This report was given at the Communist Party USA’s 29th National Convention by the Convention’s Program Committee.

The Communist Party 28th National Convention adopted a new program in Chicago five years ago. While new, it reflected the strategic outlook of the Party for almost the past three decades and was based on wide and broad discussion in clubs, districts, commissions and leadership bodies. It included dozens of amendments, suggestions and proposals.

The program has served us well. It was the basis of our approach to the 2006 and 2008 elections, and our engagement in the movement against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the fight for jobs and immigrant rights, for health care reform and more.

While a number of pre-Convention discussion contributions for the 29th National Convention addressed aspects of the program and there are arguably minor omissions and changes needed in the Program, our committee received no other concrete amendments of the Program for consideration.

One of the main discussion documents for the convention – The Party Program in a Period of Transition – is a document on Party strategy in this period of transition between strategic moments. It is not necessary to repeat its message. Party members and collectives have read and discussed it in the past three months.

Essentially, our committee finds the program to remain sound with the omission of two major developments that mark the beginning potential of a new strategic period: 1) the election of Barack Obama and the movement that elected him, and 2) the emergence of the biggest economic an financial crisis of our times in part brought about by the new predominance of financialization of our economy.

The Program Committee is recommending no amendments be made to the Program at the Convention, but calls on the incoming National Committee to form a committee to draft an addendum to the Program to account for these two developments. This is not a call to amend the Program as a whole. When the current strategic goal of a decisive defeat of the ultra-right section of monopoly occurs, the Party will have to wrestle more fully with the challenges and opportunities represented in the new strategic period.

Therefore we move that the incoming National Committee establish a committee to write such an supplement for addition to the Program.

Motion and report adopted by the 29th National Convention of the Communist Party USA, New York, NY May 21-23, 2010.

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