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Ryan Zinke's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)

Office:

On The Ballot: Running, Republican for U.S. House (MT) - District 1

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Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
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Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.

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This candidate has responded to a Political Courage Test in a previous election. As a continued effort to provide the American public with factual information on candidates running for public office, these archived responses are made available here.

Montana State Legislative Election 2008 Political Courage Test

The Political Courage Test asks candidates which items they will support if elected. It does not ask them to indicate which items they will oppose. Through extensive research of public polling data, we discovered that voters are more concerned with what candidates would support when elected to office, not what they oppose. If a candidate does not select a response to any part or all of any question, it does not necessarily indicate that the candidate is opposed to that particular item.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding abortion.

a) Abortions should always be illegal.
b) Abortions should always be legal.
X c) Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
X d) Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape.
X e) Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
f) Abortions should be subject to a mandatory waiting period.
g) Require clinics to give parental notification before performing abortions on minors.
I am pro-life, but blieve that the difficult decision to Abort a child is the providence of God and family, not government. I support streamlining the adoption process to healthy and qualified homes. I further support parential notification.

State Budget: Indicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category, you can use a number more than once.State Taxes: Indicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category, you can use a number more than once.

Maintain Status a) Education (Higher)
Maintain Status b) Education (K-12)
Maintain Status c) Emergency preparedness
Maintain Status d) Environment
Maintain Status e) Health care
Maintain Status f) Law enforcement
Slightly Increase g) Transportation and highway infrastructure
Slightly Decrease h) Welfare
Maintain Status a) Alcohol taxes
Maintain Status b) Cigarette taxes
Maintain Status c) Corporate taxes
Maintain Status d) Gasoline taxes
Maintain Status e) Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
Maintain Status f) Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
Greatly Decrease g) Property taxes
Maintain Status h) Vehicle taxes
No 1) Should accounts such as a "rainy day" fund be used to balance the state budget?
No 2) Should fee increases be used to balance the state budget?
Promote recruitment and maintaining quality classroom teachers Provide incentives to keep Montana kids in state post graduation from college or vocational school. Consolidate schools purchasing and administration departments where appropriate and feasible.
Our government should spend within its means. Montana should always be vigilant to exam ways to increase government efficiency and reduce waste. Providing incentives for clean, small business opportunities promotes a needed long term revenue stream. I believe in a fair and progressive tax system that does not penalize incentive and innovation.
I strongly support meaningful property tax reform to ensure that Montanans do not get taxed out of their homes and/or farms.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding campaign finance and government reform.c) Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative candidates?

Yes a) Do you support the current limit of terms for Montana governors?
No b) Do you support the current limit of terms for Montana state senators and representatives?
Yes 1) Individual
Yes 2) PAC
Yes 3) Corporate
Yes 4) Political Parties
Yes d) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
No e) Do you support imposing spending limits on state-level political campaigns?
Undecided f) Should Montana participate in the federal REAL ID program?
I support the requirement for a valid Montana ID for all elections.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding crime.

a) Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and hiring of additional prison staff.
X b) Support the death penalty in Montana.
X c) Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
X d) Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
e) Decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
f) Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
X g) Support state and local law enforcement officials enforcing federal immigration laws.
X h) Support hate crime legislation.
I support work programs for minor offenses and streamlining our judicial system.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.

a) Support state funding of universal pre-K programs.
b) Support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students (No Child Left Behind).
X c) Support state education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students.
X d) Support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams.
X e) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any public school.
f) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school.
X g) Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries.
X h) Support using a merit pay system for teachers.
X i) Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable.
j) Support allowing illegal immigrant high school graduates of Montana to pay in-state tuition at public universities.
I strongly support recruiting and maintaining quality classroom teachers. I strongly support providing incentives for Montana kids to stay in Montana after graduation. I strongly support vocation schools that provide needed skills in the Montana marketplace.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding employment.

X a) Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers and teach skills needed in today’s job market.
X b) Reduce state government regulations on the private sector.
X c) Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses.
X d) Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for children in low-income working families.
X e) Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families.
f) Include gender identity in Montana's anti-discrimination laws.
g) Increase the state minimum wage.
h) Support laws that prevent employers from dismissing employees at will.
X i) Support financial punishments for those who knowingly employ illegal immigrants.
X j) Support increased work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients.
X k) Increase funding for employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
I strongly support reforming workers compensation and unemployment insurance. I strongly believe in creating the opportunity for good paying jobs, but disagree in providing long term entitlement programs. I support aggressive job training and skill enhancement programs in the industrial trades to maintain market competitiveness.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.

X a) Promote increased use of alternative fuel technology.
X b) Support increased production of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil, etc).
c) Support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops.
X d) Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused, or abandoned.
X e) Support funding for improvements to Montana's power generating and transmission facilities.
X f) Support funding for open space preservation.
g) Limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases linked to global warming.
h) Enact environmental regulations even if they are stricter than federal law.
I support a sustainable yield policy in the harvest of forest products and strongly support timber harvest in areas that require thinning for fire prevention. I support increased coal production for electrical generation and believe it can and should be done with adequate environmental safeguards. I believe the use of alternate energy sources and clean coal is preferred over petroleum based fuels. In some cases, Federal law falls short, in other cases Federal law is too stringent.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding guns.

Undecided a) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
Yes b) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns?
No c) Should a license be required for gun possession?
Undecided d) Do you support current levels of enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
Undecided e) Do you support current state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
I strongly support the right to bear arms for hunting and personal protection. I believe that background checks are prudent and necessary. I also believe that the sale of heavy weapons and specialized military weapon systems should be banned for public use. In most cases, I believe that in areas of high security, such as courtrooms, airports, and military bases, that concealed weapons should not be allowed.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding health.

X a) Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state-funded care where necessary.
b) Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
X c) Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
X d) Allow patients to sue their HMOs.
X e) Require hospitals and labs to release reports on infections that are a risk to public health, while not compromising patient confidentiality.
X f) Legalize physician assisted suicide in Montana.
g) Support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
I support providing financial incentives to maintain affordable private health insurance through caps on medical malpractice and through group rates. I do not believe the government can provide health insurance better than the market.

['Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding social issues.', 'Legislative Priorities']

Undecided a) Should Montana recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?
No b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry?
No c) Should Montana provide state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples?
Yes d) Do you support a moment of silence in public schools?
Yes e) Do you support voluntary prayer in public schools?
Yes f) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods?
No g) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs?
No h) Should the state government consider race and gender in state government contracting and hiring decisions?
No i) Do you support affirmative action in public college admissions?
No j) Should Montana continue affirmative action programs?
Yes k) Do you support state funding of stem cell research?
No l) Do you support state funding of embryonic stem cell research?
No m) Do you support allowing pharmacists who conscientiously object to emergency contraception to refuse to dispense it?
I do not support same sex marriages or the adoption of children by same-sex couples. I am undecided on the issue of same-sex civil union. I support allowing voluntary prayer on public property provided there is no undue influence to do so.
Meaningful Property Tax Reform Reform Workers Compensation and Unemployment Insurance Provide incentives for small business opportunities Provide incentives for Montana kids to stay in Montana post college or vocational education Ensure reasonable public assess to public lands, rivers, and lakes Expediate clean coal production and electrical generation capacity

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