Dick Durbin's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Office:
- U.S. Senate (IL) - Sr, Democratic Majority Whip
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.
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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.
Dick Durbin has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2020 Political Courage Test.
Illinois Congressional Election 2020 Political Courage Test
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Yes | Do you support expanding federal funding to support entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Unknown Position | Do you support the protection of government officials, including law enforcement officers, from personal liability in civil lawsuits concerning alleged misconduct? | ||
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| Yes | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
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| In certain circumstances, it may make sense to lower some corporate taxes to promote economic growth. For example, I introduced the Patriot Employer Tax Credit Act, which would give corporations a tax credit if they verify they are not shipping jobs overseas and that they are providing good pay and benefits to their workers, including providing quality health insurance, helping people save for retirement, providing paid sick and family medical leave, and investing in a diverse workforce. | |||
| Yes | Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
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| No | Do you support the construction of a wall along the Mexican border? | ||
| No | Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| Senator Durbin was one of eight Senators who authored bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform legislation that passed the Senate 68-32. He will continue to fight for reforms to fix our broken immigration system, including creating an accountable path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants in the United States. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | Do you generally support removing barriers to international trade (for example: tariffs, quotas, etc.)? | ||
| While Senator Durbin supports removing some barriers to international trade, some circumstances such as unfair trade practices by bad actors like China may require counteractive measures. However, it is important that when implementing tariffs and other trade correcting techniques that they be surgically applied and in a transparent and fair manner. | |||
| Senator Durbin is running for re-election because there is still work to be done on behalf of the people of Illinois--from reducing the costs of prescription drug prices for families and increasing federal investment in medical, science, and agriculture research that create good-paying jobs in Illinois to protecting the Great Lakes and fighting for criminal justice reform. |
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