Abel Tapia'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.
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Abel Tapia has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2014 Political Courage Test.
Colorado Congressional Election 2014 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| I am Catholic and I know how I would deal with this personally, but I do not think that the government should be involved in this decision which is between a woman, her doctor, and her God. | |||
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| I generally support the closure of tax loopholes that the wealthiest Americans currently take the most advantage of but not an increase of tax rates across the board. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Yes | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support lowering taxes as a way of promoting growth in the economy? | ||
| Yes | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Tax incentives that are provided for job creation must concentrate on DOMESTIC job creation and there must be a measure of success and accountability for creating the jobs. | |||
| Yes | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| I do not support unfunded mandates from the Federal Government. States that implement changes should not just be eligible, but should be granted the money for the stated goal. States should not be punished by lowering Federal funding for their current systems if they do not implement the newest federal project unless and until that new federal project has proven without doubt to be superior to a state's status quo system. | |||
| Yes | Do you support building the Keystone XL pipeline? | ||
| No | Do you support reducing restrictions on offshore energy production? | ||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| No | Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Generally, I am a supporter of the 2nd Amendment, but I believe that there are instances such as in the case of unstable mental health history that restrictions on the purchase of functioning guns should be considered. | |||
| No | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | ||
| I believe the ACA needs to be fixed to make it better, but a full repeal is not necessary. In particular the ACA needs to address and eliminate the way that a state gets cut up into separate risk pools that forces people in rural and small towns to pay higher rates for the same coverage than their counterparts in larger cities. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| Immigrants who have been here contributing to our economy and our society should not have to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship. Many of those immigrants have been here so long that they have nothing to return to in their "home" countries, but they would likely lose their property and destabilize their families by being forced to leave before applying for citizenship. A path to citizenship for those who contribute to our economy and our society is essential to the continued growth of our country as it has been for our entire history. | |||
| Yes | Do you support targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict? | ||
| No | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the United States from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| Diplomatic efforts should be used first in trying to prevent hostile governments from obtaining nuclear weapons. We must remember that the easiest way for a country to obtain a nuclear weapon is by purchasing it from another country that has one. Diplomacy is vital to ensure that we take the best approach toward the country trying to acquire the weapon and the country that may be assisting in the acquisition of the weapon. Military force is a last resort when all diplomatic efforts fail and it is clear that the nuclear weapon is a direct threat to the United States. | |||
| No | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| The economic crash of 2008 is a strong warning sign that this is a bad idea. Social Security is a guaranteed safety net, and if we allow it to be even partially invested at the risk of the market then we are ruining its core purpose. | |||
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.
| Slightly Increase | a) Agriculture | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Arts | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Defense | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Education | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Medical Research | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Slightly Decrease | j) Space exploration | ||
| Slightly Decrease | k) United Nations | ||
| Maintain Status | l) Welfare | ||
| m) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Slightly Decrease | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Greatly Increase | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Payroll taxes | ||
| k) Other or expanded categories | |||
| My top priorities are: 1. Protecting medicare and social security for our seniors because they have already paid into the system. 2. Working toward comprehensive immigration reform that helps our small businesses, respects the sanctity of the family for those who come to work here and rewards those who contribute to our economy and our society with a path to citizenship. 3. Ensuring the infrastructure of our rural district is served by the Federal budget such that our small businesses can compete and our communities can attract jobs. 4. Protecting women's rights in health care and in our economy. |
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