Resolves of the Executive Council

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

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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
4. Support a welfare system that holds families together when there is no evidence of parental abuse or neglect; and
5. Support federal nutrition programs; and
6. Support efforts to enforce parental child support payments; and
7. Recognize that health care coverage mobility and security are essential components of reforming the welfare system; and

Health Care Reform

8. 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

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

Foreign Aid

11. 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
12. 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
13. Support the use of diplomacy as the most effective and peaceful means of reaching these goals; and

Immigration

14. 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.