[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 16 (Thursday, January 26, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E192-E193]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   THE PROGRESSIVE PROMISE: FAIRNESS

                                 ______


                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 26, 1995
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, in contrast with the GOP's Contract With 
America, we shall offer a positive legislative alternative during the 
first 100 days of the 104th Congress to extend a fair shake to all 
Americans on the Progressive Promise. Our plan shall be rooted in the 
principles of social and economic justice, nondiscrimination, and 
tolerance. It shall embody national priorities which reflect the 
interests and needs of all the American people, not just the wealthy 
and powerful.
  Today the Progressive Caucus in bringing to the floor for a vote our 
1st in 11 alternative bills to the Republican Contract--The Fiscal 
Fairness Act, which allows a waiver of the balanced budget requirement 
in any fiscal year when the national unemployment rate exceeds 4 
percent, thus sustaining our long-standing national commitment to full 
employment.
  The second bill in the Progressive Promise is The Equal Justice 
Before the Law Act, which is an anticrime package that retains key 
aspects of the anticrime legislation enacted in 1994 to prevent crime 
as well as punish that which happens; to crack down on white-collar 
[[Page E193]] crime--for example, S&L bailout, defrauding Federal 
Government on procurement, criminal penalties for willful violation of 
child labor laws by employers that result in serious bodily injury or 
death of minors in the workplace, eliminate deductibility of legal 
expenses when a company is accused of a crime--and on drug trafficking 
and abuse.
  The third bill in the Progressive Promise is The Corporate 
Responsibility Act, which cuts corporate welfare in the form of special 
subsidies and tax loopholes of benefit to many of America's wealthiest 
corporations; to require companies to internalize pollution clean-up 
and other costs of production instead of continuing to foist them on 
the American taxpayer, and to reform basic labor laws to restore 
collective bargaining rights and balance in employer-employee 
relations.
  The fourth bill in the Progressive Promise is Family Foundation Act, 
which will enable parents to get decent-paying, stable jobs in order to 
afford child care and health care for their families; to raise the 
minimum wage and index it for inflation; to strengthen child support 
collection; to abolish financial penalties for two-parent families; to 
protect the sanctity of the family and safeguard the health and well-
being of all our children; and to ensure that all Americans are well 
fed.
  The fifth bill in the Progressive Promise is The American Homemakers 
and Caregivers Act, which target IRA's and other savings incentives on 
middle- and low-income Americans; special provisions to extend generous 
IRA options to spouses who stay home to nurture children under 6 years 
of age, thus recognizing the importance of parental child-rearing; to 
allow penalty-free IRA withdrawals for home health care, education 
expenses, or to start a small business; and targeted deduction for 
child care expenses.
  The sixth bill in the Progressive Promise is The National Economic 
Security Act, which cuts the Pentagon and CIA budgets and star wars 
spending in favor of shifting limited resources to meet domestic social 
needs and investments to strengthen the U.S. national economy.
  The seventh bill in the Progressive Promise is The Cradle-To-Grave 
Health Care Act, which require a vote on sense-of-the-Congress 
resolution against cuts in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid; to 
establish a state-based, single-payer health care plan that provides 
cost-effective, comprehensive and affordable health care for all 
Americans, including long-term care and prescription drug coverage; and 
to stress disease prevention and health promotion in our communities.
  The eighth bill in the Progressive Promise is The Job Creation and 
Invest in America Act, which would create at least 1 million jobs in 
the United States in each of the next 2 years from $127.2 billion in 
new investment to rebuild and upgrade America's physical infrastructure 
and clean up the environment; to pay for these investments by closing 
tax loopholes for offshore production while rewarding U.S. companies 
that invest, produce, and create jobs in the United States; to require 
the wealthiest U.S. corporations and citizens to pay their fair share 
of taxes; and to establish a national commission to finds ways to 
encourage social investment of billions in pension funds to meet 
domestic needs in America.
  The ninth bill in the Progressive Promise is The Taking Back our 
Congress Act, which curbs influence-peddling and special-interest 
lobbying through tougher lobbying restrictions and campaign finance 
reform; to prohibit ex-members of Congress and executive branch 
officials from lobbying on behalf of foreign governments and companies; 
to improve ballot access so more Americans can run for office; and to 
authorize some public financing of congressional elections to make it 
more affordable for more candidates to run regardless of personal 
wealth.
  The tenth bill in the Progressive Promise is The Public Interest 
Legislature Act, which strengthens financial disclosure requirements 
and to prevent financial conflicts of interest in voting decisions by 
Members of Congress.
  The eleventh bill in The Export American Products, Not American Jobs 
Act, which eliminates or limits special tax and trade incentives and 
taxpayer-backed programs that reward U.S.-based multinational 
corporations for producing offshore; no new fast-track and trade 
agreements without enforceable worker rights, environmental, 
agricultural, and safety health standards; to prohibit importing child 
and forced labor products; and to reduce U.S. trade deficit by 
eliminating unfair trade barriers to U.S. exports.


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