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Rishi Kumar'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.

Rishi Kumar has failed to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2024 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 2024.

  • "Taking away the right to abortions doesn’t benefit the people. It benefits immoral politicians and hurts women. It divides our country. Let us bring Americans together and let us work on the important challenges for a glorious future. Let us legislate Roe and get it done once and for all." (rishikumar.com)
  • "I am Rishi Kumar, and I pledge that I will stop the privatization of our Medicare system. I support Medicare for All!" (rishikumar.com)
  • "I will expand Medicare to include vision & dental and reduce your healthcare paperwork" (rishikumar.com)
  • "My fiscal responsibility includes a "no tax increase" approach and fiscal responsibility "cheaper, faster, better" to the public sector. We must leverage industry standard tools to make our government more efficient." (rishikumar.com)
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • "This co-option of the political system in order to benefit the private sector is perfectly legal thanks to the Citizens United decision made by the Supreme Court. But money is not free speech, and it definitely is not votes or public opinion. In office I will work tirelessly to remove the undue power of big money and lobbyists, work to end Citizens United, and restore the focus on American governance back to the American public, where it should be." (rishikumar.com)
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • "America’s defense spending is greater than the next 10 countries combined. We should cut our bloated defense budget, not increase. The new wars are going to be an economic warfare, biowarfare, bioterrorism. America needs to be prepared! Our defense strategy has to evolve, focused upon protecting America and not upon regime change wars." (rishikumar.com)
  • "America's infrastructure is collapsing. The last few decades have taken the eyes off real American issues. The gerontocracy is focused on partisan politics and not addressing America's challenge. We need fresh blood in every spectrum of American politics." (x.com)
  • "The infrastructure bill includes about $550 billion in new spending over 10 years, since some of the expenditures in the package were already planned - not nearly enough to overcome the government’s failure for decades to maintain and upgrade the country’s infrastructure." (x.com)
  • "We need to explore options to fund low-income housing construction similar to the redevelopment agencies of the past, and launch new affordable cities. I believe in adding housing around transit stations but not violating the urban planning principles to maintain the charm, character and quality of life. I will fight the poorly planned housing push that preempts local control while ignoring the need for truly affordable housing, displaces small businesses, disregards any infrastructure plan for traffic, parking, water, sewers, environment and wildlife risks." (rishikumar.com)
  • "The Federal government should purchase basic necessities like food and fuel during dips in prices and place them into storage. They should be realized during uptick in prices - that would stabilize the price of these products during crises. Adding new agricultural and transportation workers to our economy will help address the gap in supply of these critical products." (rishikumar.com)
  • "We need to reduce the debt burden on our college students even before they enter college!" (x.com)
  • "Ensure voting is easily accessible while ensuring deceased voters and voters who moved have been taken off the voter rolls, mitigating any attempts at voter fraud." (rishikumar.com)
  • "The United States must lead the world in reaching net-zero emissions by 2035. We must promote and create jobs in a clean-energy economy and build green-energy infrastructure." (rishikumar.com)
  • "Recently, we have seen rollbacks on environmental measures in the United States, and restrictive climate policies weakened around the globe. Now more than ever, we need the Green New Deal. Climate change is the most urgent issue of our time. The science is clear: global temperatures continue to rise, and the world is already experiencing more intense hurricanes, deadly heat waves, wildfires, and droughts." (rishikumar.com)
  • "Stop Fracking! ~17 million Americans reside in close proximity to a fracked oil/gas well." (x.com)
  • "I love @POTUS's suspension of new oil and gas leasing and drilling permits on public lands and waters (PL&W) for review within 60 days. Yep - address climate change. PL&W gas extracted is 10 percent of annual U.S. production, ~550 million tons of greenhouse gases annually" (x.com)
  • "Assault Weapons Ban: We have to reinstate the ban on assault weapons, which was in effect from 1994 to 2004. This would include prohibiting the sale, manufacture, and importation of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines that hold more than a certain number of rounds, aiming to reduce the lethality of mass shootings." (rishikumar.com)
  • "Red Flag Laws: Also known as Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs), these laws allow family members or law enforcement to petition a court to temporarily remove firearms from individuals deemed to be a danger to themselves or others. The goal is to prevent tragedies before they occur by intervening when warning signs of violence are present." (rishikumar.com)
  • "Universal Background Checks: A check for all gun sales and transfers, including private transactions and sales at gun shows, to prevent firearms from being sold to individuals who are legally prohibited from owning them, such as felons or those with a history of domestic violence." (rishikumar.com)
  • "I am Rishi Kumar, and I pledge that I will stop the privatization of our Medicare system. I support Medicare for All!" (rishikumar.com)
  • "The social infrastructure proposal: $500 billion climate change, $350 billion child care subsidies and free pre-kindergarten, at least four weeks of paid family leave, and funding for health care provided through the Affordable Care Act and Medicare." (x.com)
  • "Public policy based on reason & compassion. In Congress, I’ll take on the big drug companies to reduce the price on prescription drugs. I’m proud to be 1 out of a handful of candidates to refuse special interest and PAC $ —I’ll work for you, not them" (x.com)
  • "The Inflation Reduction Act, has capped insulin prices for Medicare recipients at $35 per month. We need this for ALL. We have to stop the greed - insulin was invented a hundred years ago and there are kids dying in America because they can't afford insulin. Congress has to!" (x.com)
  • "The Biden administration should extend Title 42: Migrants attempted to cross the U.S.-Mexico border at the highest level in two decades as the U.S. prepares for even larger numbers with the expected lifting of Title 42, the pandemic-era order that turned away asylum seekers." (x.com)
  • "We also need to help immigrants take essential steps towards becoming permanent residents. Immigrants are beneficial both socially and economically to America; we need immigration visa reform, including HR 1044, that will increase opportunities for qualified individuals to achieve permanent residency and citizenship in a timely manner." (rishikumar.com)
  • "With our allies, America should exert pressure via sanctions on Russia for the Ukraine Invasion: target Russian banks and debt, and ban exports of technology critical to industry" (x.com)
  • "Sanctions should continue. We should also continue with the clean energy initiatives. And we have to figure out ways right now to drop the gasoline price - it is affecting our working families." (x.com)
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • "It’s no secret that social media platforms have dramatically impacted the mental health of our youth. In Washington, I’ll push for the implementation of measures proven to mitigate that harm. This includes ’take-a-break’ features built into applications themselves and the active regulation of algorithms to ensure that they don’t promote or amplify harmful content." (rishikumar.com)
  • "Ensure that the legislation includes provisions for regular review and adaptation, acknowledging the rapidly evolving nature of digital technology and social media." (rishikumar.com)

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