What should the Federal Government do? #1 The Common Defense

The Federal Government should provide for the common defense by:

1. Funding the US Military. This includes proper levels of support for our military. No soldier, airman, seaman or marine should be paid below the understood poverty level.
This also includes completely funding our promises to our military. VA Medical care should be the highest standard of care in America. Not the Congressional plan, not executive business level. VA needs should be fully funded. A student-loan guarantee and forgiveness plan should exist for medical professionals to work with VA (maybe it already does), as should cooperative agreements between medical, nursing, and allied health profession schools and VA med centers that will allow work study arrangements, post graduation jobs, and internships.
2. Border protection: It is the responsibility of the Federal Government to secure our borders. If this means real fencing, build fencing, if it means virtual monitoring, do it. All in all, it will require properly trained and equipped people. Also, we must protect our ocean-fronts and ports, including inspection of all-incoming cargo and ships, to be conducted by people not affiliated or compensated by shipping companies. The costs of this should be borne by importers. They want to put Americans out of work to bring in foreign goods, then they have the higher price to pay.
3. Internal transportation: Federal Highway taxes such be used to establish and maintain a limited highway system, including bridges and tunnels, across the nation. The tax level should be reduced, to allow states to increase their taxes to handle the rest of their highways. More details about the size and scope of this system will come in the next 4 years.
4. National Justice: The Federal Government should provide for a judiciary and enforcement system that is based on enforcing constitutional law. This includes civil rights monitoring for all situations. It is time that organizations that participate in racial or gender discrimination to realize it is a crime, and have it enforced as such. Facing jail rather than 'reduced funding' should be a better deterrent.
5. International treaties: The Federal Government negotiates with other national governments, but may not trade the territorial integrity of the USA or our national sovereignty.

There are 5 more points under this, to come in a later post.