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Employment/Job Training 

·        Supports tying the current minimum wage to the rate of inflation to ensure that the salary of the working class increases with the cost of living.

·        Supports the expansion and development of adult education programs in vocational training and renewable energy industry training to give residents that want to further their education and careers the opportunity to do so.

·        Supports tax credits for U.S. Companies should that hire local residents to offset outsourcing

·        Supports a federal government jobs creation program of public service employment on projects like infrastructure repair to reduce unemployment (similar to the New Deal's Works Progress Administration).

·        Supports the expansion of education programs that are developed for ex-offenders to develop a skilled labor workforce that can meet the standard to land positions working as union labor in the construction industry. Judges could use the completion of such a successful training program as a condition of probation.    

 

Education

·        Supports the continuation of existing Opportunity Scholarship Programs in DC (a.k.a. vouchers), which have increased the graduation rate of students in the program by 21% (advocates students receiving those vouchers to take the same standardized tests as public school students to assess their academic progress).

·        Supports education programs like Head Start and using Title 1 funding for Parent Partnership Programs in the District to persuade parents to volunteer and get more involved in their children’s education.

·        Supports government mortgage assistance programs for teacher retention.

·        Supports government sponsored mentorship programs to get parents and responsible adults involved in student’s education.

·        Supports the expansion of childcare programs to allow parents with childcare challenges to become more involved with their children’s education.

·        Supports Charter Schools if they are monitored screened and follow a regulated system comparable with the checks and balances of public schools.  

 

Energy

·       Will work with the Department of Energy to create a Renewable Energy Complex in Washington DC that will focus on Solar Power, Biomass, and light Hydropower energy which will trigger the creation of thousands of jobs for DC residents.

·        Supports making all government vehicles non-fossil fuel burning engines (bio-diesel, electricity & natural gas).

·       Supports the use of Bio-fuels to pull the U.S. away from its dependence on fossil fuels; opposes deep water offshore oil drilling.

·       Supports full scale recycling programs and tax credits for businesses that have aggressive recycling programs and fines for businesses that don’t recycle.

 

Healthcare

·       Will make fighting DC's HIV/AIDS epidemic a key policy objective and supports allocating more federal and local government resources to HIV/AIDS awarness and treatment programs.

·       Will work to garner more federal resources to fight childhood obesity in DC.

·        Strong advocate for nutritional education and exercise programs to support strong health habits among DC residents.

·       Supports Healthcare Reform including the Public Option.

 

Public Safety 

·        Supports interoperability between local and federal police departments; (comprehensive and cooperative policing agreements between the local and federal police departments in the District as well as inter-jurisdictional policing efforts between Maryland and DC to improve public safety throughout the city).

·       Will work to ensure that District citizens who have been victims of the disparity in federal sentencing guidelines regarding cocaine drug offenses receive fair and proper treatment under the new law.

·       Supports federal funding for a city crime lab. 

 

Housing/Taxes

·        Supports property tax credits, long term assessments (3 years) and homestead assistance to help local residents to stay in their homes.

·        Supports tax breaks for the middle class (advocates tying the growth rate of property taxes for homeowners to the rate of inflation to ensure rising property taxes do not eclipse the cost of living).

·       Supports increasing federal funding for homeless services and housing vouchers.

 

Business Support/Economic Development

·       Will work to ensure that federal development and construction projects include local and minority partnerships to strengthen our local businesses and firms.

·        Supports working with local Business and Professional Associations to create new economic development opportunities and to support and strengthen businesses in our city’s commercial corridors.

·        Supports more cooperation between the city and the federal government to boost economic development projects throughout the city.

·        Supports providing incentive programs to support private sector investments in building, construction and renovation for desirable uses. 

 

Various Stances 

·        Pro-Choice advocate (supports a woman’s right to choose).

·        Gun Control advocate (supports reasonable controls over the sale and purchase of firearms).

·        Supports an annual federal payment for WMATA & WASA to offset their budget deficits.