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Matt Varilek's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)

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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.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
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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.

Matt Varilek refused to tell citizens where he stands on any of the issues addressed in the 2012 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart, national media, and prominent political leaders.

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Issue Positions

For Presidential and Congressional candidates who refuse to provide voters with their positions, Vote Smart has researched their public records to determine their likely responses. These issue positions are from 2012.

  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Matt Varilek. Sioux Falls Business Journal: 2012 Varilek Q&A: Cooperate on Budget. Responded, "As we continue to wind down military operations in Afghanistan, like we did in Iraq, we can redirect some savings from the defense budget," to the question: "How would you work to fix the federal budget deficit? Please be specific about what cuts you support." (siouxfallsbusinessjournal.argusleader.com)
  • Associated Press. Rapid City Journal: Democratic House candidates disagree on taxes. 26 May 2012. "The Argus Leader of Sioux Falls ( ) reports that in a debate, Varilek said taxes should increase for upper-income people but not for those with more modest incomes." (argusne.ws)
  • Ashley Kringen. KDLT News: Matt Varilek Faces Kristi Noem. 6 June 2012. "As we point out my interest in protecting traditional Medicare for example and Kristi's vote to privatize it or Kristi's vote to give huge new tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires and my belief that we can't afford to re-new the Bush tax cuts for those wealthier Americans." (www.kdlt.com)
  • Matt Varilek. 11 June 2012. Varilek Enters Race for US House. "I will be a voice for fiscal responsibility, and I'm not afraid to say that includes not only spending cuts, but also things like closing corporate tax loopholes, and letting the Bush tax cuts expire for the wealthiest Americans." (www.mattforsd.com)
  • David Lias. Vermillion Plain Talk: Varilek says he is a viable alternative to Noem. 17 July 2012. "'I was with him (Sen. Johnson) until I got into the race in December 2011," he said. "While working for the senator, I mainly focused on job creation and small business issues “ trying to help find resources for infrastructure in communities, like sewer systems and water systems. I worked a little bit on the funding for the medical school here at USD, daycare centers, and business incubators. I worked on a lot of small business issues trying to promote job creation wherever we could,' Varilek said. 'Always, it meant working in partnership with local leaders, with county commissioners, sometimes with the governor's office and sometimes with other members of the Congressional delegation.'" (www.plaintalk.net)
  • Matt Varilek. Release: Noem Breaks with Mainstream Republicans and Democrats to Oppose Export Bank. 10 May 2012. "I would be proud to join an overwhelming, bipartisan consensus to invest in these small businesses and manufacturers to create jobs here at home." (votesmart.org)
  • Matt Varilek. Issue Position: Economic Development for South Dakota. 1 January 2012. "Economic development occurs when we have a vibrant community of entrepreneurial businesses, along with elected leaders committed to helping businesses grow. We need to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit and make sure that our government is a partner to business. Often this just means staying out of the way, but it can also mean working aggressively to ensure that our infrastructure--from roads and bridges to clean drinking water and wastewater treatment systems to Internet access in our communities --is modernized and ready to serve the needs of citizens and businesses. I also understand the importance of access to capital across South Dakota, the value of workforce training, and the need for affordable housing to attract job seekers. Finally, I agree strongly with those who have said that education is our best economic development policy. I will support investments in these critical areas." (votesmart.org)
  • Matt Varilek. Release: Noem Breaks with Mainstream Republicans and Democrats to Oppose Export Bank. 10 May 2012. "I would be proud to join an overwhelming, bipartisan consensus to invest in these small businesses and manufacturers to create jobs here at home." (votesmart.org)
  • Matt Varilek. Issue Position: Economic Development for South Dakota. 1 January 2012. "Economic development occurs when we have a vibrant community of entrepreneurial businesses, along with elected leaders committed to helping businesses grow. We need to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit and make sure that our government is a partner to business." (votesmart.org)
  • Matt Varilek. Sioux Falls Business Journal: 2012 Varilek Q&A: Cooperate on budget. Responded, "As states continue to adopt Common Core standards, the federal government should work to be a good partner in the process. Common Core innovation has been driven largely by state and local efforts, and they should be allowed to continue leading the way as they implement high standards, but also preserve flexibility in individual states [¦] Beyond that, it's also important that schools have the resources necessary to do their important work effectively. So we should protect federal investments in education, such as Head Start, Title I and Pell Grants," to the question: "As the nation moves to Common Core standards for education, what are your ideas on how to make sure children in South Dakota and other states are getting a good education?" (siouxfallsbusinessjournal.argusleader.com)
  • Matt Varilek. Issue Position: Strengthening Education. 1 January 2012. "I'm committed to crafting a federal education policy that preserves flexibility for individual states and districts to chart their own paths to success, and delivers tools and resources to accelerate that success." (votesmart.org)
  • Matt Varilek. Issue Position: Securing Our Energy Independence. 1 January 2012. "In the short-term, we need to continue responsible expansion of domestic oil and gas production, continuing the progress of recent years in places like North Dakota [¦] Ill also work to enact a long-term strategy for energy independence. That strategy should include aggressively investing in research and development of technologies that improve energy efficiency. We should also push forward with expansion of renewable energy sources, including home-grown biofuels like corn ethanol, cellulosic ethanol, and biodiesel." (votesmart.org)
  • Matt Varilek. Video: Matt Varilek and Kristi Noem debate “ 9/24/12. 24 September 2012. "On the issue of climate change, I believe that it's real and I believe that we should take measures to attack the problem in ways that grow our economy at the same time." [45:43] (siouxfallsbusinessjournal.argusleader.com)
  • Matt Varilek. Plainsman - Varilek Tells Fair Crowd He Will Represent Middle Class. 5 September 2012. "Hard-working, middle-class South Dakotans deserve a member of Congress who represents them instead of the country's millionaires and billionaires, Democratic House challenger Matt Varilek said Saturday [¦] He also said he does not support an energy tax or a cap and trade system as Noem has charged." (votesmart.org)
  • Matt Varilek. Video: Matt Varilek and Kristi Noem debate “ 9/24/12. 24 September 2012. Responded: "No [¦] I have great respect for the second amendment. I'm a gun owner" to the question: "Would you vote to ban assault rifles [¦] why?" [40:00] (siouxfallsbusinessjournal.argusleader.com)
  • Matt Varilek. Issue Position: Hunting and Fishing. 1 January 2012. "I'm also a gun owner who enjoys opportunities to hunt, shoot trap, or spend time at the shooting range [¦] I will defend the rights of South Dakotans to enjoy that heritage for generations to come. That means preserving the rights of law-abiding gun owners and protecting our great outdoor spaces for future generations." (votesmart.org)
  • Matt Varilek. Issue Position: Improving Health Care for South Dakotans. 1 January 2012. "The Affordable Care Act, also known as health care reform, is far from perfect. It will not singlehandedly solve this problem. Yet it is step forward, and many of its provisions are already making a positive difference in the lives of Americans [¦] Instead of repealing the bill and then starting a new divisive health reform debate, Congress should work on further improvements to our health care system [¦] Among those future improvements, I would support the idea of achieving even greater cost containment through creation of voluntary regional health care exchanges as an alternative to 50 individual state exchanges (i.e., allowing for competition across state lines), which would provide consumers more choices at lower prices." (votesmart.org)
  • Matt Varilek. Video: Inside Keloland: Democratic House Primary. 21 May 2012. "The idea of expanding coverage should help to bring down the cost [¦] so if the bill is struck down, then I think we need to look at other ways, other incentives to bring down cost ¦ we just can't tolerate the fact that so many people are without coverage [¦] it can be tax credits or other incentives." 20:22. (www.keloland.com)
  • Matt Varilek. Issue Position: Improving Health Care for South Dakotans. 1 January 2012. "Instead of repealing the bill and then starting a new divisive health reform debate, Congress should work on further improvements to our health care system [¦] Among those future improvements, I would support the idea of achieving even greater cost containment through creation of voluntary regional health care exchanges as an alternative to 50 individual state exchanges (i.e., allowing for competition across state lines), which would provide consumers more choices at lower prices." (votesmart.org)
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Jonathan Ellis. Argus Leader: Varilek, Barth differ on gay marriage. 16 May 2012. "I don't agree with the president's new position," Varilek said, adding that he doesn't support efforts to redefine "traditional marriage." (pqasb.pqarchiver.com)
  • Matt Varilek. Video: Matt Varilek and Kristi Noem debate “ 9/24/12. 24 September 2012. "I've said that I support the idea of civil unions, because I believe everyone deserves to be treated the same [...] but we should leave the term marriage to the states and churches to define for themselves." [48:05] (siouxfallsbusinessjournal.argusleader.com)
  • Jonathan Ellis. Argus Leader: Varilek, Barth differ on gay marriage. 15 May 2012. "I don't agree with the president's new position," Varilek said, adding that he doesn't support efforts to redefine "traditional marriage." (www.argusleader.com)
  • Matt Varilek. Video: Inside Keloland: Democratic House Primary. 21 May 2012. "I support civil unions [¦] but when it comes to defining the term marriage in particular, I think that this is something that should be left to individual churches and state officials." 17:10. (www.keloland.com)
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Matt Varilek. Video: Inside Keloland: Democratic House Primary. 21 May 2012. "We don't have to keep the program exactly as it is, in fact over the life of Medicare and Social Security we've always made adjustments over time [¦] we need to keep making adjustments but keep preserving the core of the programs so they keep protecting people." 22:41. (www.keloland.com)
  • Matt Varilek. Issue Position: Protecting our Seniors. 1 January 2012. "I will stand strong against efforts to balance our budget by privatizing Social Security or turning Medicare into a voucher system that no longer guarantees medical coverage, as the House recently voted to do." (votesmart.org)
  • Jonathan Ellis. Argus Leader: Varilek: Learned "Value of Hard Day's Work". 26 May 2012. "Varilek also is critical of Republican efforts to revamp Social Security and Medicare. He does not favor raising the retirement age to keep Social Security solvent but says the solution can be found by raising the salary cap subject to the tax " now capped at $110,100 " and by adjusting benefits for upper income earners." (www.mattforsd.com)

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