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Donald Bacon's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)

Office:

On The Ballot: Running, Republican for U.S. House (NE) - District 2

Key

Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
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Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.

Donald Bacon did not provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2022 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.

What is the Political Courage Test?
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.

Nebraska Congressional Election 2020 Political Courage Test

Pro-life Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
Life begins at conception, and all life is precious. Abortion should only be allowed in those rare cases where it is necessary to save the life of the mother. There is a large consensus in our country and in our district that late term abortions should be banned, and I think this should be a priority because of the support to act now. Further, leaders in the Democrat Party want to use taxpayer funds to pay for abortions and I will strongly oppose this.
No In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket?
No Do you support expanding federal funding to support entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare?
No Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions?
Yes Do you support the protection of government officials, including law enforcement officers, from personal liability in civil lawsuits concerning alleged misconduct?
I support our law enforcement community and recognize their dedication and sacrifice. Reforms are needed, and I have enjoyed working together with law enforcement on those reforms. Ending "qualified immunity" would basically defund the police, as it opens officers up to countless frivolous lawsuits. I support body cameras for officers, ending chokeholds unless the officer's life is in danger, and other reforms. Ultimately, our local law enforcement uses a community policing concept that could be a model for our entire country, and I am proud to stand with our men and women in blue.
No Do you support increasing defense spending?
In the three and half years I've been in Congress we've gone a long way to fix our military. We restored 60% of the cuts that were done the previous six years. We are now on a trajectory that will see our military get healthier with each year. For example, when I came in, only half of navy aircraft could fly, now it is at 80%. Therefore, I'm not an advocate for more spending increases other than what is required to keep up with inflation.
No Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
No Do you support lowering corporate taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
Yes Do you support providing financial relief to businesses AND/OR corporations negatively impacted by the state of national emergency for COVID-19?
I supported the corporate tax reductions we made in 2017 that brought our corporate tax rates to parity with the rest of the world's average. Prior to this, our corporate taxes were about a third higher than rest of the world and this put our businesses at a disadvantage. We worked hard to pass the CARES Act, which helped those struggling during the pandemic and saved over 51 million jobs. This situation calls for drastic measures and our businesses were facing a disaster. Helping our economy rebound is my top priority next term.
No Do you support requiring states to adopt federal education standards?
I believe in local control of our schools. I do want to encourage our schools though to increase focus on the trades and technical training because there is a huge demand in the workforce. Further, I want to encourage schools to increase physical education because we are seeing decreasing readiness and health factors in our youth and that has longterm implications for our country.
Yes Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)?
No Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions?
I believe in incentivizing renewable energy and carbon capture through tax credits. I don't support carbon taxes as that raises the cost of gas, utilities and air travel. Carbon taxes hurt the lowest income earners and undermines the quality of life in our country. Our nation as reduced carbon more than the next 12 countries combined over last decade and we've done so through innovation, free market incentives and the use of natural gas.
No Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
We must protect our Constitutional Rights, including the Second Amendment. Enforcing the laws already on the books would be a more effective tactic than introducing new laws that only punish law-abiding citizens. We should protect the rights of the 99% who are law abiding citizens, and hold accountable those who break the law.
Yes Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")?
Yes Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19?
I voted for the American Health Care Act in 2017, which would have replaced ACA with a better alternative that kept the best parts intact, such as guaranteed coverage for those with pre-existing conditions. We need to make healthcare better by lowering costs, increasing transparency, and introducing more competition. I also agree that businesses should offer paid medical leave to those who may have contracted the virus, and the CARES Act provided funding to offset those costs. During this pandemic, keeping folks healthy is a top priority. This situation has proven that when a community comes together,great things are possible.
Yes Do you support the construction of a wall along the Mexican border?
Yes Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship?
This is my position for those who came here illegally as adults. I would support bipartisan immigration reform that includes increased border security and e-verify in exchange for allowing illegal immigrants who came to U.S. as adults to gain permanent residence. We have had little progress on our border security and immigration reform, and I'm eager to find bipartisan solutions that will help our country move forward.
No Should the United States use military force to prevent governments hostile to the U.S. from possessing a weapon of mass destruction (for example: nuclear, biological, chemical)?
Yes Do you support reducing military intervention in Middle East conflicts?
We can reduce our intervention, but we must ensure we do not leave a power vacuum that can be filled by radical groups - this is how ISIS formed. We have reduced our presence in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last 10 years. We should keep a minimal presence that prevents ISIS or AQ from gaining control of territory.
Yes Do you generally support removing barriers to international trade (for example: tariffs, quotas, etc.)?
I support free trade, but there should be a level playing field. When other countries take advantage of the United States, we should deploy tools to give our manufacturers and businesses an equal footing. The goal is to have free trade.
I've kept my promises from my first election: we cut taxes, strengthened national defense, and slashed regulations for our small business and ag communities. This term we've been focused on flood recovery, improving foster care and homeland security, and strengthening worker safety measures. I successfully got the funds to fix Offutt AFB and Camp Ashland, and significantly increased research funding at our NE Universities. Now we're doing all we can to respond to the coronavirus. If elected to another term, I'll be focused on economic recovery, lowering healthcare costs and border/immigration reforms.

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