George Allen refused to tell citizens where he stands on any of the issues addressed in the 2012 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart, national media, and prominent political leaders.
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 2012.
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding abortion.
a) Abortions should always be illegal. | |||
b) Abortions should always be legal. | |||
c) Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy. | |||
X | d) Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape. | ||
X | e) Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered. | ||
X | f) Prohibit public funding of abortions and to organizations that advocate or perform abortions. | ||
I have sponsered the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, legislation prohibiting Partial Birth Abortions, the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act, and the Child Custody Protection Act. I have consistently voted against allowing taxpayer funding to pay for elective abortions in Virginia, the U.S., and abroad, as well as on military bases. |
Using the key, indicate what federal funding levels you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category, you can use a number more than once.Budget Priorities
Slightly Increase | a) Agriculture | ||
Slightly Decrease | b) Arts | ||
Greatly Increase | c) Defense | ||
Slightly Increase | d) Education | ||
Maintain Status | e) Environment | ||
Greatly Increase | f) Homeland security | ||
Slightly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
Greatly Increase | h) Law enforcement | ||
Slightly Increase | i) Medical research | ||
Maintain Status | j) National parks | ||
Maintain Status | k) Public health services | ||
Slightly Increase | l) Scientific research | ||
Slightly Decrease | m) Space exploration programs | ||
Slightly Increase | n) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
Greatly Decrease | o) Welfare | ||
Greatly Increase | p) Emergency preparedness | ||
Slightly increase Aeronautics Research |
Defense Spending
Greatly Increase | a) Armed forces personnel training | ||
Greatly Increase | b) Intelligence operations | ||
Greatly Increase | c) Military hardware | ||
Greatly Increase | d) Modernization of weaponry and equipment | ||
Greatly Increase | e) National missile defense | ||
Greatly Increase | f) Pay for active duty personnel | ||
Greatly Increase | g) Programs to improve troop retention rates | ||
Greatly Increase | h) Research and development of new weapons | ||
Greatly Increase | i) Troop and equipment readiness | ||
j) Other or expanded categories |
Using the key above, indicate what federal tax levels you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category.TaxesIncome Taxes:Family IncomeRetiree IncomeOther Taxes:Deductions/Credits:
Eliminate | a) Less than $25,000 | ||
Greatly Decrease | b) $25,000-$75,000 | ||
Slightly Decrease | c) $75,000-$150,000 | ||
Slightly Decrease | d) Over $150,000 | ||
e) Other or expanded categories | |||
Greatly Decrease | f) Over $40,000 | ||
g) Other or expanded categories | |||
Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
Greatly Decrease | b) Capital gains taxes | ||
Slightly Decrease | c) Cigarette taxes | ||
Slightly Decrease | d) Corporate taxes | ||
Maintain Status | e) Gasoline taxes | ||
Eliminate | f) Inheritance taxes | ||
g) Other or expanded categories | |||
Slightly Increase | a) Charitable contributions | ||
Slightly Increase | b) Child tax credit | ||
Maintain Status | c) Earned income tax credit | ||
Slightly Increase | d) Medical expense deduction | ||
Maintain Status | e) Mortgage deduction | ||
Slightly Increase | f) Student loan credit | ||
g) Other or expanded categories |
Yes | 4) Do you support the permanent repeal of the federal estate tax? | ||
Yes | 5) Do you support making President Bush's tax cuts permanent? | ||
I support a Taxpayer's Bill of Right and introduced legislation to require a balanced budget as well as "Paycheck Penallty" legislation to withhold the salaries of Members of Congress if appropriatations bills are not passed by October 1st, the beginning of the new fiscal year. I support a requirement for supermajority vote for any spending over the rate of inflation and granting the President line-item veto authority to help eliminate non-essential, wasteful government spending. | |||
I am a consistent supporter of lessening the tax burden on working men and women, families, small business owners, retired people, and all taxpayers. I proudly sponsored the 2001 and 2003 tax relief provisions and believe that these measures must be made permanent to keep the current economic expansion of opportunity growing stronger. In addition, I want to give the death penalty to death taxes, which are particularly unfair and harmful to family-owned enterprises. |
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding campaign finance and government reform.
a) Support public taxpayer funding for federal candidates who comply with campaign spending limits. | |||
X | b) Increase the amount individuals are permitted to contribute to federal campaigns. | ||
c) Prohibit Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions to candidates for federal office. | |||
X | d) Allow unregulated soft money campaign contributions to political parties or committees. | ||
X | e) Remove all contribution limits on federal campaigns and parties. | ||
f) Require Section 527 organizations to register with the Federal Election Commission as Political Action Committees. | |||
Undecided | g) Do you support instant run-off voting? | ||
No | h) Should Election Day be a national holiday? | ||
Yes | i) Do you support a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as a union between a man and woman? | ||
j) Other or expanded principles |
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding crime.
X | a) Support the use of the death penalty for federal crimes. | ||
b) Eliminate the use of the death penalty for federal crimes. | |||
X | c) Support programs to provide prison inmates with educational, vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released. | ||
X | d) Support programs to provide prison inmates with drug and alcohol addiction treatment. | ||
e) Reduce prison sentences for those who commit non-violent crimes. | |||
f) Require that crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, and disability be prosecuted as federal hate crimes. | |||
X | g) Impose stricter penalties for those convicted of corporate crimes. | ||
X | h) Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults. | ||
Require DNA samples of federally convicted criminals and provide funds to States to clear the backlogs at DNA databases and laboratories. |
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding drugs.
X | a) Support mandatory jail sentences for selling illegal drugs. | ||
X | b) Expand federally sponsored drug education and drug treatment programs. | ||
c) Decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. | |||
d) Allow doctors to recommend marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes. | |||
X | e) Increase border security to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the United States. | ||
f) Eliminate federal funding for programs associated with the "war on drugs." | |||
g) Support a federal law to standardize testing and penalties for steroid use in professional sports. | |||
Support the sale restriction of products used to make Methamphetamine (e.g. tablets containing Pseudophedrine, Ephedrine and Phenylpropanolamine) Allow communities of faith to assist in drug treatment programs. |
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.
a) Support national standards for and testing of public school students. | |||
X | b) Allow parents to use vouchers, (equal opportunity scholarships) to send their children to any public school. | ||
X | c) Allow parents to use vouchers, (equal opportunity scholarships) to send their children to any private or religious school. | ||
X | d) Allow teachers and professionals to receive authorization and funding to establish charter schools. | ||
X | e) Reward teachers with merit pay for working in low-income schools. | ||
X | f) Increase funding for school capital improvements (e.g. buildings, infrastructure, technology). | ||
g) Support affirmative action in public college admissions. | |||
X | h) Increase funding of programs such as Pell grants and Stafford loans to help students pay for college. | ||
X | i) Support federal tax incentives to help families save for college. | ||
Introduced legislation to protect Virginia's educational standards from unnecessary federal intrusion; Supports efforts to increase the number of minorities and woman studying science and engineering; Introduced legislation to upgrade telecommunications infrastructures at minority serving institutions |
1) Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding employment.2) Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding affirmative action.
X | a) Increase funding for national job-training programs that re-train displaced workers or teach skills needed in today's job market. | ||
X | b) Reduce government regulation of the private sector in order to encourage investment and economic expansion. | ||
X | c) Provide tax credits or grants to businesses that offer child care services to employees. | ||
X | d) Encourage employers to offer flex-time scheduling, comp-time, and unpaid leave for family emergencies. | ||
e) Eliminate all federal programs designed to reduce unemployment. | |||
X | f) Increase the federal minimum wage. | ||
g) Support the right of workers to strike without fear of being permanently replaced. | |||
h) Include sexual orientation in federal anti-discrimination laws. | |||
X | a) The federal government should consider race and gender in government contracting decisions. | ||
b) The federal government should discontinue affirmative action programs. | |||
c) The federal government should continue affirmative action programs. | |||
Supports increasing the minimum wage and coupling the increase with small business tax incentives | |||
Supports affirmative recruitment policies that provide opportunities for all to compete and succeed, regardless of race, gender, or ethnic origin, such as upgrading technology at minority serving institutions and incentives to increase the number of minorities and women in science and engineering |
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.
a) Strengthen the regulation and enforcement of the Clean Water Act. | |||
b) Strengthen the regulation and enforcement of the Clean Air Act. | |||
c) Support Clear Skies Act to reduce power plant emissions by setting a national cap on pollutants. | |||
X | d) Require states to compensate citizens when environmental regulations limit uses of privately-owned land. | ||
e) Relax logging restrictions on federal lands. | |||
X | f) Relax standards on federal lands to allow increased recreational usage. | ||
X | g) Support increased development of traditional energy resources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil). | ||
h) Strengthen emission controls and fuel efficiency standards on all gasoline and diesel-powered engines, including cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles. | |||
X | i) Support opening a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil exploration. | ||
X | j) Encourage further development and use of alternative fuels to reduce pollution. | ||
X | k) Support the use of ethanol as an alternative fuel. | ||
l) Allow energy producers to trade pollution credits. | |||
m) Support the Kyoto Protocol to limit global warming. | |||
Supports accelerated exploration and development of domestic energy supplies (oil, natural gas, clean coal, and nuclear); accelerated research and development of alternative and renewable energy sources (soy diesel and ethanol, hybrids, solar power, and nanotech-enabled lithium ion batteries); and exploration off the Outer Continental Shelf. |
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding guns.
a) Reauthorize the ban on the sale or transfer of semi-automatic guns, except those used for hunting. | |||
X | b) Maintain and strengthen the current level of enforcement of existing federal restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns. | ||
c) Ease federal restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns. | |||
d) Repeal federal restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns. | |||
X | e) Allow citizens to carry concealed guns. | ||
f) Require background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows. | |||
g) Require a license for gun possession. | |||
Introduced Right-to-Carry Reciprocity legislation; Sponsor of legislation to repeal the D.C. gun ban; and Sponsored legislation to allow current and retired law enforcement officers to conceal carry across State lines, which is now public law. |
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding health care.
a) Providing health care is not a responsibility of the federal government. | |||
b) Implement a universal health care program to guarantee coverage to all Americans regardless of income. | |||
X | c) Expand eligibility for tax-free medical savings accounts. | ||
X | d) Establish limits on the amount of punitive damages awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits. | ||
e) Support expanding prescription drug coverage under Medicare. | |||
X | f) Offer tax credits to individuals and small businesses to offset the cost of insurance coverage. | ||
X | g) Support automatic enrollment of children in federal health care programs such as CHIP and Medicaid. | ||
X | h) Support stem cell research on existing lines of stem cells. | ||
i) Allow laboratories to create new lines of stem cells for additional research. | |||
Supports Community Health Centers; Sponsor of legislation to promote health information technology; Lead Republican on legislation to help states increase their newborn screening capabilities |
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding immigration.
a) Decrease the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country. | |||
X | b) Establish English as the official national language. | ||
c) Support a temporary worker program that would enable illegal immigrants to work in the United States legally. | |||
d) Relax restrictions barring legal immigrants from using government funded social programs (e.g. public housing, food stamps). | |||
e) Support amnesty for illegal immigrants already working in the United States. | |||
Two foundational principles; Secure our borders (more enforcement, border patrol personnel, detention centers, as well as actual and virtural fences) and do not reward illegal behavior, which only encourages more illegal behavior |
International AidIndicate which principles you support (if any) regarding United States economic assistance.
X | a) Aid should be granted to countries when extraordinary circumstances cause disaster and threaten civilian lives. | ||
X | b) Aid should be granted to countries when it is in the security interests of the United States. | ||
c) Aid should be eliminated for any nation with documented human rights abuses. | |||
d) International Aid programs should be scaled back and eventually eliminated. | |||
e) Other or expanded principles |
International Policy1) Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the Middle East.2) Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding Central and East Asia.3) Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the United Nations.
Yes | a) Should the United States continue to provide leadership in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process? | ||
Undecided | b) Should the United States support the creation of a Palestinian state? | ||
c) Should the United States withdraw its troops from Iraq? | |||
d) Should the United States send more troops to Iraq? | |||
Yes | a) Should the United States use diplomatic and economic pressure to encourage North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program? | ||
b) Should the United States use military force to dismantle the North Korean nuclear weapons program? | |||
c) Should the United States remove the North Korean government from power? | |||
Undecided | d) Should the United States increase financial support to Afghanistan? | ||
Undecided | e) Should the United States increase military support to Afghanistan? | ||
f) Other or expanded principles | |||
No | a) Should the United States maintain its financial support of the United Nations? | ||
Yes | b) Should the United States decrease its financial support of the United Nations? | ||
c) Should the United States commit troops to United Nations peacekeeping missions? | |||
No | 4) Should the United States lift the travel ban to Cuba? | ||
No | 5) Should the United States increase its financial support to Colombia to combat "the war on drugs?" | ||
No | 6) Should aid to African nations for AIDS prevention programs fund distribution of contraceptives? | ||
Yes | 7) Should aid to African nations for AIDS prevention programs fund abstinence education? | ||
8) Other or expanded principles | |||
I want our troops to come home as soon as possible. And I want them to come home in victory - not defeat. Leaving Iraq as a safe haven for terrorists will leave America less secure. We must continue to enable Iraqi security forces to fight terrorism. As these forces stand up, our troops can stand down. The policitical process must continue to mature. At the end of the day, the Iraqis must carry this burden. | |||
To help ease the burden on servicemembers and their families, I advocated the raising of the Death Gratuity from $12,000 to $100,000; worked to increase TRICARE benefits for Guard and Reserve; and support a tax credit that would allow employers to continue to pay the salaries of employees called up to active duty. | |||
The U.S. has already committed tremendous resources and troops. I support international cooperation for peacekeeping missions. The current level of the U.S. involvement is sufficient. I do not support putting U.S. troops under the command of the UN - They should only be under U.S. commanders. |
International TradeIndicate which principles you support (if any) regarding international trade.
Yes | 1) Do you support the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)? | ||
Yes | 2) Do you support the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)? | ||
Yes | 3) Do you support the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)? | ||
Yes | 4) Do you support continued U.S. membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO)? | ||
Yes | 5) Should a nation's human rights record affect its normal trade relations (most favored nation) status with the United States? | ||
Yes | 6) Do you support the trade embargo against Cuba? | ||
Yes | 7) Should trade agreements include provisions to address environmental concerns and to protect workers' rights? | ||
8) Other or expanded principles |
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding national security.
Yes | a) Do you support using military tribunals to try suspected terrorists when ordinary civilian courts are deemed inappropriate or impractical? | ||
Yes | b) Should the United States grant law enforcement agencies greater discretion to read mail and email, tap phones, and conduct random searches to prevent future terrorist attacks? | ||
Yes | c) Should the United States hold foreign states accountable for terrorists who operate in their country? | ||
Yes | d) Should the federal government increase funding to states and cities for homeland security? | ||
Yes | e) Do you support the prohibition of torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment of prisoners in U.S. custody? | ||
f) Do you support a policy of pre-emptive military strikes against countries deemed to be a threat to U.S. national security? | |||
I support increases in funding for the homeland security grants to states and localities and believe that such grants should be risk-based. |
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding Social Security.
a) Allow workers to invest a portion of their payroll tax in private accounts which they manage themselves. | |||
b) Allow workers to invest a portion of their payroll tax in private accounts managed by private firms contracted by the government. | |||
c) Invest a portion of Social Security assets collectively in stocks and bonds instead of United States Treasury securities. | |||
d) Increase the payroll tax to better finance Social Security in its current form. | |||
e) Lower the annual cost-of-living increases. | |||
f) Raise the retirement age for individual eligibility to receive full Social Security benefits. | |||
Supports plans to strengthen Social Security that do not adversely affect those already receiving or those who are about to collect Social Security benefits; Supports a reserve fund to protect the Social Security surplus; Supports eliminating the Government Pensioin Offset and Windfall Elimination Provisision |
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding technology and communication.
a) Collect taxes on commercial Internet transactions. | |||
X | b) Continue the moratorium on Internet taxation. | ||
c) Implement government regulation of Internet content. | |||
d) Support government mandates to curtail violent and sexual content on television. | |||
X | e) Support strict penalties for Internet crimes (e.g. hacking, identity theft, worms/viruses). | ||
f) Support legislation to detail how personal information can be collected and used on the Internet. | |||
X | g) Regulating the Internet is not a responsibility of the federal government. | ||
Supports government research and development in new technologies such as nanotechnology and supports deregulating the communication industry to encourage more competition, which brings more choices to consumers, better quality services and lower prices; Opposes the UN or any other international organization governing the Internet. |
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding welfare and poverty.
X | a) Require welfare recipients to spend at least 40 hours a week in a combination of work and training programs. | ||
X | b) Increase funding for child care programs. | ||
X | c) Continue to give states and local governments flexibility in and responsibility for welfare programs through federal block grants. | ||
X | d) Direct federal poverty aid through religious, community-based, or other non-profit organizations. | ||
e) Abolish all federal welfare programs. | |||
f) Support housing assistance for welfare recipients. | |||
g) Other or expanded principles |
Protect our freedom -- support our troops in the War on Terror, secure our borders, and make America less dependent on foreign energy sources. Make America a land of opportunity for all -- lower taxes, less litigation and regulation, more personalized healthcare options, and improved educational opportunities. Perserve our foundational values -- includes ensuring that unelected federal judges who are appointed for life do not disregard the will, the desire, and the hope of the American people. |
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