PDA welcomes the 114th Congress into session. We will ask Congress to join with us celebrating the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday by honoring Dr. King’s values and by returning to our nation’s founding principles: That political rights are reserved for We The People—human beings, not corporations. That all human beings have full and equal civil rights, and we must protect their rights. Also, that we must favor diplomacy over confrontation and war.
January 21st marks the 5th Anniversary of the infamous Citizens United decision that opened the floodgates for money to corrupt our political process. We will urge Senators and Representatives to cosponsor and support resolutions to enact one or more constitutional amendments to overturn the wrongly interpreted doctrines that equate money with speech and corporations with human beings.
We will also urge them to oppose and vote against “Fast Track” and any other procedures that short-circuit the Congressional oversight process for the Trans-Pacific Partnership and any other multilateral commercial deals. Also, to oppose and vote against these deals because they place special interests over the needs of American families. Good deals aren’t hidden from public and congressional view, and don’t need gimmicks like “Fast Track” to gain passage.
We will further urge them to support diplomacy and oppose any new sanctions on Iran. We cannot afford another war. Diplomacy with Iran offers the opportunity to achieve our national security objectives without firing a shot. We will urge them to give these negotiations a chance to succeed.
Lastly, we will urge Senators and Representatives to extend full constitutional rights to women and to the residents of D.C. by: Cosponsoring and supporting a resolution to remove the time limit from the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA); and by cosponsoring and supporting legislation to facilitate the creation of the state of New Columbia—including representation by a House member and two Senators.