WASHINGTON – Republicans delegates adopted a 2016 platform at their national convention in Cleveland that supports statehood for Puerto Rico, but not for the District of Columbia. The GOP also wants to abolish the Internal Revenue Service, overhaul the federal tax code, and expand the use of P3s for infrastructure projects.
The 66-page platform, which lists the GOP's principles and policies, "provides a thorough look at how we will restore prosperity and security to our country," party officials said Monday.
The GOP regularly releases its platform at the Republican National Convention each presidential election cycle, but it is not specifically authorized by any candidate of committee.
The platform also addresses technology, homeownership, healthcare, education and other areas.
Puerto Rico
Under the platform, Republicans said they support Puerto Rico, currently a U.S. territory, becoming a sovereign state of the United States if the commonwealth's residents want that.
The GOP cited a 2012 local referendum where 54% of island residents voted to end Puerto Rico's standing as a territory, and 61% chose the option of statehood for Puerto Rico over nationhood. Once this vote is ratified, Republicans said they would urge Congress to approve an enabling act to allow for the opportunity for Puerto Rico to become a state.
The finances of the territory, which is currently facing $70 billion of debt and $46 billion of unfunded pension liabilities, are to be overseen by a federally-appointed oversight board as established by the Puerto Rico Oversight Management and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) signed into law by President Obama last month. The board also has authority to file debt restructuring proposals with a federal court if voluntary negotiations with creditors fail.
District of Columbia
Conversely, Republicans want to stifle statehood for D.C., which district residents will vote on in November following its council's approval of the ballot measure last week. Approval of that vote could lead to a vote by Congress on whether to make D.C. the nation's 51st state.
The GOP has resisted D.C. statehood because it would likely mean adding Democrats to a Republican-controlled Congress.
"Statehood for the district can be advanced only by a constitutional amendment," stated the platform. "Any other approach would be invalid."
The D.C council submitted its $13.4 billion fiscal 2017 budget to Congress and President Obama in June despite a bill passed by House that would prevent any such action without congressional approval. The budget submission is seen as a step toward home rule for the district, which the president supports.
Internal Revenue Service
Calling the Internal Revenue Service a "toxic" agency in their platform, the GOP officials say the organization should be abolished. This would be accomplished by simplifying the federal tax code, essentially making the agency "obsolete," the party said. The GOP believes the IRS has targeted conservative groups through audits and other actions. "It systematically targets conservative, pro-life, and libertarian organization, harassing them with repeated audits and denying their tax exempt status," officials wrote. "The IRS has become an ideological attack dog for the worst elements of today's Democratic party."
The GOP also echoed previous Republican calls for the impeachment of IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, who they said has "lied to Congress, hidden evidence, and stonewalled investigations."
Tax
In the platform, Republicans called for a simplification of the current tax code, though they provide only a general overview of what such a code would look like and how it would be achieved.
Admitting it would be an enormous undertaking, GOP officials said establishing a new, pro-growth tax code is a "moral imperative" and improving the tax code would be the most important factor in developing a prosperous economy.
Similar to the House GOP blueprint for tax reform released last month, the Republican platform does not mention municipal bonds but proposes eliminating unnamed special interest provisions.
"We will eliminate as many special interest provisions and loopholes as possible and curb corporate welfare, especially where their erosion of the tax base has created pressure for higher rates," the platform reads.
The platform principles on taxation are in line with those of the Republican blueprint for tax reform, which calls for a reduction in the corporate tax rate as well as the number of individual tax brackets to make the federal tax code "simpler, fairer and flatter."
The Republicans also call for maintaining of the tax-exempt status of religious organizations and charities. Donations made to them should remain deductible.
Transportation/Infrastructure
A core policy goal of the Republican platform includes eliminating certain Highway Trust Fund programs the party believes the federal government should not be involved in, including the federal transit program, which Republicans said they want to phase out over time.
Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act would also be amended so they would no longer delay and drive up costs for transportation projects, Republicans added.
The GOP took issue with one fifth of the Highway Trust Fund's spending going toward mass transit, which it called an "inherently local affair that serves only a small portion of the population" in six urban areas.
The GOP also stressed the importance of P3s to save taxpayer dollars and help fund infrastructure projects that it said can help bring in additional state and local revenue. The party said it will "remove legal roadblocks to public-private partnership agreements" to allow outside investment to help subsidize the cost of road and bridge improvements.
Republicans also opposed any increase to the federal gas tax, which is currently at 18.4 cents-per-gallon, to fund transportation projects.
President Obama signed a five-year, $305 billion transportation funding bill in December.
