A RESOLUTION CALLING FOR NEW FEDERAL PRIORITIES (2005-10-24/R-0.1)
WHEREAS, federal administration priorities and policies have led to de facto unfunded mandates on local governments, such as:
Demands for increased testing without sufficient funding for public education, and
Failed energy policies that increase dependence on costly non-renewable fuels, and
Health care policy that favors pharmaceutical and insurance industries at the expense of employers and citizens, and
Environmental policies that worsen air pollution and drive up health care costs, and
Lax enforcement of job safety regulations resulting in productivity losses and increasing health costs, and
Mismanagement of homeland security that places increased burdens on local governments for disaster planning and relief, and
Failure to enforce worker rights laws and establish a meaningful minimum wage, resulting in increased poverty and demand for increased access to local health and human services, and
Gutting of federal programs for low-income families that has created increased local burdens for housing and other services, and
The promotion and subsidy of large-scale agribusiness corporations which contribute to the crippling of local farm economies which have traditionally been the foundation of healthy rural life, the source for local food, and are minimally oil-dependent, and
WHEREAS the war in Iraq is siphoning billions of dollars from the US economy and straining the fiscal health of our federal, state and local governments, and
WHEREAS no-bid contracts to major corporations for reconstruction in the southeast United States and Iraq undermine the trust of citizens in the integrity of government, and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Mayor and Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council hereby petitions the Bush Administration and Congress to immediately end the war in Iraq, re-establish a progressive tax code, end favoritism toward corporate interests, develop responsible policies focused on renewable energy, and commit to priorities that reflect the common good.
This the 24th day of October, 2005.