by Ruth Yarrow

On Sunday March 17, eleven Friends from our Meeting gathered and discerned priorities they would like to see Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) address in the 2025-2027 Congress. Below is the list we have sent to FCNL. The four sections of the FCNL legislative policy statement are in bold italics; our priorities are capitalized, with specific issues listed under them.

We seek a world free of war and the threat of war.

1. Cut Military Spending

• Sign the Non-proliferation Treaty.
• End military support for Israel.
• End the Korean war.
• End production and upgrading of nuclear weapons.
• Analyze effects of US military on the climate crisis.

We seek a society with equity and justice for all.

2. FUND NEEDS OF OPPRESSED PEOPLE

• Reinstate guaranteed income. (Research shows it’s used for basics – food, housing – and better future.)
• Legislate maximum income. (e.g., limit ratio of worker to CEO salary.)
• Federal support for low-income areas, rural and urban, especially health care.
• Lower the age of edibility for Medicare.
• Federal funds for education at all levels.

3. CHANGE ECONOMIC POLICY

• Tax the rich.
• Prohibit privatization of health care by insurance companies.
• End Citizens United.
• Mandate public identification of candidates’ income sources.
• Cut out loopholes in corporate tax evasion.

We seek a community where every person’s potential may be fulfilled.

4. FEDERAL/LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

• Pass the ERA; uproot patriarchy.
• Push for national reproductive rights.
• Prohibit book bans.
• Provide citizenship for Dreamers.
• Support the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
• Prohibit privatized prisons.
• Replace mass imprisonment with restorative justice.
• Protect freedom of religion and speech.
• Legislate humane border policies.

We seek an earth restored.