Troy Stouffer's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Maryland Congressional Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | ||
| b) Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy? | |||
| c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | |||
| d) Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered? | |||
| Yes | e) Should federal subsidies be prohibited from being used for abortion procedures? | ||
| I am staunchly Pro-life and do not believe that any tax dollars should be going to pay for abortions here at home or anywhere else around the world. | |||
1) SpendingIndicate what federal funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category- you can use a number more than once.2) TaxesIndicate what federal tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category- you can use a number more than once.
| Slightly Decrease | a) Agriculture | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Arts | ||
| c) Defense | |||
| 1) Intelligence operations | |||
| 2) Military hardware | |||
| 3) National missile defense | |||
| Greatly Increase | 4) Salary and benefits for active duty personnel | ||
| 5) Programs to improve troop retention rates | |||
| 6) Research and development of new weapons | |||
| d) Education | |||
| e) Environment | |||
| f) Homeland security | |||
| g) International aid | |||
| h) Medical research | |||
| i) Scientific research | |||
| j) Space exploration | |||
| Eliminate | k) United Nations | ||
| l) Welfare | |||
| Greatly Decrease | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Eliminate | b) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Corporate taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Yes | 3) Do you support the elimination of the federal estate tax? | ||
| Yes | 4) Do you support requiring the federal budget to be balanced each year? | ||
| No | 5) Do you support using government funds in an effort to stimulate and improve the economy? | ||
| In order to get our skyrocketing debt under control, we need to cut spending, not just the rate of growth. Our debt is piling up so rapidly that within a few short years, the interest on the debt will be more than we collect in taxes. The current philosophy of the career politicians is to just increase spending to fix the problem that they created. We need to make some hard choices and look for ways to get out of their mess. | |||
| I believe all of the tax cuts enacted in the early years of President Bush's first term should be made permanent. The cuts were not for just the rich. If the tax cut are allowed to expire on January 1, 2011, the low income families will see their tax rate increase by 50%, as well as the marriage penalty tax and the estate tax return and the Child Tax Credit is cut in half. Taxes in our current system only serve to stifle economic growth. | |||
| Government spending does not stimulate the economy. The Federal Government needs to get out of the way of small business and business in general to allow them to stimulate the economy. Government spending will only serve to put a stranglehold on our economy for years to come as the national debt skyrockets. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support privatizing elements of Social Security? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increasing the federal minimum wage? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the ability of workers to unionize? | ||
| e) Do you support federal funding for job-training programs that retrain displaced workers? | |||
| I believe in Congressman Paul Ryan's plan to save Social Security which will keep the current system for anyone over the age of 55, and allow those younger to invest in their own retirement. I have no problem with workers that want to unionize, but I do oppose "Card Check" and forcing union members dues to go to political campaigns, as well as requiring employees to join a union just to work in a particular job. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support increasing the amount individuals are permitted to contribute to federal campaigns? | ||
| No | b) Should Congress regulate indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| No | c) Do you support removing all contribution limits on federal campaigns? | ||
| No | d) Should candidates for federal office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support giving the President the power of the line item veto for items concerning appropriations? | ||
| No | f) Do you support limiting the President's ability to define how legislation is applied through the use of signing statements? | ||
| I believe that the current Campaign Finance laws infringe upon our Freedom of Speech rights given to us in the Bill Of Rights, but I also believe that the contributions and expenditures need to be open for all to see. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support programs that provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related training and job-placement assistance when released? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support programs that provide prison inmates with substance abuse treatment? | ||
| No | d) Do you support reduced prison sentences for non-violent offenders? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support mandatory prison sentences for selling illegal drugs? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | a) Do you support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students? | ||
| No | b) Do you support federal funding for universal pre-K programs? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support federal funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support federal funding for K-12 school vouchers? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the federal government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | a) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| No | b) Do you support international emissions targets aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| No | c) Do you support allowing energy producers to trade carbon credits under a "cap and trade" system? | ||
| No | d) Do you support strengthening fuel efficiency standards on all gasoline and diesel-powered engines, including cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support domestic oil exploration in federally-protected areas? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support federal funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the development of nuclear reactors? | ||
| I fully subscribe to an all of the above energy policy. "Green" energy technology is not here to be able to supply our energy needs, so we need to use clean coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear, and all available options until the technology is developed. The free market will develop the technology if there is a market for it. Artificial demand created by Government mandates will not develop the "green" energy that the politicians are claiming. | |||
| No | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you believe that the Second Amendment guarantees the right of individual citizens to own guns? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Do you support a ban on assault rifles? | ||
| The 2nd Amendment clearly states that we have the right to bear arms. | |||
| No | a) Do you support a publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| No | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Should the federal government expand eligibility for tax-free medical savings accounts? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support relaxing regulations on the importation of prescription drugs? | ||
| I fully support Health Care Reform, but what Congress passed earlier this year was not Health Care reform. It was a power grab by the Federal Government. | |||
| No | a) Do you support a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants? | ||
| No | b) Do you support decreasing the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support establishing English as the official national language? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| We are either a nation of laws or not. If we don't enforce all existing immigration laws, what is the point of enforcing any laws? The Federal Government and certain states and cities turn a blind eye towards illegal aliens. We cannot simply pick and choose which laws to obey. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support United States military action in Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support increasing military assistance for Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing economic development assistance for Afghanistan? | ||
| d) Should the United States continue to strike suspected terrorist targets in Pakistan? | |||
| e) Do you support granting aid to countries when it is in the security interests of the United States? | |||
| No | f) Should the United States support the creation of a Palestinian state? | ||
| g) Do you support increasing sanctions on Iran if it continues to defy United Nations mandates? | |||
| Yes | h) Do you support the withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq? | ||
| No | i) Do you support the United States' involvement in free trade agreements? | ||
| We are already involved in Afghanistan and we need to set a clearly defined mission for our troops and then let them complete that mission without the bureaucrats in DC constantly tying their hands based on political motives. The Free Trade Agreements make sense if the agreements were truly fair. As well as our corporate and business taxes and regulations make it more attractive for business to move out of the country and then export their goods back into the U.S.. Free Trade is great if the Government signed on to Common Sense Trade Agreements. | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| No | b) Do you support allowing openly-gay men and women to serve in the United States military? | ||
| No | c) Do you support federal funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | d) Should the federal government end affirmative action programs? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles | |||
| We first need get our Financial house in order. We need to cut spending and the tax burden on the backs of business and individuals. Then we nee to balance the budget and force the career politicians to pay off the debt and live within their means. We also need to ensure that the laws Congress passes actually meet the Constitutional standard. I support requiring that all bills before Congress outline which section of the Constitution authorizes the Government to act on that piece of legislation. |
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