REPUBLICAN PLATFORM 2016 HHHHHHH HHHHHH We dedicate this platform with admiration and gratitude HHHHH To all who stand strong in the face of danger So that the American people may be protected against it — The men and women of our military, of our law enforcement, and the first responders of every community in our land — And to their families. Paid for by the Committee on Arrangements for the 2016 Republican National Convention Not Authorized By Any Candidate Or Candidate’s Committee www.gopconvention2016.com đƫ ƫ ƫĂĀāćƫđƫ Preamble With this platform, we the Republican Party reaffirm the principles that unite us in a common purpose. We believe in American exceptionalism. American people are optimistic. We believe the United States of America is This platform lays out — in clear language — the unlike any other nation on earth. path to making America great and united again. We believe America is exceptional because of For the past 8 years America has been led in the our historic role — first as refuge, then as defender, wrong direction. and now as exemplar of liberty for the world to see. Our economy has become unnecessarily weak We affirm — as did the Declaration of with stagnant wages. People living paycheck to Independence: that all are created equal, endowed paycheck are struggling, sacrificing, and suffering. by their Creator with inalienable rights of life, liberty, Americans have earned and deserve a strong and the pursuit of happiness. and healthy economy. We believe in the Constitution as our founding Our standing in world affairs has declined document. significantly — our enemies no longer fear us and We believe the Constitution was written not as our friends no long trust us. a flexible document, but as our enduring covenant. People want and expect an America that is the We believe our constitutional system — limited most powerful and respected country on the face government, separation of powers, federalism, of the earth. and the rights of the people — must be preserved The men and women of our military remain uncompromised for future generations. the world’s best. The have been shortchanged in We believe political freedom and economic numbers, equipment, and benefits by a Commander freedom are indivisible. in Chief who treats the Armed Forces and our When political freedom and economic freedom veterans as a necessary inconvenience. are separated — both are in peril; when united, they The President and the Democratic party have are invincible. dismantled Americans’ system of healthcare. They We believe that people are the ultimate resource have replaced it with a costly and complicated — and that the people, not the government, are the scheme that limits choices and takes away our best stewards of our country’s God-given natural freedom. resources. The President and the Democratic party have As Americans and as Republicans we wish for abandoned their promise of being accountable to peace — so we insist on strength. We will make the American people. America safe. We seek friendship with all peoples They have nearly doubled the size of the and all nations, but we recognize and are prepared national debt. to deal with evil in the world. They refuse to control our borders but try Based on these principles, this platform is an to control our schools, farms, businesses, and invitation and a roadmap. It invites every American even our religious institutions. They have directly to join us and shows the path to a stronger, safer, attacked the production of American energy and and more prosperous America. the industry-related jobs that have sustained families This platform is optimistic because the and communities. i đƫ ƫ ƫĂĀāćƫđƫ The President has been regulating to death And this means returning to the people and a free market economy that he does not like and the states the control that belongs to them. It is the does not understand. He defies the laws of the control and the power to make their own decisions United States by refusing to enforce those with about what’s best for themselves and their families which he does not agree. And he appoints judges and communities. who legislate from the bench rather than apply the This platform is many things: A handbook for law. returning decision-making to the people. A guide We, as Republicans and Americans, cannot to the constitutional rights of every American. And allow this to continue. That is why the many sections a manual for the kind of sustained growth that will of this platform affirm our trust in the people, our bring opportunity to all those on the sidelines of our faith in their judgment, and our determination to society. help them take back their country. Every time we sing, “God Bless America,” we This means removing the power from unelected, are asking for help. We ask for divine help that our unaccountable government. country can fulfill its promise. We earn that help by 1 This means relieving the burden and expense of recommitting ourselves to the ideas and ideals that Restoring the American Dream punishing government regulations. are the true greatness of America. 9 A Rebirth of Constitutional Government 17 America’s Natural Resources: Agriculture, Energy, and the Environment 23 Government Reform 31 Great American Families, Education, Senator John Barrasso Healthcare, and Criminal Justice CHAIRMAN Governor Mary Fallin Representative Virginia Foxx CO-CHAIR CO-CHAIR 41 America Resurgent ii đƫ ƫ ƫĂĀāćƫđƫ Table of Contents 1 Restoring the American Dream 9 A Rebirth of Constitutional Government 17 America’s Natural Resources: Agriculture, Energy, and the Environment 23 Government Reform 31 Great American Families, Education, Healthcare, and Criminal Justice 41 America Resurgent iii ƫ ƫĂĀāć Restoring the American Dream HHHHH Rebuilding the Economy and Creating Jobs erations ago before President Reagan was elected We are the party of a growing economy that in 1980. Business closures have exceeded business gives everyone a chance in life, an opportunity to startups throughout the Obama Presidency. Strong learn, work, and realize the prosperity freedom growth, more jobs, increasing incomes, and expand- makes possible. ing opportunity are all in short supply under Presi- Government cannot create prosperity, though dent Obama and the Democrats. government can limit or destroy it. Prosperity is the We repudiate the absurd idea this is the best product of self-discipline, enterprise, saving and in- America can do. The American people rejected that vestment by individuals, but it is not an end in itself. nonsense the last time it was offered, in the historic Prosperity provides the means by which citizens election of 1980, and we ask them to join us now and their families can maintain their independence to again repudiate the false gospel of America’s di- from government, raise their children by their own minishment and retreat. We offer instead our vision values, practice their faith, and build communities of an opportunity society based on the economics of cooperation and mutual respect. It is also the of inclusion. foundation for our nation’s global leadership, for it is the vigor of our economy which makes possible Fair and Simple Taxes for Growth our military strength and our national security. Republicans consider the establishment of a Pundits and Democrats tell us that we should pro-growth tax code a moral imperative. More than accept the new normal of a slow-growing economy. any other public policy, the way government raises The consequences are too dire to ever accept that: revenue — how much, at what rates, under what President Obama and his party circumstances, from whom, will set a record of being the first and for whom — has the great- modern president ever to leave Republicans consider est impact on our economy’s office without a single calendar the establishment of a performance. It powerfully in- year of three percent economic fluences the level of economic growth. As a result, the number pro-growth tax code a growth and job creation, which of Americans living in poverty moral imperative. translates into the level of op- has increased by 7 million, our portunity for those who would nation’s economy has lost nearly otherwise be left behind. Get- $8 trillion of cumulative output compared with an ting our tax system right will be the most impor- average recovery, and the economic growth short- tant factor in driving the entire economy back to fall has left a cumulative real after-tax per person prosperity. personal income shortfall of nearly $17,000 com- The current tax code is rightly the object of pared with an average recovery. both anger and mockery. Its length is exceeded Under President Obama and the Democrats, only by its complexity. We must start anew. That new private-sector jobs are three million below will be an enormous undertaking and, if it is to suc- where they should have been with just average ceed, it must command the attention and approval modern post-recession growth. Our labor force of the American people. It cannot be engineered participation rate has plunged to at or below 63 from the top down, but must have a common sense percent for far too long, lows last seen two gen- approach, and be simplified. 1 đƫ ƫ ƫĂĀāćƫđƫ Our proposal is straightforward. Wherever tax in part to high corporate tax rates and increasing rates penalize thrift or discourage investment, they regulatory burdens and uncertainty. must be lowered. Wherever current provisions of American businesses now face the world’s the code are disincentives for economic growth, highest corporate tax rates. That’s like putting lead they must be changed. We will not divide the shoes on your cross-country team. It reduces com- American people into winners and losers.