterrence pro-tocol. The current deterrence framework is overly re-liant on the development of defensive capabilities andhas been unsuccessful in dissuading cyber-related ag-gression. The U.S. cannot afford to risk the cyber-equivalent of Pearl Harbor.

The government and private sector mustwork together to address the cyberthreats posed tothe United States, help the free flow of informationbetween network managers, and encourage innova-tion and investment in cybersecurity. The govern-ment must do a better job of protecting its ownsystems, which contain some of the most sensitivedata and control some of our most important facili-ties. As such, we encourage an immediate update ofthe law that was drafted a decade ago to improve thesecurity of government information systems. Addi-tionally, we must invest in continuing research to de-velop cutting-edge cybersecurity technologies toprotect the U.S. However, we acknowledge that themost effective way of combating potential cybersecu-rity threats is sharing cyberthreat information be-tween the government and industry, as well asprotecting the free flow of information within theprivate sector.

The current Administration’s laws and policiesundermine what should be a collaborative relation-ship and put both the government and private enti-ties at a severe disadvantage in proactivelyidentifying potential cyberthreats. The costly andheavy-handed regulatory approach by the current

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Administration will increase the size and cost of thefederal bureaucracy and harm innovation in cyberse-curity. The government collects valuable informationabout potential threats that can and should be sharedwith private entities without compromising nationalsecurity. We believe that companies should be freefrom legal and regulatory barriers that prevent ordeter them from voluntarily sharing cyberthreat in-formation with their government partners.

An America That Leads: The Republican National Security Strategy for the Future

We will honor President Reagan’s legacy ofpeace through strength by advancing the most cost-effective programs and policies crucial to our nationalsecurity, including our economic security and fiscalsolvency. To do that, we must honestly assess thethreats facing this country, and we must be able toarticulate candidly to the American people our prior-ities for the use of taxpayer dollars to address thosethreats.

We must deter any adversary who would attackus or use terror as a tool of government. Every poten-tial enemy must have no doubt that our capabilities,our commitment, and our will to defeat them areclear, unwavering, and unequivocal. We must imme-diately employ a new blueprint for a National Mili-tary Strategy that is based on an informed andvalidated assessment of the potential threats we face,one that restores as a principal objective the deter-rence using the full spectrum of our military capabil-ities. As Ronald Reagan proved by the victoriousconclusion of the Cold War, only our capability towield overwhelming military power can truly deterthe enemies of the United States from threateningour people and our national interests.

In order to deter aggression from nation-states,we must maintain military and technical superioritythrough innovation while upgrading legacy systemsincluding aircraft and armored vehicles. We mustdeter the threat posed by rogue aggressors with theassurance that justice will be served through state-of-the-art surveillance, enhanced special operations ca-pabilities, and unmanned aerial systems.

We will employ the full range of military andintelligence options to defeat Al Qaeda and itsaffiliates who threaten not just the West but the

community of nations. We will have a comprehen-sive and just detainee policy that treats those whowould attack our nation as enemy combatants. Wewill accept no arms control agreement that limits ourright to self-defense; and we will fully deploy a missiledefense shield for the people of the United States andfor our allies.

We will pursue an effective cybersecurity strat-egy, supported by the necessary resources, that rec-ognizes the importance of offensive capabilities.Whether it is a nation-state actively probing our na-tional security networks, a terror organization seek-ing to obtain destructive cyber capabilities, or acriminal network’s theft of intellectual property,more must be done to deter, defeat, and respond tocyberthreats.

We will restore the morale and advance the ca-pabilities of our intelligence community to ensurethat the President and our military leaders are fullyinformed in an uncertain and increasingly dangerousworld. We will restore accountability to ensure thatour nation’s most sensitive information and activitiesare protected appropriately.

The Department of Defense, like all governmentagencies, needs to be careful to spend taxpayers’ dol-lars wisely. We will implement sound managementpolicies to ensure the timely, cost-effective deliveryof the tools our troops need to fight. We reject Con-gressional earmarks that put personal and parochialinterests ahead of military effectiveness and the bestinterests of the nation. We recognize the need for,and value of, competition within a robust industrialbase to most effectively maximize quality and drivedown costs in everything the Department buys.

Supporting our Troops, Standing By Our Heroes

The foundation of our military lies in the menand women who wear our country’s uniform,whether on active duty or in the Reserves andNational Guard, and the families who support them.Under no circumstances will we reveal any secret ordetail of a military operation that could put our peo-ple into additional harm’s way. The members of ourmilitary should be treated with the utmost respectand dignity. We reject the use of the military as aplatform for social experimentation and will not

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accept attempts to undermine military priorities andmission readiness.

Consistent with this commitment, we believecompensation and conditions for our Armed Forcesin place at the time military service is initiated shouldbe sufficient to attract and retain quality men andwomen as we honor our promises and commitmentsto veterans, retirees, and their families. These shallcontinue and not be reduced or otherwise diminishedwhile in service, or upon separation, or retirement.The combat readiness of our Armed Forces is thefoundation of strength and deterrence. Readiness re-quires a consistent and sustained investment in thetraining and re-equipping of our military personnel.We will never assume the risk of reduced readiness,and we can never return to the “hollow” forces of the1970s. Combat readiness also requires that we re-serve troops for truly necessary operations by notoverextending them around the world.

We recognize that drastic cuts to our military’send strength pose severe national security challenges.To avoid the overextension of our forces, we supporta larger active force and oppose cuts to the NationalGuard and Reserves.

The all-volunteer force, begun on the watch ofRepublican Presidents, has carried America to victoryfrom the Caribbean and Central America to theBalkans and Southwest Asia. We oppose the rein-statement of the draft whether directly or throughcompulsory national service. We support the ad-vancement of women in the military, which has notonly opened doors of opportunity for individuals buthas also made possible the devoted, and often heroic,services of additional members of every branch of theArmed Forces. We support military women’s exemp-tion from direct ground combat units and infantrybattalions. We affirm the cultural values that encour-age selfless service and superiority in battle, and weoppose anything which might divide or weaken teamcohesion, including intra-military special interestdemonstrations. We will support an objective andopen-minded review of the current Administration’smanagement of military personnel policies and willcorrect problems with appropriate administrative,legal, or legislative action.

The National Guard and Reserves are a fully op-erational and battle-tested component of our Armed

Forces. Many of them have heroically served for mul-tiple deployments resulting in inadequate time be-tween deployments, also known as dwell time. Wepledge to maintain their manpower and equipmentstrength and to ensure their members receive thepay, benefits, and adequate training to continue theirservice and maintain mission readiness throughPresidential leadership and Congressional budgetsupport. Their historic and continuing role as citizen-soldiers is a proud tradition linking every communityacross America to the cause of freedom. We affirmservice members’ legal right to return to their civilianjobs, whether in government or the private sector,and we urge greater transition assistance to andfrom employers as they return to the civilian world.Especially in light of the high unemployment ratesfaced by younger Reserve and Guard members, wesalute those employers who have wisely decided thatit is a smart and patriotic business decision tohire those who have served above and beyond the callof duty.

The spiritual welfare of our troops and retiredservice members should be a priority of our nationalleadership. With military suicides running at the rateof one a day, with post-service medical conditions, in-cluding addiction and mental illness, and with thefinancial stress and homelessness that is often relatedto these factors, there is an urgent need for the kindof counseling that faith-based institutions can bestprovide. We support rights of conscience andreligious freedom for military chaplains and peopleof faith. A Republican Commander in Chief willprotect religious independence of military chaplainsand will not tolerate attempts to ban Bibles or reli-gious symbols from military facilities. We will enforceand defend in court the Defense of Marriage Act(DOMA) in the Armed Forces as well as in the civilianworld.

We call upon the entire chain of command—from the President and the Secretary of Defense, tobase and unit commanders—to ensure that ourtroops and retired service members, wherever sta-tioned, have the opportunity to vote in the Novemberelections, and that their ballots will be returned intime to be properly counted. Those who fight for anddefend freedom around the world must not be disen-franchised.


Recognizing and Supporting Military Families

The families of our military personnel currentlyserving, retired service members, and veterans mustalso be assured of the pay, health care, housing, edu-cation, and overall support they have earned. We willensure that the federal government keeps its commit-ments to those who signed on the dotted line of en-listment with the assurance that those promiseswould be kept. We must also do more to retain theservices of those service mem-bers who have borne the fightsince 2001.

We must acknowledge thatas our troops have experiencedrepeated deployments, so havetheir families. We are commit-ted to providing programs thatoffer readjustment informationand counseling to our militaryfamilies, and urge States to offersupport for job programs, licensereciprocity, one-stop service cen-ters, and education programs tosupport these families. The nation must also recog-nize the ultimate sacrifice of survivors and protecttheir benefits. We will work to protect service mem-bers and their families by not overextending their de-ployments.

Honoring and SupportingOur Veterans: A Sacred Obligation

America has a sacred trust with our veterans,and we are committed to providing them and theirfamilies with care and dignity. This is particularlytrue because our nation’s warriors are volunteers,who served from a sense of duty. The work of the De-partment of Veterans Affairs—with a staff of300,000—is essential to meet our obligations tothem: providing health, education, disability, sur-vivor, and home loan benefit services and arrangingmemorial services upon death. All its branches inthose various fields must be made more responsive,moving from an adversarial to an advocacy relation-ship with veterans. To that end we will consider afundamental change in structure to make the

regional directors of the Department presidential ap-pointees rather than careerists.

Our wounded warriors, whether still in service ordischarged, deserve the best medical care our countrycan provide. The nature of the fighting in Iraq andAfghanistan has resulted in an unprecedented inci-dence of traumatic brain injury, loss of limbs, andpost-traumatic stress disorder which calls for a newcommitment of resources and personnel for its treat-ment and care to promote recovery. We must makemilitary and veterans’ medicine the gold standard for

mental health care, advances inprosthetics, and treatment oftrauma and eye injuries. We mustheed Abraham Lincoln’s com-mand “to care for him who borethe battle.” To care, as well, forthe families of those who havemade the ultimate sacrifice, whomust be assured of meaningfulfinancial assistance, remains oursolemn duty.

Because the conditions ofwarfare have changed dramati-cally since the war on terror

began, today’s veterans face new challenges. Asym-metrical or non-traditional warfare results in a highincidence of severe conditions that must receive highpriority and call for continued research into preven-tion and treatment.

We are committed to ending homelessness forour veterans. One key is to assist their reentry intothe job market as soon as possible after military serv-ice ends. A job for a veteran is more than a source ofincome. It is a new mission, with a new status, andthe transition can be difficult. It is a national scandalthat veterans are one of the groups with the highestunemployment rates. We urge the private sector tomake hiring vets a company policy and commend themany organizations that have specific programs toaccomplish this. But the federal government musttake the lead by simplifying the paper work requiredfor a tax break for hiring a veteran and by giving vetstheir assured place at the head of the training andemployment line.

Every State has an office dealing with veterans.The federal Department needs to consider these as

The foundation of our militarylies in the men and women who

wear our country’s uniform,whether on active duty or in the

Reserves and National Guard,and the families

who support them.

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partners in assisting vets, recognizing that those clos-est to the individual can best diagnose a problem andapply a remedy. This is especially important with re-gard to the determination of veterans’ disabilityclaims. If private insurance companies can deal withcar wrecks and hurricanes within weeks or months,it is inexplicable that the federal government takes,on average, a year to process a veteran’s claim. Weurge immediate action to review the automatic denialof gun ownership to returning members of ourArmed Forces who have had representativesappointed to manage their financial affairs.

Sovereign American Leadership in International Organizations

Since the end of World War II, the United States,through the founding of the United Nations andNATO, has participated in a wide range of interna-tional organizations which can, but sometimes donot, serve the cause of peace and prosperity. Whileacting through them, our country must always re-serve the right to go its own way. There can be nosubstitute for principled American leadership.

The United Nations remains in dire need of re-form, starting with full transparency in the financialoperations of its overpaid bureaucrats. As long as itsscandal-ridden management continues, as long assome of the world’s worst tyrants hold seats on itsHuman Rights Council, and as long as Israel istreated as a pariah state, the U.N. cannot expect thefull support of the American people.

The United Nations Population Fund has ashameful record of collaboration with China’s pro-gram of compulsory abortion. We affirm the Repub-lican Party’s long-held position known as the MexicoCity Policy, first announced by President Reagan in1984, which prohibits the granting of federal moniesto non-governmental organization that provide orpromote abortion.

Under our Constitution, treaties become the lawof the land. So it is all the more important that theCongress—the Senate through its ratifying power andthe House through its appropriating power—shall re-ject agreements whose long-range impact on theAmerican family is ominous or unclear. These in-clude the U.N. Convention on Women’s Rights, theConvention on the Rights of the Child, the Conven-

tion on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, andthe U.N. Arms Trade Treaty as well as the variousdeclarations from the U.N. Conference on Environ-ment and Development. Because of our concern forAmerican sovereignty, domestic management of ourfisheries, and our country’s long-term energy needs,we have deep reservations about the regulatory, legal,and tax regimes inherent in the Law of the Sea Treatyand congratulate Senate Republicans for blocking itsratification. We strongly reject the U.N. Agenda 21 aserosive of American sovereignty, and we oppose anyform of U.N. Global Tax. We oppose any diplomaticefforts that could result in giving the United Nationsunprecedented control over the Internet. Interna-tional regulatory control over the open and free In-ternet would have disastrous consequences for theUnited States and the world.

To shield members of our Armed Forces andothers in service to America from ideological prose-cutions overseas, the Republican Party does not ac-cept the jurisdiction of the International CriminalCourt. We support statutory protection for U.S. per-sonnel and officials as they act abroad to meet ourglobal security requirements.

Protecting Human Rights

To those who stand in the darkness of tyranny,America has always been a beacon of hope, and so itmust remain. That is why we strongly support thework of the U.S. Commission on International Reli-gious Freedom, established by Congressional Repub-licans to advance the rights of persecuted peopleseverywhere. It has been shunted aside by the currentAdministration at a time when its voice more thanever needs to be heard. Religious minorities acrossthe Middle East are being driven from their ancienthomelands, fanaticism leaves its bloody mark on bothWest and East Africa, and even among America’sWestern friends and allies, pastors and families arepenalized for their religious convictions. A Republi-can Administration will return the advocacy of reli-gious liberty to a central place in our diplomacy.

America’s Generosity: International Assistance that Makes a Difference

Americans are the most generous people in theworld. Apart from the taxpayer dollars our govern-


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ment donates abroad, our foundations, educationalinstitutions, faith-based groups, and committed menand women of charity devote billions of dollars andvolunteer hours every year to help the poor and needyaround the world. This effort, along with commercialinvestment from the private sector, dwarfs the resultsfrom official development assistance, most of whichis based on an outdated, statist, government-to-government model, the proven breeding ground forcorruption and mismanagement by foreign klepto-crats. Limiting foreign aidspending helps keep taxeslower, which frees more re-sources in the private and char-itable sectors, whose givingtends to be more effective andefficient.

Foreign aid should serveour national interest, an essen-tial part of which is the peacefuldevelopment of less advancedand vulnerable societies in crit-ical parts of the world. Assis-tance should be seen as analternative means of keeping the peace, far less costlyin both dollars and human lives than military engage-ment. The economic success and political progress offormer aid recipients, from Latin America to EastAsia, has justified our investment in their future. U.S.aid should be based on the model of the MillenniumChallenge Corporation, for which foreign govern-ments must, in effect, compete for the dollars byshowing respect for the rule of law, free enterprise,and measurable results. In short, aid money shouldfollow positive outcomes, not pleas for more cash inthe same corrupt official pockets.

The effectiveness of our foreign aid has been lim-ited by the cultural agenda of the current Adminis-tration, attempting to impose on foreign countries,especially the peoples of Africa, legalized abortionand the homosexual rights agenda. At the same time,faith-based groups—the sector that has had the besttrack record in promoting lasting development—havebeen excluded from grants because they will not con-form to the administration’s social agenda. We willreverse this tragic course, encourage more involve-ment by the most effective aid organizations, and

trust developing peoples to build their future fromthe ground up.

Combating Human Trafficking

As we approach the 150th anniversary of theEmancipation Proclamation, issued by the first Re-publican President Abraham Lincoln, we are re-minded to be vigilant against human bondage inwhatever form it appears. We will use the full forceof the law against those who engage in modern-day

forms of slavery, including thecommercial sexual exploitation ofchildren and the forced labor ofmen, women, and children. Build-ing on the accomplishments of thelast Republican Administration inimplementing the Trafficking Vic-tims Protection Act of 2000, wecall for increased diplomatic ef-forts with foreign governments toroot out complicit public officialswho facilitate or perpetrate thisevil. We highlight the need forgreater scrutiny of overseas labor

contractors to prevent the imposition of usuriousterms on temporary foreign workers brought to theUnited States. Our government must address the in-creasing role of vicious drug cartels and other gangsin controlling human smuggling across our southernborder. The principle underlying our Megan’s Law—publicizing the identities of known offenders—shouldbe extended to international travel in order to protectinnocent children everywhere.

We affirm our country’s historic tradition of wel-coming refugees from troubled lands. In some cases,they are people who stood with us during dangeroustimes, and they have first call on our hospitality.

Promoting a Free Marketplace of Ideas:Public Diplomacy

International broadcasting of free and impartialinformation during the Cold War kept truth and hopealive in the Captive Nations. Today, Radio FreeEurope/Radio Liberty and Radio/TV Marti do thesame in other lands where freedom is unknown orendangered. We support these essential extensionsof American values and culture and urge their


We must deter any adversarywho would attack us or use

terror as a tool of government.Every potential enemy must have

no doubt that our capabilities,our commitment, and our will to

defeat them are clear,unwavering, and unequivocal.

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expansion in the Middle East. Recognizing the vitalrole of social media in recent efforts to promotedemocracy, we support unrestricted access to the In-ternet throughout the world to advance the free mar-ketplace of ideas.

Strengthening Ties in the Americas

We will resist foreign influence in our hemi-sphere. We thereby seek not only to provide for ourown security, but also to create a climate for democ-racy and self-determination throughout the Americas.

The current Administration has turned its backon Latin America, with predictable results. Ratherthan supporting our democratic allies in the region,the President has prioritized engagement with our en-emies in the region. Venezuela represents an increas-ing threat to U.S. security, a threat which has grownmuch worse on the current President’s watch. In thelast three years, Venezuela has become a narco-terrorist state, turning it into an Iranian outpost in theWestern hemisphere. The current regime issuesVenezuelan passports or visas to thousands of MiddleEastern terrorists offering safe haven to Hezbollahtrainers, operatives, recruiters and fundraisers.

Alternatively, we will stand with the true democ-racies of the region against both Marxist subversionand the drug lords, helping them to become prosper-ous alternatives to the collapsing model of Venezuelaand Cuba.

We affirm our friendship with the People of Cubaand look toward their reunion with the rest of ourhemispheric family. The anachronistic regime in Ha-vana which rules them is a mummified relic of the ageof totalitarianism, a state-sponsor of terrorism. We re-ject any dynastic succession of power within the Cas-tro family and affirm the principles codified in U.S.law as conditions for the lifting of trade, travel, and fi-nancial sanctions: the legalization of political parties,an independent media, and free and fair internation-ally-supervised elections. We renew our commitmentto Cuba’s courageous pro-democracy movement asthe protagonists of Cuba’s inevitable liberation anddemocratic future. We call for a dedicated platformfor the transmission of Radio and TV Marti and forthe promotion of Internet access and circumventiontechnology as tools to strengthen the pro-democracymovement. We support the work of the Commission

for Assistance to a Free Cuba and affirm the principlesof the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, recognizing therights of Cubans fleeing Communism.

The war on drugs and the war on terror have be-come a single enterprise. We salute our allies in thisfight, especially the people of Mexico and Colombia.We propose a unified effort on crime and terrorism tocoordinate intelligence and enforcement among ourregional allies, as well as military-to-military trainingand intelligence sharing with Mexico, whose peopleare bearing the brunt of the drug cartels’ savageassault.

Our Canadian neighbors can count on our closecooperation and respect. As soon as possible, we willreverse the current Administration’s blocking of theKeystone XL Pipeline so that both our countries canprofit from this vital venture and there will no needfor hemispheric oil to be shipped to China.

Advancing Hope and Prosperity in Africa

PEPFAR, President George W. Bush’s Plan forAIDS Relief, is one of the most successful globalhealth programs in history. It has saved literally mil-lions of lives. Along with the Global Fund to fightAIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, another initiative ofPresident Bush, it represents America’s humanitar-ian commitment to the peoples of Africa, thoughthese are only one aspect of our assistance to the na-tions of that continent. From Peace Corps volunteersteaching in one-room schools to U.S. Seabees build-ing village projects, we will continue to strengthen thepersonal and commercial ties between our countryand African nations.

We stand in solidarity with those African coun-tries now under assault by the forces of radical Islamand urge other governments throughout the conti-nent to recognize this threat to them as well. We sup-port closer cooperation in both military andeconomic matters with those who are under attack byforces which seek our destruction.

U.S. Leadership in the Asian-Pacific Community

We are a Pacific nation with economic, military,and cultural ties to all the countries of the oceanicrim, from Australia, the Philippines, and our FreelyAssociated States in the Pacific Islands to Japan


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and the Republic of Korea. With them, we looktoward the restoration of human rights to thesuffering people of North Korea and the fulfillmentof their wish to be one in peace and freedom. TheU.S. will continue to demand the complete, verifiable,and irreversible dismantlement of North Korea’snuclear weapons programs with a full accounting ofits proliferation activities.

We celebrate the political and economic devel-opment of most of the nations of Southeast Asia.Their example of material progress through hardwork and free enterprise, in tandem with greaterdemocracy should encourage their less fortunateneighbors to set aside crippling ideologies and em-brace a more humane future. While our relationswith Vietnam have improved, and U.S. investment iswelcomed, we need unceasing efforts to obtain an ac-counting for, and repatriation of the remains of,Americans who gave their lives in the cause of Viet-namese freedom. We cannot overlook the continuedrepression of human rights and religious freedom, aswell as retribution against ethnic minorities andothers who assisted U.S. forces during the conflictthere.

South Asia

We welcome a stronger relationship with theworld’s largest democracy, India, both economic andcultural, as well as in terms of national security. Wehereby affirm and declare that India is our geopoliticalally and a strategic trading partner. We encourageIndia to permit greater foreign investment and trade.We urge protection for adherents of all India’s reli-gions. Both as Republicans and as Americans, we notewith pride the contributions to this country that arebeing made by our fellow citizens of Indian ancestry.

The aftermath of the last decade’s conflicts inIraq and Afghanistan has put enormous pressure onthe political and military infrastructure of Pakistan,which faces both internal terrorism and external dan-gers. The working relationship between our two coun-tries is a necessary, though sometimes difficult,benefit to both, and we look toward the renewal of his-toric ties that have frayed under the weight of inter-national conflict.

The imminent withdrawal from Afghanistan ofthe 30,000 “surge” troops sent there two years ago

comes weeks before this year’s presidential electionand against the advice of the current President’s topmilitary commanders. Future decisions by a Repub-lican President will never subordinate military neces-sity to domestic politics or an artificial timetable.Afghans, Pakistanis, and Americans have a commoninterest in ridding the region of the Taliban and otherinsurgent groups, but we cannot expect others to re-main resolute unless we show the same determina-tion ourselves. We will expect the Afghan governmentto crackdown on corruption, respect free elections,and assist our fight against the narcotic trade thatfuels the insurgency. We must likewise expect thePakistan government to sever any connection be-tween its security and intelligence forces and the in-surgents. No Pakistani citizen should be punished forhelping the United States against the terrorists.

Taiwan

We salute the people of Taiwan, a sound democ-racy and economic model for mainland China. Ourrelations must continue to be based upon the provi-sions of the Taiwan Relations Act. America and Tai-wan are united in our shared belief in fair elections,personal liberty, and free enterprise. We oppose anyunilateral steps by either side to alter the status quoin the Taiwan Straits on the principle that all issuesregarding the island’s future must be resolved peace-fully, through dialogue, and be agreeable to the peo-ple of Taiwan. If China were to violate thoseprinciples, the U.S., in accord with the Taiwan Rela-tions Act, will help Taiwan defend itself. We praisesteps taken by both sides of the Taiwan Strait to re-duce tension and strengthen economic ties. As a loyalfriend of America, Taiwan has merited our strongsupport, including free trade agreements status, aswell as the timely sale of defensive arms and full par-ticipation in the World Health Organization, Inter-national Civil Aviation Organization, and othermultilateral institutions.

China

We will welcome the emergence of a peacefuland prosperous China, and we will welcome evenmore the development of a democratic China. Itsrulers have discovered that economic freedom leadsto national wealth. The next lesson is that political


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and religious freedom leads to national greatness.The exposure of the Chinese people to our way of lifecan be the greatest force for change in their country.We should make it easier for the people of China toexperience our vibrant democracy and to see forthemselves how freedom works. We welcome the in-crease in trade and education alliances with the U.S.and the opening of Chinese markets to Americancompanies.

The Chinese government has engaged in a num-ber of activities that we condemn: China’s pursuit ofadvanced military capabilities without any apparentneed; suppression of human rights in Tibet, Xinjiang,and other areas; religious persecution; a barbaricone-child policy involving forced abortion; the ero-sion of democracy in Hong Kong; and its destabiliz-ing claims in the South China Sea. Our serious tradedisputes, especially China’s failure to enforce inter-national standards for the protection of intellectualproperty and copyrights, as well as its manipulationof its currency, call for a firm response from a newRepublican Administration.

Europe

The West has been the bulwark of democracyand freedom, providing hope and faith to the op-pressed around the globe. Our historic ties to thepeoples of Europe have been based on shared cultureand values, common interests and goals. Their en-durance cannot be taken for granted, especially inlight of the continent’s economic upheaval and demo-graphic changes. Ensuring the continued vitality ofour political alliance with Europe through NATO willrequire effort and understanding on both sides of theAtlantic. We honor our special relationship with theUnited Kingdom and appreciate its staunch supportfor our fight against terrorism worldwide. We thankthe several other nations of Europe which have con-tributed to a united effort in Iraq, Afghanistan, andLibya. Their sacrifice will not soon be forgotten. Weare heartened by the ongoing reconciliation in North-ern Ireland and hopeful that its success might bereplicated in Cyprus.

Russia

The heroism—and the suffering—of the peopleof Russia over the last century demand the world’s

respect. As our allies in their Great Patriotic War,they lost 28 million fighting Nazism. As our allies inspirit, they ended the Soviet terror that had con-sumed so many millions more. They deserve our ad-miration and support as they now seek to reestablishtheir rich national identity. We do have common im-peratives: ending terrorism, combating nuclear pro-liferation, promoting trade, and more. To advancethose causes, we urge the leaders of their governmentto reconsider the path they have been following:suppression of opposition parties, the press, andinstitutions of civil society; unprovoked invasionof the Republic of Georgia, alignment with tyrants inthe Middle East; and bullying their neighbors whileprotecting the last Stalinist regime in Belarus. TheRussian people deserve better, as we look to their fullparticipation in the ranks of modern democracies.

Russia should be granted Permanent NormalTrade Relations, but not without sanctions on Russ-ian officials who have used the government to violatehuman rights. We support enactment of the Magnit-sky Rule of Law Accountability Act as a condition ofexpanded trade relations with Russia.

Our Unequivocal Support of Israel

Israel and the United States are part of the greatfellowship of democracies who speak the same lan-guage of freedom and justice, and the right of everyperson to live in peace. The security of Israel is in thevital national security interest of the United States;our alliance is based not only on shared interests, butalso shared values. We affirm our unequivocal com-mitment to Israel’s security and will ensure that itmaintains a qualitative edge in military technologyover any potential adversaries. We support Israel’sright to exist as a Jewish state with secure, defensibleborders; and we envision two democratic states—Israel with Jerusalem as its capital and Palestine—living in peace and security. For that to happen, thePalestinian people must support leaders who rejectterror, embrace the institutions and ethos of democ-racy, and respect the rule of law. We call on Arabgovernments throughout the region to help advancethat goal. Israel should not be expected to negotiatewith entities pledged to her destruction. We call onthe new government in Egypt to fully uphold its peacetreaty with Israel.


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The U.S. seeks a comprehensive and lastingpeace in the Middle East, negotiated between the par-ties themselves with the assistance of the U.S., with-out the imposition of an artificial timetable. Essentialto that process will be a just, fair, and realistic frame-work for dealing with the issues that can be settledon the basis of mutually agreed changes reflectingtoday’s realities as well as tomorrow’s hopes.

The Challenges of a Changing Middle East

We recognize the historic nature of the events ofthe past two years—the Arab Spring—that have un-leashed democratic movements leading to theoverthrow of dictators who have been menaces toglobal security for decades. In a season of upheaval,it is necessary to be prepared for anything. That istrue on the ground in the Middle East, and it will beequally true in the next Administration, particularlywith a new President unbound by the failures ofthe past. We welcome the aspirations of the Arabpeoples and others for greater freedom, and wehope that greater liberty—and with it, a greaterchance for peace—will result from the recentturmoil. Many governments in the region have givensubstantial assistance to the U.S. over the lastdecade because they understood that our struggleagainst terror is not an ethnic or religious fight, andthat violent extremists are abusers of their faith, notits champions.

On the other hand, radical elements like Hamasand Hezbollah must be isolated because they do notmeet the standards of peace and diplomacy of the in-ternational community. We call for the restoration ofLebanon’s independence, which those groups have

virtually destroyed. We support the transition to apost-Assad Syrian government that is representativeof its people, protects the rights of all minorities andreligions, respects the territorial integrity of its neigh-bors, and contributes to peace and stability in the re-gion. We offer a continuing partnership with thepeople of Iraq, who have endured extremist terror tonow have a chance to build their own security anddemocracy. We urge special efforts to preserve andprotect the ethnic and religious diversity of theirnation.

Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons capabilitythreatens America, Israel, and the world. That threathas only become worse during the current Adminis-tration. A continuation of its failed engagementpolicy with Iran will lead to nuclear cascade. Insolidarity with the international community, Americamust lead the effort to prevent Iran from buildingand possessing nuclear weapons capability. Weexpress our respect for the people of Iran, who seekpeace and aspire to freedom. Their current regimeis unworthy of them. It exports terror and providedweapons that killed our troops in Iraq. We affirmthe unanimous resolution of the U.S. Senate callingfor “elections that are free, fair, and meet interna-tional standards” and “a representative and respon-sive democratic government that respects humanrights, civil liberties, and the rule of law.” We urgethe next Republican President to unequivocallyassert his support for the Iranian people as theyprotest their despotic regime. We must retain alloptions in dealing with a situation that gravelythreatens our security, our interests, and the safetyof our friends.


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The Platform Committee

Republican National Committee ChairmanReince Priebus

ChairmanGovernor Bob McDonnell

Co-ChairmenSenator John Hoeven

Congressman Marsha Blackburn

Subcommittee Chairs

Restoring the American Dream: Rebuilding the Economy and Creating Jobs

Co-Chairman Jonathan BarnettCo-Chairman Lynn FitchCo-Chairman Andy Puzder

We The People: A Restoration of Constitutional GovernmentCo-Chairman Jim Bopp

Co-Chairman Jane Timken

America’s Natural Resources: Energy, Agriculture and the Environment

Co-Chairman Mary DyeCo-Chairman Ed Whitfield

Reforming Government to Serve the PeopleCo-Chairman Jim CawleyCo-Chairman Rachel Kemp

Renewing American Values to Build Healthy Families, Great Schools and Safe Neighborhoods

Co-Chairman Tom LunaCo-Chairman Carolyn McLartyCo-Chairman Sam Olens

American ExceptionalismCo-Chairman Donna CainCo-Chairman Jim Talent

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ALABAMAJacqueline Curtiss

Cam Ward

ALASKARic DavidgeDebbie Joslin

AMERICAN SAMOASalote SchusterBrandon Smart

ARIZONAKip Kempton

Heather Sandstrom

ARKANSASJonathan BarnettJulie Harris

CALIFORNIAAndrew PuzderAudra Strickland

COLORADOSuzanne Sharkey

Guy Short

CONNECTICUTL. Scott FrantzThemis Klarides

DELAWARERuth Briggs KingJohn Sigler

DISTRICT OFCOLUMBIATeri Galvez

Edward Newton

FLORIDAAllen Bense

Remedios Diaz

GEORGIASue EverhartSam Olens

GUAMArthur Boyd ClarkTelo Taitague

HAWAIILynne HansenPhilip Hellreich

IDAHOGayann DeMordaunt

Tom Luna

ILLINOISSteve Kim

Sharee Langenstein

INDIANAJames Bopp Jr.Deborah Fleming

IOWAGopal T.K. KrishnaKimberly Lehman

KANSASBeverly CaleyKris Kobach

KENTUCKYEd Whitfield

Shirley Wiseman

LOUISIANAAmbia BakerTony Perkins

MAINELinda BeanMike Wallace

MARYLANDChristian CaveyKathy Szeliga

MASSACHUSETTSJay BarrowsRachel Kemp

MICHIGANKrista HaroutunianNorm Shinkle

MINNESOTAKevin EricksonJuliette Jordal

MISSISSIPPILynn Fitch

Delbert Hosemann

MISSOURIPhyllis SchlaflyJim Talent

MONTANAMark BakerTamara Hall

NEBRASKABrian BuescherDarlene Starman

Committee Members

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NEVADACynthia Kennedy

Pat Kerby

NEW HAMPSHIREDavid BoutinBeverly Bruce

NEW JERSEYAubrey FentonLynda Pagliughi

NEW MEXICOJames DamronRocky Galassini

NEW YORKJohn CahillAdele Malpass

NORTH CAROLINAWayne KingMary Summa

NORTH DAKOTAKyle HandegardPaul Henderson

NORTHERNMARIANA ISLANDSEllsbeth AlepuyoJuan Diego Blanco

OHIOClarence MingoJane Timken

OKLAHOMAAnthony LauingerCarolyn McLarty

OREGONDonna CainRuss Walker

PENNSYLVANIAJim CawleyJoyce Haas

PUERTO RICOJorge San MiguelVanessa Viera

RHODE ISLANDBarbara Ann Fenton

Richard Ford

SOUTH CAROLINARandy Page

LaDonna Ryggs

SOUTH DAKOTAMary Jean JensenDana Randall

TENNESSEEMarsha BlackburnChris Devaney

TEXASDavid Barton

Denise McNamara

UTAHMargaret Dayton

Brad Dee

VERMONTRick CochranDarcie Johnston

VIRGINIAChris StearnsKathy Terry

VIRGIN ISLANDSApril Newland

Herbert Schoenbohm

WASHINGTONMary DyeLew Moore

WEST VIRGINIAConrad Lucas II

WISCONSINDaniel FeyenSusan Lynch

WYOMINGCynthia CloudDan Dockstader

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Ben Key, Executive DirectorElise Stefanik, Policy Director

Bill Gribbin, EditorGracey Roskam, Executive Assistant

Bob Dove, ParliamentarianLaura Dove, ClerkJeff Rosen, CounselTim Flanigan, Counsel

Kirsten Kukowski, Press SecretaryGary Howard, Press Secretary

Leslie Rutledge, RNC Associate CounselJon Waclawski, RNC Advisor and Associate Counsel

Karen Portik, Graphic DesignerMarcia Brown, Production

Administrative Team:Gregg Edgar, Brian O’Malley, Mallory Loring

Court Reporter:Raymond Heer III, Alderson Court Reporting

Policy Staff


Platform Staff

Economy SubcommitteeAndrew OlmemMatt Weidinger

Restoring Constitutional GovernmentEd Corrigan

William HendersonBilly Gribbin

Energy SubcommitteeTony EberhardMary Neumayr

Government Reform SubcommitteeGeorge FishmanJonathan Slemrod

Health, Education & CrimeCynthia HerrleMike O’RiellyKeith Studdard

National Security SubcommitteeNeil BradleyRobert Wilkie

Special thanks to the following for their valuable insights:

Former Executive Directors:Ambassador John Bolton, 1984; William Martin, 1992; Judy VanRest, 1996;

Mitch Bainwol, 2000; Anne Phelps, 2004; Steven Duffield, 2008

Former Policy Director:Candi Wolff, 2000

Senior Advisors:Tony Feather, James Tobin, Brian Noyes

Special thanks to:

Betsy Ankney, Sara Armstrong, Julia Biebighauser, Tyler Brown, Britt Carter, Brittany Cohan, Cesar deGuzman, Sharon Day,Dirk Eyman, Mike Gilding, Wells Griffith, Bill Harris, Anne Hathaway, Rebecca Heilig, Aly Higgins, Colleen House,

Mark Isaacson, Bettina Inclain, Jeff Larson, Jeremy Kenney, Tom Kise, Tory Maguire, James Min, Johanna Persing, JoePounder, Ryan Price, Matt Sauvage, Tim Schigel, Sean Spicer, Elizabeth Steil, Bill Steiner, Christine Samuelian, Matt Terrill,

Jennifer Voldness, Rick Wiley, Larissa Ziemann and all our volunteers

We Believe in America

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Y R EPUBL I CANREPUBL I CANN A T I O N A LN A T I O N A LCONVENTIONCONVENTION★ ★ ★

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