Ron Barber'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.
Ron Barber has refused to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2014 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests.
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 2014.
- Ron Barber for Congress: Statement from Ron Barber on Women's Equality Day. 26 August 2012. " ¦ I believe steadfastly that we must protect a woman's right to make her own healthcare decisions." (ronbarberforcongress.com)
- Ron Barber. Twitter: @RonBarber. 16 March 2012. "HB2625 is wrong for AZ. Government should get out of people's personal medical decisions and concentrate on putting people back to work." (twitter.com)
- Ron Barber. Fiscal Responsibility. 18 September 2012. "He voted to keep taxes low for families earning less than $250,000 each year, and to end tax cuts for the richest Americans." (ronbarberforcongress.com)
- Ron Barber. 2012 Phoenix Arizona Election Questionnaire for Congress. Responded "We should let the Bush tax cuts for the highest brackets expire. If we did this, earnings under $250,000 would be taxed at the current rate, but earnings over $250,000 would be taxed at the same rate as the 1990s"which is, not coincidentally, the last time we had a balanced budget." to the question: "Should wealthy Americans pay more in taxes?" www.azcentral.com/news/politics/2012questionnaires/results.php?id=barberr
- Ron Barber. Statement by Ron Barber on Democratic Primary Election for Arizona's 2nd Congressional District. 28 August 2012. "I am committed to creating jobs by rebuilding our infrastructure, investing in education, and expanding the bioscience, high-tech, and solar industries in Southern Arizona." (votesmart.org)
- Ron Barber. Statement by Ron Barber on Labor Day. 3 September 2012. "My priority in Congress is to take action that will help our economy recover and get people back to work. That's why I voted to bring new infrastructure jobs to Southern Arizona and to keep taxes low for middle class families. It's why I am going to keep working to ensure that we invest in education and job training programs that will help workers right here in Southern Arizona." (votesmart.org)
- Ron Barber. 2012 Phoenix Arizona Election Questionnaire for Congress. Responded "I support the No Child Left Behind waivers that have been granted to Arizona and many other states." to the question: "What should the federal government's role in education be?" www.azcentral.com/news/politics/2012questionnaires/results.php?id=barberr
- Vote: (votesmart.org)
- League of Conservation Voters. Project Vote Smart: Interest Group Endorsements. 04/18/2012. League of Conservation Voters endorsed Ron Barber in the 2012 general election. (votesmart.org)
- Ron Barber. 2012 Phoenix Arizona Election Questionnaire for Congress. Responded "As a country we must take responsible steps to curb carbon emissions and preserve our environment for current and future generations. Cap-and-trade legislation has been considered in Congress before and did not receive the support it needed to move forward. I hope to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to find a comprehensive energy solution that will succeed, lowering energy costs for American families investing in renewable and clean energy sources for the future like solar and wind." to the question: "Would you support a cap-and-trade-style measure to address climate change?" www.azcentral.com/news/politics/2012questionnaires/results.php?id=barberr
- Ron Barber. Personal Liberty. 18 September 2012. "Politicians who have too much to say about your personal freedoms aren't actually interested in protecting them. A person's right to responsibly own and operate firearms is ensured by the Constitution. Ron has pledged to protect all of your Constitutional rights." (ronbarberforcongress.com)
- Ron Barber. Twitter: @RepRonBarber. 11 July 2012. "I will vote today against repeal of the Affordable Care Act. This is political theater. Fix the law, don't toss it out." (twitter.com)
- Ron Barber. Phoenix Arizona Election Questionnaire for Congress, RON BARBER. "The Affordable Care Act is far from perfect. However, there are key pieces of the legislation that move us in the right direction [¦] Certainly, more can be done to bring down the cost of health care for individuals and for small businesses"and we should be working to fix those pieces of the law [¦] We should push to fix the parts of the law that should be fixed, not throw the baby out with the bathwater." www.azcentral.com/news/politics/2012questionnaires/results.php?id=barberr
- Bill Hess. San Pedro Valley News-Sun: Dever, Barber reply to President easing of illegal immigration enforcement. 20 June 2012. "Barber stated he does not see the president's action as amnesty, something which the congressman-elect said he does not support. "The federal government has failed to fix our broken immigration system, or secure the border effectively. We in Arizona have paid a heavy price for these failures," Barber said. However, there is no reason for young people, who through no fault of their own were brought into the United States illegally, to be targeted, Barber said. He noted some have joined the nation's military and have served well. "Those who put their lives on the line protecting our country have earned a path to citizenship," the congressman-elect said, as an example of why the younger generation should be allowed to remain." (www.bensonnews-sun.com)
- Ron Barber. 2012 Phoenix Arizona Election Questionnaire for Congress. "Those here illegally must be required to pass criminal background checks, pay fines and back taxes, learn English and go to the back of the line" to the question: "Would you support some sort of a pathway to legal status for illegal immigrants who are already in the country and in many cases have been here for years?" www.azcentral.com/news/politics/2012questionnaires/results.php?id=barberr
- Ron Barber. Phoenix Arizona Election Questionnaire for Congress. Responded "The Defense of Marriage Act was a step in the wrong direction--and I am proud to co-sponsor the Respect for Marriage Act, which will repeal the section of this law that denies marriage rights to many couples. If people want to make a lifelong commitment to one another, they should be able to have the same rights and responsibilities that my wife and I have shared during our 45 years of marriage." to the question: "Do you support or oppose gay marriage? And should the federal government maintain or repeal the Defense of Marriage Act?" www.azcentral.com/news/politics/2012questionnaires/results.php?id=barberr
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Ron Barber. 2012 Phoenix Arizona Election Questionnaire for Congress. Responded "I have pledged to protect Social Security and Medicare, and make sure that it is available to future generations." to question: " Do you support entitlement reform and, if so, what kind?" www.azcentral.com/news/politics/2012questionnaires/results.php?id=barberr
- Ron Barber. Trying to Decide Your Vote in in CD8? 23 May 2012. "Medicare and Social Security are investments that people have made all of their lives and they should be expecting that they're going be there when they retire. ¦ Certainly [my opponent] Mr. Kelly has repeatedly said he would like to privatize and eliminate and phase out these programs. That's wrong for Southern Arizona seniors. It's wrong for American seniors across the nation. My work when I go to Congress will be to make sure we protect those programs and increase their solvency beyond 2024 for Medicare and beyond 2033 for Social Security. It can be done but privatization and voucher systems is not the way to go." (www.azpm.org)
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.