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Ben Sasse'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.

Ben Sasse has failed to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2020 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.

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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 2020.

  • Rated 6% by Planned Parenthood. (votesmart.org)
  • "The Supreme Court's ruling is a disappointment for millions of pro-life Americans who understand that being pro-life is about protecting babies and their mothers. Both sides of the abortion debate should have been able to agree that sanitary conditions and hospital admitting privileges are not controversial." (votesmart.org)
  • Rated 95% by National Tax Limitation Committee. (votesmart.org)
  • "These lower rates will make American businesses more globally competitive, but we are doing far too little to help make American workers more competitive in our fast-paced, global economy." (votesmart.org)
  • Voted in favor of HR 1 - Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. (votesmart.org)
  • Rated 0% by Alliance for Retired Americans. (votesmart.org)
  • "Seniors and the Next Generation: Expose Washington's entitlement over-promising and protect Medicare for the next generation." (votesmart.org)
  • "Politicians will stick their heads in the sand but Social Security and Medicare are going bankrupt. This ought to be a five-alarm fire, but you're not gonna hear about this in the general election because President Trump and Joe Biden aren't going to talk about this in the campaign. We have to make serious changes for future beneficiaries right now or everyone -- including seniors -- will face the consequences in a few short years." (votesmart.org)
  • "D.C. politicians sadly usually care more about scoring partisan points than actually fixing things. The JUSTICE Act isn't perfect, but it's a darn good effort to take legislative priorities -- from both parties -- and do something to fix policing issues America's had for a long time. Moderate Democrats signaled support, but that wasn't good enough for the far Left, who won't even let us start debate. Senator Tim Scott has thoughtfully led on this issue, crafting legislation that is worthy of a full debate before the Senate -- we should do that work." (votesmart.org)
  • "Congress should question the worth of every penny of taxpayer dollars spent by the Department of Defense. However, our National Security Strategy should not be based solely on budgetary concerns or threats in the immediate future, but instead balanced with careful short- and long-term threat analysis -- the readiness and effectiveness of an improperly balanced force will not be evident immediately." (votesmart.org)
  • "Offutt Air Force Base is an important strategic partner in the security of our nation and the economy of Nebraska. Steps must be taken to secure Offutt's current missions and seek to expand and/or add additional missions that coincide with the National Security Strategy of the United States." (votesmart.org)
  • Rated 100% by Center for Security Policy. (votesmart.org)
  • "This disaster destroyed many of our bridges and roads. Nebraska is going to be rebuilding our infrastructure for months and years. This $25 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation is welcome news and a continued down payment on the work ahead. We've got a long road to recovery but Nebraskans are going to get the job done." (votesmart.org)
  • "We need to invest in infrastructure but we have to pay our bills. Last week's budget bill proposed spending nearly $300 billion more over two years than we were already over-spending, and now the administration is proposing a $1.5 trillion infrastructure package. Infrastructure is important -- so important that we have to have an honest plan to pay for this stuff." (votesmart.org)
  • Rated 95% by National Tax Limitation Committee. (votesmart.org)
  • "These lower rates will make American businesses more globally competitive, but we are doing far too little to help make American workers more competitive in our fast-paced, global economy." (votesmart.org)
  • Voted in favor of HR 1 - Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. (votesmart.org)
  • Voted in favor of HR 748 - Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. (votesmart.org)
  • "Chalk up a win for kids and common-sense," Sen. Sasse said. "Everyone in Washington wants good teachers for our kids but that doesn't give them a license to micromanage thousands of teacher training programs. Today we put student-focused innovation ahead of top-down regulation." (votesmart.org)
  • Rated 0% by National Education Association. (votesmart.org)
  • "This is a win for kids because Washington's good intentions can't excuse garbage rules," said Sasse. "Every single member of the Senate wants good teachers for our kids, but that's not what the rule was about. Nearly 700 pages were written around the crazy idea that Washington bureaucrats are competent to micromanage thousands of teacher training programs across the country. Our schools, teachers, kids, and communities will have some space to breathe and room to succeed when we've reversed this absurd micromanaging." (votesmart.org)
  • Rated 100% by American Energy Alliance. (votesmart.org)
  • "The energy we use to power our economy has to come from somewhere and, right now, a lot of reliable energy comes from coal. We absolutely need to develop efficient and market-ready alternatives -- that's why I supported the Trump Administration's E-15 rule -- but we can't let Washington bureaucrats unplug our farms, homes, and businesses from dependable power." (votesmart.org)
  • Rated 14% by League of Conservation Voters. (votesmart.org)
  • Signed a letter stating: "Eliminate the "Clean Power Plan": The EPA has proposed new rules on carbon-dioxide emissions, commonly referred to as the Clean Power Plan. These transformative rules place enormous economic burdens on electric generating utilities, especially for a 100-percent public power state like Nebraska. Please rescind these extra-legal Clean Power Plan rules." (votesmart.org)
  • "As horrific as some of our recent national tragedies have been, they are not the fault of responsible gun owners. None of the new policies being pushed by President Obama would have prevented them from happening. Stricter gun legislation will not deter criminals determined to break the law." (votesmart.org)
  • Rated 92% by National Rifle Association. (votesmart.org)
  • "Nebraska Republicans have an opportunity to do more: They can elect not merely a man who promises to vote for the repeal of President Obama's signature policy achievement, but a senator who almost immediately would become one of the GOP's most visible and articulate experts on the health-care law's defects and the ways to replace it." (votesmart.org)
  • Voted in favor of S Amdt 667 - Health Care Freedom Act of 2017. (votesmart.org)
  • "U.S. Senators Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) have introduced an amendment to the House coronavirus legislation to eliminate job-killing paid leave mandates and instead expand eligibility for unemployment insurance to those who aren't able to earn a paycheck due to coronavirus. "Good intentions aren't solutions, and Speaker Pelosi's bill is filled with a lot of happy talk that isn't going to fix anything," said Sasse. "We need to make sure well-meaning but ham-fisted federal mandates don't backfire and create more hardship. The Pelosi bill puts a huge burden on small businesses that will hurt Main Street and increase job losses. Our common-sense amendment fixes that problem by making sure that existing programs get help to workers who need it."" (votesmart.org)
  • "I voted to support the President's emergency declaration to build the wall because we have an obvious crisis at the border and the National Emergencies Act allows the President to act swiftly and decisively. It's good that the Supreme Court has ruled that the Administration can get to work building the wall." (votesmart.org)
  • "Neither Party has been willing to get serious about border security, dating back to the mid-80s when a Republican president agreed to amnesty in exchange for promises of securing the border later. It never happened. President "You can keep your doctor" Obama refuses to lead on this issue because he is more concerned about turning Texas into a Democrat state than he is about solving the problem. Republicans must not make a deal with President Obama. We must secure the border. End of story." (votesmart.org)
  • Rated 100% by Center for Security Policy. (votesmart.org)
  • "A year ago, the United States rightly walked away from a terrible nuclear deal with Iran, the largest state-sponsor of terror. Today, as they saber-rattle and threaten to restart their uranium enrichment program, Iran's despots are making it clear that they're still hell-bent on destabilizing the Middle East and threatening American interests. The United States and our allies must continue our maximum-pressure campaign," (votesmart.org)
  • "Beijing may have put North Korea on a long leash but make no mistake: Kim Jong Un is a two-bit dictator. North Korea's cyber attacks, ballistic missile provocations, and nuclear expansion are a direct threat to South Korea, Japan, and the American people. These sanctions send a message to our allies and adversaries in the region." (votesmart.org)
  • "If the Obama administration failed to use the authorities that Congress has authorized to stop Hezbollah terrorists and their associates from pouring cocaine onto our streets to fund terrorism and acquire weapons of mass destruction, it was a colossal mistake. If the administration did so in order to shore up its foolish nuclear deal with Iran, it was a mistake of historical proportions, a mistake the consequences of which reach from the battlefields of Syria to the streets of Omaha and Scottsbluff." (www.facebook.com)
  • Rated 0% by Public Citizen. (votesmart.org)
  • "This is dumb. Europe, Canada, and Mexico are not China, and you don't treat allies the same way you treat opponents. We've been down this road before--blanket protectionism is a big part of why America had a Great Depression. 'Make America Great Again' shouldn't mean 'Make America 1929 Again.'" (votesmart.org)

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