Vermont Congressional Election 2010 Political Courage Test

Abortion

1. Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life?
- Pro-life

2. Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy?
- No

3. Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape?
- Yes

4. Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered?
- Yes

5. Should federal subsidies be prohibited from being used for abortion procedures?
- Yes

6. Other or expanded principles
- I believe abortion should be legal until the fetus is able to survive outside the womb, and possibly until the fetus can feel pain which I have been told is around the fifth month.

Budget, Spending, and Tax

Spending

Indicate 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.

1. Agriculture
- Greatly Decrease

2. Arts
- Greatly Decrease

3. Defense
- Slightly Decrease

4. Intelligence operations
- Maintain Status

5. Military hardware
- Maintain Status

6. National missile defense
- Eliminate

7. Salary and benefits for active duty personnel
- Slightly Increase

8. Programs to improve troop retention rates
- Maintain Status

9. Research and development of new weapons
- Slightly Decrease

Spending

Indicate 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.

1. Education
- Greatly Decrease

2. Environment
- Maintain Status

3. Homeland security
- Maintain Status

4. International aid
- Slightly Decrease

5. Medical research
- Slightly Increase

6. Scientific research
- Maintain Status

7. Space exploration
- Maintain Status

8. United Nations
- Greatly Decrease

9. Welfare
- Slightly Decrease

10. Other or expanded categories
- d) Eliminate the department of education and slightly increase money to local communities. k) Greatly reduce involvement in the United Nations and instead work to establish a world-wide treaty of non-aggression and basic human rights.

Taxes

Indicate 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.

1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status

2. Capital gains taxes
- Slightly Decrease

3. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status

4. Corporate taxes
- Greatly Increase

5. Gasoline taxes
- Maintain Status

6. Income taxes (low-income families)
- Eliminate

7. Income taxes (middle-income families)
- Eliminate

8. Income taxes (high-income families)
- Maintain Status

9. Other or expanded categories
- d) Require all companies making a profit in this country to pay income tax on that profit based on the percentage of American labor used. No increase on the base tax rate. f,g,h) Enact a flat tax where the first $75,000 of income is exempt from tax creating a trickle up economy and reducing the burden on small business owners in compliance cost and time.

10. Do you support the elimination of the federal estate tax?
- No

11. Do you support requiring the federal budget to be balanced each year?
- Yes

12. Do you support using government funds in an effort to stimulate and improve the economy?
- No

Taxes

Indicate 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.

1. Other or expanded principles
- 3) Not at this time but if the debt ever becomes reduced greatly then I would support a gradual reduction. Farms and businesses left to heirs should not be subject to estate tax until the inheritance is sold greatly reducing the financial burden to the heirs.

Business and Employment

1. Do you support privatizing elements of Social Security?
- No

2. Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector?
- Yes

3. Do you support increasing the federal minimum wage?
- No

4. Do you support the ability of workers to unionize?
- Yes

5. Do you support federal funding for job-training programs that retrain displaced workers?
- Yes

6. Other or expanded principles
- a) At this time the government needs as much money as it can tax to keep Social Security from insolvency. I believe in eliminating the cap on the FICA tax and reducing the tax rate to approximately 4-5% leaving people with money to invest on their own. Also by exempting the first $75,000 of income people will have more to invest in their retirement. e) I support giving displaced workers no interest loans for job training with a sufficiently long repayment opportunity.

Campaign Finance and Government Reform

1. Do you support increasing the amount individuals are permitted to contribute to federal campaigns?
- Yes

2. Should Congress regulate indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions?
- Yes

3. Do you support removing all contribution limits on federal campaigns?
- No

4. Should candidates for federal office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits?
- Yes

5. Do you support giving the President the power of the line item veto for items concerning appropriations?
- Yes

6. Do you support limiting the President's ability to define how legislation is applied through the use of signing statements?
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Crime

1. Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?
- Yes

2. Do you support programs that provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related training and job-placement assistance when released?
- Yes

3. Do you support programs that provide prison inmates with substance abuse treatment?
- Yes

4. Do you support reduced prison sentences for non-violent offenders?
- Yes

5. Do you support mandatory prison sentences for selling illegal drugs?
- Yes

6. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Education

1. Do you support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students?
- No

2. Do you support federal funding for universal pre-K programs?
- No

3. Do you support federal funding for charter schools?
- No

4. Do you support federal funding for K-12 school vouchers?
- No

5. Do you support the federal government providing college students with financial aid?
- No

6. Other or expanded principles
- a) I believe in standardized testing as a guideline only to allow local school districts to see how they compare to similar school districts. b-e) I don't disagree with federal funding to school districts but the money should not be directed or mandates be a condition for the federal funding.

Environment and Energy

1. Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change?
- Yes

2. Do you support international emissions targets aimed at reducing the effects of climate change?
- No

3. Do you support allowing energy producers to trade carbon credits under a "cap and trade" system?
- No

4. Do you support strengthening fuel efficiency standards on all gasoline and diesel-powered engines, including cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles?
- Yes

5. Do you support domestic oil exploration in federally-protected areas?
- Yes

6. Do you support federal funding for the development of alternative energy?
- Yes

7. Do you support the development of nuclear reactors?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- f) I am a proponent of ethanol and methanol from switchgrass and sugarbeets to name two promising crops which would eliminate any need to pay farmers to not use land for growing crops which exists now. I would support low interest loans, not grants or subsidies to help build the plants.

Gun

1. Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- No

2. Do you believe that the Second Amendment guarantees the right of individual citizens to own guns?
- Yes

3. Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns?
- Yes

4. Do you support a ban on assault rifles?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Health

1. Do you support a publicly-administered health insurance option?
- No

2. Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform?
- Yes

3. Should the federal government expand eligibility for tax-free medical savings accounts?
- Yes

4. Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits?
- No

5. Do you support relaxing regulations on the importation of prescription drugs?
- Yes

6. Other or expanded principles
- a) We can reduce the cost of health care by enacting several steps including tort reform (my plan eliminates the need for trial lawyers), helping medical providers set up a company to handle billing and collecting, allowing importation of prescription drugs, and help organize small community health clinics.

Immigration

1. Do you support a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants?
- Yes

2. Do you support decreasing the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country?
- Yes

3. Do you support establishing English as the official national language?
- Yes

4. Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- a) I support allowing illegals who are here and have started a family with an American citizen to stay with the following conditions: 1 The person has never been in trouble with the law 2 He or she is gainfully employed 3 He or she can pass a basic English literacy test both written and oral, and 4 The person commits a certain length of time to the military or community service.

International Policy

1. Do you support United States military action in Afghanistan?
- No

2. Do you support increasing military assistance for Afghanistan?
- No

3. Do you support increasing economic development assistance for Afghanistan?
- No

4. Should the United States continue to strike suspected terrorist targets in Pakistan?
- No

5. Do you support granting aid to countries when it is in the security interests of the United States?
- Yes

6. Should the United States support the creation of a Palestinian state?
- Yes

7. Do you support increasing sanctions on Iran if it continues to defy United Nations mandates?
- No

8. Do you support the withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq?
- Yes

9. Do you support the United States' involvement in free trade agreements?
- No

10. Other or expanded principles
- a,b,c) I do not support Afghanistan's corrupt president nor do I feel it is a situation where a positive outcome is possible.

Social

1. Should marriage only be between one man and one woman?
- Yes

2. Do you support allowing openly-gay men and women to serve in the United States military?
- No Answer

3. Do you support federal funding for embryonic stem cell research?
- No

4. Should the federal government end affirmative action programs?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- a) I support civil unions but believe the use of the word marriage should be not be used by any level of government. b) I would defer to the military for their opinion.

Legislative Priorities

Please explain in a total of 100 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected. If they require additional funding for implementation, please explain how you would obtain this funding.
- 1. Securing our borders and immigration reform which can be funded by ending our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. 2. Debt reduction by reducing government size and spending as well as through income tax reform 3. Affordable health care.