Merrie Lee Soules' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
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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Merrie Lee Soules has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
New Mexico Congressional Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| I believe in a progressive tax system that supports middle class and low-income workers, while making sure the wealthiest among us pay their fair share. I believe our tax system should be simple and fair, and make it easy for small- and medium-size enterprises to grow and thrive. Our tax system should reward smart savings and investment in health, education, and clean energy infrastructure. I would also work to eliminate tax loopholes that benefit those who hide income offshore or use misleading accounting to shield their earnings from taxation. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Voters deserve to know who is funding political campaigns so they can better hold elected officials accountable. Political funders should not be allowed to hide behind shell corporations and shadow groups to shield their contributions from the light of day. | |||
| No | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| No | Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| Mandatory minimum sentences are not only unjust and heavily biased against low-income and minority Americans, they are also a huge drain on our country's economy. For one, prison costs in this country are enormous and rising, and they vastly outstrip the costs of investing in rehabilitating those who have offended from becoming productive members of society. Second, by locking up millions of our countries people for non-violent crime, we rob our economy of the production, jobs, income, and investments they would make if not incarcerated. I believe in a harm-reduction approach to drug policy, not mandatory minimum sentencing. | |||
| Yes | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Small- and medium-enterprises are the heart of the American economy and our main source of job-creation. Federal policy should gear the bulk of its assistance to helping these and other firms who hire American workers, not massive corporations who use accounting gimmicks to evade taxation. I also support federal efforts, such as the Export-Import Bank, that help U.S. business increase exports of American-made products to emerging markets abroad. Increasing our exports to global markets has been shown to have a significant positive impact on job-creation in the United States. Federal policy should support U.S. exporters. | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support requiring states to adopt federal education standards? | ||
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| No | Do you support building the Keystone XL pipeline? | ||
| Yes | Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Yes | Do you support increased regulations on the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Science is clear: Anthropogenic climate change will make our world unlivable for future generations unless we do something to sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions today. As a mother, I want to leave behind a world that my children, and their children, and their children's children can all enjoy. And it's profoundly in our economic interest to do so. America, and Southern New Mexico in particular, can become a hub of renewable energy, like wind, solar, geothermal, and more, creating thousands of well-paying jobs for U.S. workers in the process. | |||
| No | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| Obamacare is working. According the U.S. Census Bureau and the CDC, the percentage of the population without health insurance has fallen from 15.7 percent before Obamacare's enactment to 9.2 percent in 2015, the lowest level in half a century. More than ten million people have gotten coverage, and health insurance costs, while still increasing, are rising less quickly than before. We need to keep Obamacare going, not trying to repeal it. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
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| This is impractical. I believe few persons of undocumented status would be willing to return to their countries of origin to get in the back of a line before coming back in the United States. Most would remain in the United States, living in the shadows and defeating the purpose of such a measure. | |||
| Yes | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| People deserve the right to marry whom they love. Our society has evolved to respect the sanctity of this right through, inter alia, the Supreme Court's upholding of inter-racial marriage. Allowing those of the same sex to marry one another is another example of our society's orientation toward progress. | |||
| No | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the United States from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| Yes | Do you support increased American intervention in Iraq and Syria beyond air support? | ||
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| No | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
SpendingIndicate what federal spending levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category; you can use a number more than once.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 | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Arts | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Education | ||
| Greatly Increase | e) Environment | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Maintain Status | g) International aid | ||
| Slightly Increase | h) Medical Research | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Slightly Decrease | j) Space exploration | ||
| Maintain Status | k) United Nations | ||
| Maintain Status | l) Welfare | ||
| m) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Greatly Increase | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Small business taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Greatly Increase | e) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Greatly Increase | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | k) Payroll taxes | ||
| l) Other or expanded categories | |||
| I believe we need to focus on reducing inequality in our society by increasing wages and economic security for the middle class and lower-income workers; make massive investments in renewable energy to create thousands of well-paying jobs and make America, led by Southern New Mexico, the hub of the world's clean energy economy; and we need to make massive education in the quality of our young people's education so they can be the leaders, innovators, and job creators that keep our economy, and our country, strong for years to come. |
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