PEACE DIVIDEND

WHEREAS, movements toward democratization in Eastern Europe over the past several months are truly historic and promise to open up a new chapter in relations between the Soviet Union and the United States; and

WHEREAS, the current climate in international relations is conducive to continuing relaxation of tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union; and

WHEREAS, traditional defense postures, strategies and commitments must be thoroughly reevaluated in light of the change of events currently under way in Eastern bloc countries; and

WHEREAS, power in today's world is increasingly measured more in terms of economic rather than military power; and

WHEREAS, the policies of the 1980s led to a massive peacetime military build-up and a consequent disinvestment in important domestic programs such as housing, education, transportation, environment, economic and community development and the basic social and physical infrastructure of our society; and

WHEREAS, a sensible reordering of budgetary priorities that addresses the crucial domestic needs of this nation can be achieved through reductions in defense spending, the so-called peace dividend, without compromising our national security needs; and

WHEREAS, reducing the federal budget deficit can be achieved by raising federal revenues in a fair way that adopts an ability-to-pay principle without adversely affecting continued economic growth; and

WHEREAS, there is tremendous pressure on Congress to use savings realized from defense reductions to further cut federal taxes and to pay for the staggering costs of the savings and loan scandal, which could exceed $500 billion:

RESOLVED, that the AFT support use of the so-called "peace dividend" to restore funding for vital programs that were brutally slashed during the Reagan administration; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT call on Congress and the president to use at least a substantial part of the savings to restore funding for public education, including higher education; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT urge those members of Congress and the administration in the so-called Budget Summit to address the needs of the nation's children and cities in their plan to bring order to the national budget and economy.