Why we care about this issue

Having a job is a very high priority for most working-age adults. For many of us, paid employment is essential for our financial, emotional, and even physical well-being. But despite the critical importance of having a job, unemployment has been a chronic problem in the U.S. and this has been especially true since the onset of the Great Recession in late 2007. Given the importance of jobs and the devastation that unemployment can bring, General Synod has repeatedly called for full employment to ensure a job is available to everyone who wants one. 

Looking at the 2012 Election

Unemployment is falling but very slowly. At the current pace it will take years to return to the pre-recession jobless rate that was already too high. Congress needs to act to put people back to work. In addition to helping workers and families, reducing unemployment shrinks the deficit. Government receipts rise as people pay income taxes on their new earnings and sales taxes on the additional items they buy. At the same time, safety net spending declines on unemployment insurance, Medicaid (health care for the poor), and food stamps. Of the current deficit, nearly two-thirds (64%) is due to the economic downturn and recovery measures. To reduce the deficit and bring relief to the millions who are jobless, Congress must enact programs that will put people back to work. Once the economy recovers more fully and businesses boost hiring, the federal effort can be reduced.

Questions for candidates

1. What are your plans for job creation?
2. If elected (or re-elected) would you work to ensure the next federal budget includes job-creation programs that will put millions of people back to work?
3. Will you vote to continue the federal program of extended unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed?

More information.

Why we care about this issue:

Marriage is one of the most significant institutions in our culture. Civil/legal marriage carries with it significant access to institutional support, rights and benefits. There are more than 1,400 such rights and benefits in the federal statutes alone. Efforts to ban civil marriage to couples based on gender denies them and their children access to these rights and benefits, and thus, undermines the civil liberties of these couples, putting them and their children at risk.  Throughout its history, the United Church of Christ has been at the forefront in the struggle for justice and equality. For more than 30 years, the General Synod of the UCC has adopted resolutions affirming lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons, which have included consistently calling for an end to discrimination, equal protection under the law, and supporting LGBT relationships and families.

The 25th General Synod adopted the resolution, “In Support of Equal Marriage Rights for All.” The resolution affirms equal marriage rights for couples regardless of gender and equal access to the basic rights, institutional protections and quality of life conferred by the recognition of marriage.  It also urges the support of legislation for marriage equality and to work against legislation, including constitutional amendments, which deny civil marriage equality.

Looking at the 2012 Election:

Four states will have ballot measures that deal with marriage equality.  The measures in Maine, Maryland and Washington are pro-marriage equality, i.e., a “yes” vote is a vote for marriage equality.  In Minnesota, the ballot issue is a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to one man and one woman.  There are also efforts to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) both in Congress and in the Courts.  Among other things, DOMA prevents the federal government from recognizing same sex marriages performed in states where it is legal.

Questions for the Candidates:

1. What is your view on the worth and dignity of all families, including the families of same sex couples?
2. Why do you think same sex couples should have (or should not have) the right to marry?
3. Do you support the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)?  If so what will you do help that happen?
4. What will you do build political support for the freedom to marry?

Why we care about this issue

As Christians, we are called to love our neighbors. The Bible is unambiguous in calling us to welcome aliens and strangers in our land, and to love them as we love ourselves. This remains in mandate in our own time, not just in biblical times.

In 2007, the General Synod of the United Church of Christ addressed immigration declaring that the militarized border enforcement strategy was not working, and calling for advocacy for better policies. It further called “upon the leaders of Conferences, Associations and congregations to extend an extravagant welcome and radical hospitality to and continue to minister and care for all who come to our doors.” Many members of the UCC have heeded that call and are active in local and national settings promoting a just immigration policy. The UCC emphasizes a “radical welcome”. This welcoming stance applies to all, regardless of national origin or documentation.

Looking at the 2012 election

In June 2012, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced a process for eligible young people who may have been brought to the U. S. as children and do not present a risk to national security, nor public safety, to receive deferred action for two years subject to renewal, and to be eligible to apply for work authorization. While this is a welcome opportunity, it does not offer a permanent solution, nor a path to citizenship. The Latino/a vote is of great interest to all candidates. While the most extreme constituencies demand that their candidates be “tough on immigration”, both parties would like to have the support of the Latino/a communities at the ballot box.

Questions for the Candidates

1. Do you support the Dream Act?
2. Do you favor state tuition for undocumented youth?
3. Would you implement policies of workplace raids and deportation of undocumented immigrants?
4. Would you initiate/support comprehensive immigration reform?

Why we care about this issue

“Ash-sha`ab yurid…”—“The People Want…”

With these words, protesters throughout the Arab world have risked their lives to demand social, economic, and political change. From Tunisia to Bahrain, outcomes have differed, and it will take years for the dust fully to settle.  What have the people wanted, and what have they achieved? In a US election year, when we as voters express what we want, we also must ask, what role should the US play in these changes transforming the Middle East?

The UCC has extensive partnerships in, and General Synod policy base on the Middle East, including the 2003 resolution, US Policy in the Middle East. We should hold candidates to the standards outlined in it, which “calls on the US government to base its Middle East policy on principles of human rights and human justice and to refrain from narrowly acting with US economic interests in mind.”

Looking at the 2012 Election

In 2012, with political transition in Egypt, continuing violence in Syria, and Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands in its 45^th year, political candidates should present their vision of a new Middle East.

• In Egypt, a new parliament and president vie for power with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.  Smart diplomacy is necessary to allow space for an authentically Egyptian transition to evolve, and for a new constitution to be written, which affirms human rights and equal citizenship for all citizens—male and female, Muslim and Christian—while maintaining diplomatic channels with the U.S.
• In Syria, where civil war has uprooted massive numbers, the needs of refugees and the internally displaced must be met and the violence must cease. The U.S. should work with the international community to ensure an end to violence and the provision of humanitarian needs in the short run; and to promote a safe and democratic Syria, so that Syrians can enjoy their rights, including the resettlement of refugees and IDPs.
• While Israel continues to build illegal settlements and Israel-only roads in the West Bank, control access and commerce into Gaza, and deny Palestinians many aspects of a normal and dignified life, peace efforts have nearly died. The US, with interests in the region and as Israel’s closest ally, has a special role to play in working to end the occupation and resolve the issues of borders, refugees, and Jerusalem. To push for peace in the midst of a U.S. election can be tricky, but the world must expect this to be a priority immediately after November 6 for the future security not only of Israel and Palestine, but the broader Middle East.

Questions for the Candidates

1. How can the U.S. engage the changing Middle East in ways that both respect the rights of the people and integrity of states, and enhance US relationships in the region?
2. How can the US work with global partners to ensure the rights and basic needs of refugees and internally displaced Iraqis, Syrians, and others, and help protect victims of violence throughout the region?
3. With the Israeli-Palestinian conflict reaching a critical juncture, what will your administration do in the coming term to seek a durable resolution to the conflict, respecting not just the security of all but the historical and legal rights of Palestinians?

Additional information may be found on the Global Ministries Middle East and Europe web page.

Why we care about this issue

For more than four decades, the United Church of Christ has called for reform of state and federal justice systems.  It is our belief and witness that these institutions should be primarily places for rehabilitation, education and training, especially in light of the fact that most prisoners will return to the community.  Former prisoners are released at a rate of 750,000 per year, and face tremendous barriers in acquiring jobs, reuniting with families, and dealing with health and mental health issues. 

In the mid-1980s, prisons experienced a perfect storm:  prison privatization began, mental health institutions closed, and governments passed harsh laws that felonized misdemeanors and removed judicial discretion.  As a result, the U.S. prison population exploded; it is 10 times greater today than it was in 1970.  At this moment, there are 2.3 million people in prison and another 5 million on probation or parole, reflecting more than 1 out of every 32 adults in the U.S.  Prisons have become the largest repository for the mentally ill.  Solitary confinement and violence are common.  Private corporations that are not accountable to the public have instituted massive campaigns to own and operate prisons. They require a growing prisoner population for profitability, and have no motivation for education or rehabilitation.  Now, with public offices struggling to address difficult economic realities, we can no longer afford mass incarceration.  It is far less expensive to provide and supervise alternative sentences and rehabilitation programs, however our system is no longer equipped to do that task well.      

Questions for Candidates

1. What will you do to review and reform the criminal justice system?
2. What is your position on prison privatization?
3. What is your position on the common use of solitary confinement? 
4. What is your position on the death penalty?
5. What is your position on the right of former prisoners to vote and to have access to rehabilitation, education, housing, mental health and medical supports? 
6. At times, certain national security procedures seem to conflict with international human rights procedures. How would you address this contradiction?

Why we care about this issue:

The United Church of Christ has spoken prophetically to name poverty and racism as among the primary causes of injustice in our nation's schools. General Synod 18 cautioned: "Because the poor and their children are disproportionately people of color, the educational inequities in our public schools reinforce the racial/ethnic injustices of our society." General Synod 23 proclaimed public school support - and advocacy for the same - as one of the "foremost civil rights issues in the twenty-first century." General Synod 25 called all settings of the UCC to do justice and promote the common good by strengthening support for public institutions and providing "opportunity for every child in well-funded, high quality public schools."

Looking at the 2012 Election:

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is now ten years old, and Congress continues to delay its long overdue reauthorization.  Among the law’s most serious problems is that NCLB has ratcheted up standardized testing, punished schools that cannot quickly raise scores, and at the same time remained silent about providing the resources to guarantee that every child has an equal opportunity to learn.  Now the U.S. Department of Education has begun granting states unilateral waivers from NCLB’s most punitive label of ‘failing’ for schools that cannot raise test scores to a utopian level by 2014, but the catch is that to quality, states must present accountability plans that work much like NCLB itself and like other federal programs like the competitive Race to the Top. All of these programs emphasize sanctions for struggling schools and their teachers instead of supporting conditions to help them improve. You can learn more about these important issues on our public education page.

In this 2012 election year, the conversation has also already turned to proposals to privatize public schools.  Check out our new series of web pages that explore serious concerns about privatization of public education.

Here, at the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year is our annual JWM Message on Public Education.  The topic this year is, The Public Purpose of Public Education.

Questions for the Candidates:

Check out our simple downloadable resource: Repairing the Breach: A Just Agenda for Public School Reform — Questions for Federal & State Candidates in this 2012 Election Year. Here are sample questions from that resource:

1. If elected, what will you do to direct federal (state) policy toward equalizing resources and opportunity to learn and to help struggling schools in economically disadvantaged communities, especially communities of color?
2. The United States tolerates a child poverty rate of 22 percent, the highest among all nations in the developed world. What specific policies do you support to reduce childhood poverty?
3. When there is competition to attract students to a range of small schools or charter schools, what is the government’s moral and fiscal responsibility to the students remaining in the neighborhood public schools?

Why we care about this issue:

The General Synod of the United Church of Christ has called on its congregations to exercise responsible stewardship over the gift of life and earth given to all by a generous and loving God. However, the scientific consensus is that energy generated by fossil fuels leads to more global warming and worsening air and water pollution. In 2009, General Synod 27 urged its members to advocate for the prompt enactment of state and federal legislation that will:

• Cap carbon emissions
• Enact stringent gas mileage standards for motor vehicles
• Give incentives for investing in renewable sources of energy
• Construct financial disincentives for fossil fuel consumption
• Research and develop alternative energy technologies
• Join in international treaty negotiation to combat climate change.

Looking at the 2012 election:

Some Congressional leaders are calling for severe limits on the ability of the Environmental Protection Agency to enforce clean water and clean air standards, to limit pollution from motor vehicles and other industry, and to promote subsidies for alternative energy development. Additionally, many are calling for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline to ship oil from the tar sands to the international market and west coast ports for the shipment of coal to China. 

Questions for the candidates:

1. What legislation do you favor to combat climate change?
2. Do you believe the United States should develop alternative, sustainable, and clean energy?
3. Do you support the enforcement of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts? How?

Why We Care about this issue

For over thirty-five years the United Church of Christ has spoken prophetically that health care for all is a priority.  As early as 1975, General Synod Ten issued a resolution, National Health Care Policy, and most recently in 2009, General Synod 27 passed a Resolution, An Urgent Call for Advocacy in Support of Health Care for All.  We supported and applauded the passage of comprehensive health reform legislation in 2010. However, our work is not done.  Through our General Synod policies we continue to embrace a vision of a system that is inclusive, accessible, affordable and accountable.

Looking at the 2012 Election

Two years after passage of the Affordable Care Act, many people and legislators are still sharply divided.  On March 26-28 the Supreme Court of the United States will hear arguments on the legal merits of the law.  The central arguments are against the law’s individual mandate and the expansion of Medicaid. If the law is upheld, many of the benefits and protections that individuals and families already have or about to gain will likely remain intact and may bode well for the 2012 elections outcome.  If the law is overturned, it may take away some of the vital benefits and protections from Americans.  Whether the law is upheld or overturned, the high costs of health care will likely continue (although at a slower rate if the law is upheld).  You can learn more about this important issue on our Health Care Justice page.

Questions for the candidates

1. What should be done to improve the U.S. health care system? If you oppose much or all of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, what would you put in its place to improve health care quality, expand insurance coverage and curb the rapid rise in costs?
2. If you support the Affordable Care Act, what proposals do you offer, if any, to sustain the benefits and protections accorded by the law and to expand coverage?
3. If Medicaid is not expanded to include families under 133% of poverty, what proposals, if any, do you offer for public health programs to support underserved individuals and families
4. What proposals, if any, do you offer to insure that we provide access and services to improve the health of racial, ethnic and other vulnerable populations?
5. How will you address the critical shortage of health centers across the country?

Why we care about this issue

Since the early 1970s, the United Church of Christ has repeatedly affirmed, through actions of the General Synod, that woman have the right to determine when and how many children to bring into the world. Our resolutions speak to the right of women to access to affordable, safe and medically appropriate contraception.

Looking at the 2012 Election

Recently the UCC joined other faith groups in supporting the Administration’s decision to require all health insurance policies to provide contraception without co-pay for women and supported the exception to this requirement for houses of worship and similarly situated sectarian institutions that do not believe in the use of contraception.

This has become a hot button issue in the context of the election primaries. The attempt to make this an issue of religious liberty complicates what is in reality an issue of women’s health and rights. The Constitutional provision for the separation of church and state also implies protection from the imposition of religious positions as well as the right to worship freely.  Safe and effective methods of contraception have been used by women for more than thirty years in the U.S. resulting in fewer unintended pregnancies and increased well-being for women as they maintain control over their reproductive capacity. No one is forced to use contraception even if it is covered by one’s health insurance policy.

Questions for the candidates

1. Why do you think the issue of contraception has become a national debate at this moment in history?
2. What will you do to ensure that women’s health will continue to be protected?
3. What is your understanding of religious liberty as it relates to this issue?

Why do we care about this issue?

For over forty years, various settings of the United Church of Christ have supported comprehensive sexuality education and the justice issues related to sexuality, in both public schools and faith communities.  Major faith traditions representing millions of Americans support comprehensive sexuality education. In keeping with our nation’s constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion, they oppose civil laws that would impose specific religious views about sexuality education on all Americans.

Looking at the 2012 election

We should not permit a narrowly-focused vision of human sexuality education (abstinence-only-until-marriage) to be the norm. Reputable research shows that if people have access to (1) medically-accurate and age-appropriate information about sexuality, including information about abstinence and healthy relationships, and (2) contraception and condoms, there are fewer unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. People who want to limited sexuality education tend to advocate for less access to contraception and want to prohibit abortion.

Questions for the Candidates:

1. Do you believe that children and youth should receive age-appropriate and medically-accurate information about sexuality?
2. Do you believe that if children and youth receive comprehensive sexuality education they will make better choices about their sexual health?
3. Studies show that a majority of parents want their children to receive medically-accurate and age-appropriate sexuality information that includes information about abstinence). Do you support these parents?

Learn more about our Faithful Budget alternative.

Why we care about this issue

The federal budget is an important indicator of our national priorities. Depending on someone’s circumstances, budget decisions can mean the difference between eating or going hungry, opportunities or dead ends, jobs or continued unemployment, a clean or polluted environment, even life or death. The federal budget is a moral document.

In 1973, General Synod recognized that “the shaping, allocating, and spending of the federal budget are crucial Christian concerns.” In 2005 General Synod affirmed that government policy and services are central to the common good and called us to ensure God’s resources were shared equitably and sustainably with all.

Looking at the 2012 Election

The country faces huge challenges including high levels of poverty and unemployment, crumbling infrastructure, and neglected priorities. Tax cuts and the economic downturn have reduced government revenues to the levels of the 1950s while most economic gains in recent decades have been captured by a tiny, very wealthy few. Congress is has two critical decisions to make.

Is our nation’s priority deficit reduction or restoring a sound economy? When people are unemployed or have inadequate incomes, they pay little or no income taxes and must rely on safety net programs. Good jobs are good for families, communities, and the federal budget. Cuts in federal spending bring layoffs and hardship. Deficit reduction is the byproduct of a healthy economy, strengthened by careful government spending, and an adequate tax base, not budget cuts. Congress must focus on restoring a sound, full-employment economy, not deficit reduction.

Reduce the deficit primarily through tax increases or further spending cuts? Starting in mid-2011, Congress dramatically cut funding for safety net programs and basic government functions. Military spending was also cut – but only back to its 2007 level. Even with tax revenues at record lows, Congress has not only refused to raise taxes but also preserved the skewed tax cuts of the 2000s that primarily benefited the wealthy. Now Congress must raise taxes on corporations and wealthy households and make further cuts in military spending while preserving social programs and core government functions.  

Questions for candidates

1. In your opinion, what is our nation’s priority:  deficit reduction or restoring a sound economy? How can the budget deficit be sustainably reduced unless we first have a sound economy, strengthened by careful government spending, and an adequate tax base?
2. If you think deficit reduction is a priority, what is the best way to do it? Would you primarily choose spending cuts or tax increases? If both, what balance between the two would you support?
3. Federal revenues are at their lowest level since the 1950s. Would you support an increase in taxes? Who should pay more? 
4. The military budget has risen by more than half since 2001. The cuts already enacted by Congress will, at most, return spending to its 2007 level, a time when we were fighting two wars. In this time of so many other unmet needs, would you support further cuts in military spending?

Our friends at the Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition (IDAC) have created five disability related questions for members of faith and spiritual communities to ask candidates running for federal, state, and local office in 2012. The questions cover areas of importance to IDAC and the disability community: independence and community living; employment; education; and access to health care.

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