The NFHS topic committee is meeting this morning to narrow down the list of eight working resolutions to the final five that will appear on the national ballot.
Update:
1. The Russia topic was voted out in the first ballot. There were 28 total ballots; each ballot ranked the top five topics. Russia received 8 votes; Urban Renewal finished seventh with 9 votes and so remains on the ballot.
2. The Urban Renewal topic was voted out on the second ballot. One more balloting will occur to eliminate another topic; the final five topics will appear on the national ballot.
3. The IMF/World Bank topic was voted out on the third ballot. It received 13 votes; the second-lowest vote recipient was Cyber Security with 17. The top vote getters were India (25/28), Southeast Asia (24), Space Policy (24), and China (22).
Three of the following topics will NOT make the cut:
Cyber Warfare: The United States federal government should establish rules of engagement governing its use of cyber warfare.
Southeast Asia: The United States federal government should substantially increase its development assistance to Southeast Asia.
Russia: The United States federal government should substantially increase its constructive engagement with the Russian Federation.
Space: The United States federal government should substantially increase its exploration and/or development of space beyond the Earth’s mesosphere.
India: The United States federal government should substantially increase its cooperation with India in one or more of the following areas: civilian space programs, nuclear proliferation, trade.
Urban Renewal: The United States federal government should substantially increase its urban renewal assistance in the United States.
IMF/World Bank: The International Monetary Fund and/or the World Bank should eliminate one or more economic policy conditions placed upon Highly Indebted Poor Countries.
China: The United States federal government should substantially increase its economic engagement with the People’s Republic of China on one or more of the following issues: trade, currency, environment.
Discussion and advocacy of each topic is underway; voting will begin in the next hour or so. I will update this post as votes are taken and topics are eliminated.