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Adopted by Convention
I. Statement of Principles
The Butler County Democrats= believe the legitimate function of government is to accomplish goals which we cannot achieve as individuals. The government must be truly representative and work for the good of all people, striving to achieve peace, opportunity, fairness and prosperity for all.
We demand that our governin= g bodies develop policies and laws that permanently protect our environment from wasteful and indiscriminate use.
We support an economic syst= em that provides for basic human needs: nourishment, shelter, health, employment and education.
We believe in government th= at preserves and protects basic constitutional and civil rights and provides e= qual opportunities for all people.
We support The United State= s of America’s historic role as a leader in the search for peace and justi= ce in the world. We urge our government to stand with other nations to foster democracy, human rights, r= ule of law and civil society throughout the world.
II. Statement of Issues
A. Agriculture and Environment
1. We support family farms = through banning packer ownership of livestock and strict enforcement of anti-trust laws. Corporate incursion into production agriculture must be prohibited in order to halt the destruction = it is causing to rural society and the environment.
2. We support environmental standards for the regulation of feedlots and hog confinement facilities and urge strict enforcement of these regulations, standards and enforcement to = be set at the county level.
3. We urge Congress at the = Federal and State levels to increase assistance and incentives for development of alternative renewable energy sources as well as for improving energy conservation and efficiency.
4. We support the Clean Wat= er and Clean Air Acts and encourage enforcing and strengthening these programs.
5. We support efforts to pr= eserve farmland and reduce urban sprawl.
B. Economy, Commerce and Labor
1. We support economic deve=
lopment
programs that encourage businesses to bring good-paying jobs to
2. We support an increase i= n the minimum wage to no less than the federal poverty level.
3. We call for Federal and = State legislation to provide full protection of worker pension funds. All retirement funds, including So= cial Security should be kept separate from other funds and used exclusively for = pensions.
4. We support raising the c= ap on wages subject to Social Security withholding to a level that will restore solvency to the program.
5. We support enforcement of mandatory overtime pay for persons working more than 40 hours per week.
6. We support the revision =
of NAFTA,
CAFTA and the Free Trade Agreement with
7. We support efforts to st= rengthen unions by revoking the “Right to Work” act and by allowing collection of union security or “fair share” fees.
C. Education
1. We oppose diverting publ= ic monies away from public preK-12 schools to fund vouchers, tuition tax credi= ts or private, for profit education businesses.
2. We support adequate fund=
ing for
public schools, community colleges, public universities and Area Education
Associations, including full funding of all federally mandated programs and
special education programs. W=
e call
for teacher salaries in
3. We support the restorati=
on of
funds for educational professional development and technology hardware and
software for all
4. We oppose any “fast track” teacher certification that does not require a bachelor’s degree or better, appropriate field experience or student teaching in a certified classroom and 30 credit hours of educational training.
5. We oppose the renewal of= the “No Child Left Behind” Act. States must be given flexibility in measuring school’s progress and ways to = improve student achievement. Unless c= hanges are made and the Act is fully funded, Federal sanctions against schools mus= t be suspended.
6. We support incentives for schools to purchase goods locally for lunch programs and additional funding= to improve the quality of school lunches.
7. We support efforts to pr= ovide safe campuses without discriminating against people with mental illnesses.<= /p>
D. Government and Law
1. We demand that warrantle= ss searches in the name of homeland security cease and we call for a Special Prosecutor to investigate the scope of these illegal searches.
2. We believe the special provisions of the “Patriot Act” should be revoked. The right of habeas corpus must be reaffirmed.
3. We oppose the use of the= death penalty in our State and our Nation.
4. We believe that campaign contributions above the reportable limit must originate within a political candidate’s area of representation.
5. We urge our State Legisl= ature and U.S. Congress to continue efforts to improve existing campaign finance reform laws.
6. We believe lobbying acti= vities of ex-politicians and their staff should be limited and a waiting period sh= ould be put in place before an ex-politician can become a lobbyist.
7. We urge news outlets to cooperate with election officials during a Presidential election and hold o= ff naming a winner until polls have closed nationwide.
8. We support enactment of = laws that regulate unsolicited and unwanted e-mail communications on the interne= t.
9. We support an independen= t ethics system to monitor all elected officials.
10. We support legislation
requiring security operations of all
11. All companies, public or private, doing business with government agencies must be entirely transpare= nt regarding their operations, financial and administrative, including public access to all records.
12. The immigration system = is flawed at its most fundamental level. We support legislative reforms to ease legal immigration and stem the flow of illegal immigrants into our country.
13. We support reforms to t= he criminal justice system to eliminate inequities in sentences and refocus efforts on rehabilitation instead of building new prisons.
14. We demand our government’s return to fiscal responsibility. We call for establishing oversight committees to examine military spending to reduce waste and refocus spendin= g efforts on domestic programs.
15. We propose that the def=
inition
of Veteran in the State Code of Iowa be changed to read as follows: “Veteran” means a resi=
dent
of this state who served in the Armed Forces of the
E. Health and Human Services
1. We call on Congress to e= nact legislation that guarantees all Americans have access to affordable univers= al health care coverage including preventative health care and mental health c= are parity. This coverage must co= ntain a core package of benefits with choices comparable in quantity and scope to that offered to Federal employees and include adequate coverage for prescription drugs and home health care.
2. We demand that the Feder= al government restore full funding to all veteran’s hospitals.
3. We support regulations t= hat would restrict commercial advertising of prescription drugs by pharmaceutic= al companies.
4. We support stem cell res= earch, short of human cloning, utilizing embryos that would otherwise be abandoned= or destroyed, at medical research institutions in the State and Nation.
5. We support state funding= to provide family planning services including contraceptives for adult low-inc= ome women who would otherwise not have access, with the goal of reducing the nu= mber of unintended pregnancies in the state.
F. International Affairs
1. We call for steps to be =
taken to
end to the current conflicts in the
2. We support efforts to pr= otect the nation from terrorist attacks without suppressing basic human and civil rights.
3. Our government must never facilitate nor sanction torture in any form, in any place.
4. We demand that our gover=
nment
restrict trade with any nation that allows child or slave labor based on