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Support crime prevention programs


Committee:  Program (report 3)
Citation:  Executive Council Minutes, Feb. 13-17, 1995, Providence, RI, pp. 21-25.


Resolved, That the Executive Council meeting in Providence, Rhode Island, February 13-17, 1995,

Affirm our commitment, as called for in our Baptismal Covenant, to strive for justice and peace and, in seeking to serve Christ through the dignity [of] all persons, continue to be a voice for the voiceless in society; and
Affirm that civil government in the United States was created of the people by the people and for the people to meet common needs and provide for the common good, and that government, once created, has a responsibility to fulfill these goals; and
Seek to work in partnership with government to provide for our common goals and promote peace with justice and social and spiritual well-being for all in the United States and abroad; and be it further
Resolved, That the Executive Council adopt the following principles related to legislation proposed in Congress:

Welfare Reform

Support efforts to reform the current welfare system to break the cycle of dependency, including removing the disincentive to work by allowing recipients to keep a larger portion of their earnings before losing assistance, and to empower individuals with the tools to take responsibility for their own lives, such as jobs, education, training, low-cost housing, and language skills; and
Encourage further study of welfare models that emphasize placing people in jobs prior to education and training programs in order that recipients may begin to gain quickly a sense of dignity and responsibility; and
Support welfare benefits for recipients which do not discriminate on the basis of marital status, age, immigrant status, or ability to identify other parent; and
Support a welfare system that holds families together when there is no evidence of parental abuse or neglect; and
Support federal nutrition programs; and
Support efforts to enforce parental child support payments; and
Recognize that health care coverage mobility and security are essential components of reforming the welfare system; and
Health Care Reform

In order to facilitate a transition to universal health care coverage, support health insurance protection for those who change jobs or are afflicted with serious illness, and access to health insurance coverage for those with pre-existing conditions; and
Crime

Support crime prevention programs that provide recreation, education, and other activities to discourage youth from gangs and crime; and
Support the assault-weapons ban established under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994; and
Foreign Aid

Affirm that, as one Body of Christ throughout the world and part of a world-wide Anglican Communion, the Church has a responsibility to support and advocate for those beyond the borders of the United States, and to support foreign aid and relief; and
Affirm a foreign aid policy that supports sustainable development of a country's economy, while protecting the environment and stabilizing population growth, strengthening the country's civil society, promoting peace and human rights, and providing humanitarian aid or relief; and
Support the use of diplomacy as the most effective and peaceful means of reaching these goals; and
Immigration

Oppose any state or federal policy that creates hostility toward immigrants and people of color by encouraging school officials and public servants to report individuals whom they suspect are undocumented immigrants.