Sean Bielat's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Sean Bielat has demonstrated Political Courage by telling citizens where he stands on the issues he may face if elected.
Massachusetts Congressional Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| No | Do you support a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan? | ||
| Unknown Position | Do you support United States' combat operations in Afghanistan? | ||
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| [Do you support United States' combat operations in Afghanistan?] Candidate answered "Yes" and "No". I believe there is value in continuing the counter-terror mission in Afghanistan. I do not believe that we need a large long-term nation-building force in place. I oppose a timetable simply because a publicly available timetable greatly increases the likelihood of a planned Taliban response. | |||
Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing the federal budget.In order to balance the budget,
| Yes | do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| No | do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Yes | do you support reducing Medicaid spending? | ||
| Yes | do you support reducing Medicare spending? | ||
| Yes | Is balancing the budget a legislative priority? | ||
| Sustainable deficit reduction can only occur through entitlement reform. Means-based testing, increased age of first benefit and other reforms will be necessary. These changes will be difficult and will require our legislators to put America's future ahead of their own careers. Real reform will be politically difficult, but the costs of inaction will be financially devastating. Additionally, if we want these programs to be available for future generations we need to reform them now. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| I do believe in limited regulation, e.g., no foreign entities should be allowed to influence U.S. elections. This does not mean that I favor eliminating indirect contributions or independent campaigns in support of specific candidates by outside organizations. | |||
| No | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| As a pro-life candidate, I believe that life should be respected at all stages. While I believe that those who commit gross crimes should be punished, I cannot justify the death penalty. Furthermore, the financial burden of pursuing capital punishment costs far more than sentencing a convict to life in prison. | |||
| No | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | Do you support spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the temporary extension of unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the 2010 temporary extension of tax relief? | ||
| Real economic growth is driven by businesses working to compete and grow in the free market. Government cannot create jobs (aside from government jobs); only business can create jobs and sustainable economic growth. I support necessary spending on infrastructure but not spending solely for the purpose of creating jobs. I support the extension of unemployment benefits that are restructured to provide incentives to get back to work, e.g., increasing the cap on salary that can be earned while still receiving benefits which helps businesses to hire less expensively and allows the unemployed to find jobs more quickly. | |||
| Yes | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| Generally speaking I don't believe that the federal government has much of a role in education Constitutionally but if grants are being made, the federal government should be able to place any necessary requirements. | |||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| No | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Human activities do impact climate, e.g., smog. However, the extent to which human activities are responsible for certain types of change is open to debate. However, when it comes to environmental issues, we should not just argue about what's causing change. Instead, we should engage in the debate about what to do about it. As a conservative, I take the view that the more environmental solutions can be based on free-market principles, the better the outcome. Heavy regulation often comes with heavy costs. Government should not pick winners and losers among competing technologies, but government can play an important role[...] | |||
| Yes | Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| The right for ordinary citizens to keep and bear arms and protect themselves and their families was enshrined in the Constitution more than two centuries ago. I support this right and I believe that, like all other portions of the Constitution, it is part of the fabric of this nation. There are some obvious and basic restrictions (not necessarily prohibitions) that I support, e.g., those focused on crew-served weapons, i.e., weapons systems requiring more than one person to operate. | |||
| Yes | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | ||
| No | Should individuals be required to purchase health insurance, as mandated in the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | ||
| I embrace solutions that will bring down health care costs, ensure high quality and provide greater access and transparency, such as allowing interstate competition to decrease costs and increase consumer choice; increasing price transparency so consumers are aware of the costs associated with different providers and treatment options; expanding private-sector minute clinics and similar retail treatment options; reducing the impact of malpractice on medical care by bringing down spiraling liability insurance costs for physicians; and making insurance portable for everyone, rather than tying it to one's employer. | |||
| Yes | Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| Yes | Do you support allowing illegal immigrants, who were brought to the United States as minors, to pursue citizenship without returning to their country of origin? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration law by state and local police? | ||
| Workers deserve the protections granted under law and employers need to rely on a ready workforce to keep their businesses and our economy strong. Thoughtful immigration reform must include: securing our borders to seal out terrorists, drug gangs and human trafficker; recognizing and addressing the special burden on border states; welcoming documented workers who keep our economy strong and contribute to our social fabric; and investigating immigration status only if someone is stopped for other violations. I support allowing those who serve honorably in our Armed Forces to pursue citizenship without returning to their country of origin. | |||
| No | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| I believe that state governments, through a legislative process, should be able to decide to sanction civil unions. I support the idea that individuals should be able to determine disposition of money and property as they see fit, as well as defining things such as visitation rights. However, the definition of "marriage" is straightforward and has been established for many centuries; it's not an appropriate term to describe a legal relationship. The term and concept of "marriage" is grounded in history and religion; it should remain within the purview of churches. | |||
| Yes | Do you support targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict? | ||
| Yes | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| While I hope sanctions work, a nuclear Iran may now be an irreversible fact; however, we should continue to consider all necessary options to prevent this known sponsor of state terror from becoming a nuclear power. We should work closely with Israel in this effort as their military capability continues to provide a sufficiently credible threat to keep Iran aware of the potential costs of continuing down the path of nuclear development. | |||
| Yes | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| As it stands, Social Security is not sustainable. By the time my children, now age 2 and 9 months, are young adults, the system will be bankrupt. It is important to ensure that least some of what individuals pay during the course of their careers is availalble to them in their retirement. We must reform Social Security by allowing individuals to invest a portion of their taxes in conjunction with other reforms such as gradually raising the retirement age. | |||
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.
| Greatly Decrease | a) Agriculture | ||
| Eliminate | b) Arts | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Education | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Environment | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Medical Research | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Space exploration | ||
| Greatly Decrease | k) United Nations | ||
| Greatly Decrease | l) Welfare | ||
| Greatly Decrease | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Eliminate | e) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | i) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | j) Payroll taxes | ||
| Cuts to the Department of Defense should be focused on reducing the bloated defense bureaucracy, improving acquisition processes, and reforming the defense benefit system per the Department of Defense's requests. I do not advocate cutting combat capabilities. Spending on Homeland Security should be reduced simply because so much of it is wasted. Allocated efficiently, Homeland Security is a worthy area for expenditure | |||
| I would definitely support elimination of any of these taxes, if possible. | |||
| As a member of Congress, my top priorities would be to get America back to work and the economy growing again by getting the government out of the way of individuals. This would be done by 1) reducing the tax burden that individuals and small businesses shoulder 2) reducing costly regulations that are strangling growth and innovation and 3) remove economic uncertainty by repealing Obamacare. We must also work to reduce the deficit by reforming entitlement programs, which comprises the largest portion of the national budget. While it will be painful and difficult, the prospects of future generations depend on[...] |
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