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Tom Marino's 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.
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.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.

Tom Marino has failed to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2018 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.

What is the Political Courage Test?

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 2018.

  • Rated 0% by NARAL Pro-Choice America (votesmart.org)
  • "I am Pro-Life. Our children, both born and those yet to be born, are a gift and their Right-to-Life is our Responsibility." (votesmart.org)
  • Signed a pledge stating, "I, Thomas Marino, pledge to the taxpayers of the 10th district of the state of Pennsylvania and to the American people that I will: ONE, oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rate for individuals and business; and TWO, oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates." (www.atr.org)
  • "This week, the House of Representatives continued to fulfill its promise to all American taxpayers and small businesses by passing legislation that will prevent a massive tax increase, protect at least 700,000 jobs, and set the stage for enactment of comprehensive tax reform that will lower individual and business rates and eliminate loopholes. Corporations in this country currently have the highest tax rate in the world at 39.2%. We must keep taxes low and continue our efforts to reform the tax code to boost the economy and create jobs." (votesmart.org)
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • "There is much more to be done and I will continue to stand up for the values of my constituents and bring accountability to Washington by putting an end to wasteful spending, balancing the budget and keeping taxes low." (votesmart.org)
  • "Government does not create jobs - business does. We should make it easy to start a business and create family sustaining jobs. I will support lowering taxes on job creators, reducing burdensome regulations, and eliminating red tape." (votesmart.org)
  • "The tax system in this country is too complex, too burdensome, and has stalled our nation's prosperity and wage growth. We need to get our economy moving again to maximize job creation by making America the most desirable country in the world for businesses to invest and thrive. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act makes our tax code more fair and honest for hard-working middle-class families who today are struggling to keep up with rising costs." (votesmart.org)
  • "'I think the U.S. Department of Education should be eliminated as we know it,' Marino continued. When President Jimmy Carter started the Department of Education in the late 1970s, the agency had 400 employees. Today, the Department of Education has 4,000 to 5,000 employees and is spending 'millions and millions of dollars,' Marino said. Despite the expansion of the Department of Education, more people are dropping out of high school than ever before and half of the students who graduate from high school cannot read properly, he said." (votesmart.org)
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • "We can stop burning every type of fossil fuel that we have. We can stop burning coal and oil and gas and wood and anything else we can torch, but if China, Pakistan and India do not burn fossil fuels anywhere near as efficiently as we do, us not burning those fuels is not going to have a significant impact on the environment; that's been clearly established." (votesmart.org)
  • "The Second Amendment guarantees the right of an individual to keep and bear arms. I support, and the Supreme Court has affirmed, this undeniable right." (votesmart.org)
  • "Tom is a member of the National Rifle Association and a strong supporter of gun rights and the Second Amendment." (votesmart.org)
  • "I pledge, if elected, to vote for all bills which seek to REPEAL the health care bill, H.R. 3590, signed into law on March 23, 2010. […] To that end, I would now and will in the next Congress endorse and vote for all measures, including discharge petitions, leading to its defunding, deauthorization, and repeal." (votesmart.org)
  • "Obamacare will crumble under its own weight anyway; it is just a matter of time. However the American people cannot wait for an undefinable period of time before they feel the necessary relief and protection from it." (votesmart.org)
  • "We do need a wall between Mexico," he said." (votesmart.org)
  • "As a second generation American, Tom is very aware of the hope and opportunity America affords to all seeking a better life. Any immigration proposal that grants amnesty to those who broke the law only punishes those who seek to come to America by following the law." (votesmart.org)
  • 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.
  • "Tom understands that taking the fight to our nation’s enemies is the only way to protect our country. That means diplomacy and, when necessary, the use of overwhelming and resolute force." (www.tommarinoforcongress.com)
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.
Pro-life a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life?
No b) Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy?
Yes c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape?
Yes d) Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered?
No e) Should federal subsidies be prohibited from being used for abortion procedures?
f) Other or expanded principles

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.

a) Agriculture
b) Arts
c) Defense
1) Intelligence operations
2) Military hardware
3) National missile defense
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
k) United Nations
l) Welfare
m) Other or expanded categories
a) Alcohol taxes
b) Capital gains taxes
c) Cigarette taxes
d) Corporate taxes
e) Gasoline taxes
f) Income taxes (low-income families)
g) Income taxes (middle-income families)
h) Income taxes (high-income families)
i) Other or expanded categories
4) Do you support requiring the federal budget to be balanced each year?
6) Other or expanded principles
Yes 3) Do you support the elimination of the federal estate tax?
No 5) Do you support using government funds in an effort to stimulate and improve the economy?
Yes a) Do you support privatizing elements of Social Security?
Yes b) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector?
Yes c) Do you support increasing the federal minimum wage?
Yes d) Do you support the ability of workers to unionize?
Yes e) Do you support federal funding for job-training programs that retrain displaced workers?
f) Other or expanded principles
No 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?
Yes f) Do you support limiting the President's ability to define how legislation is applied through the use of signing statements?
g) Other or expanded principles
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?
Yes 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?
Yes 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?
Yes 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?
h) Other or expanded principles
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?
e) Other or expanded principles
No a) Do you support a publicly-administered health insurance option?
Yes 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?
f) Other or expanded principles
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?
e) Other or expanded principles
Yes a) Do you support United States military action in Afghanistan?
Yes b) Do you support increasing military assistance for Afghanistan?
No c) Do you support increasing economic development assistance for Afghanistan?
Yes d) Should the United States continue to strike suspected terrorist targets in Pakistan?
Yes e) Do you support granting aid to countries when it is in the security interests of the United States?
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?
h) Do you support the withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq?
i) Do you support the United States' involvement in free trade agreements?
j) Other or expanded principles
Yes a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman?
b) Do you support allowing openly-gay men and women to serve in the United States military?
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
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.

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