Robert Pittenger'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.
Robert Pittenger has refused to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2018 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.
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 2018.
- Rated 100% by National Right to Life Committee (votesmart.org)
- "As a conservative Christian, Robert will never stop fighting for our traditional values, including the rights of the unborn." (votesmart.org)
- "[...] I am a father, and I am a grandfather. I have got nine grandchildren. Every life is precious." (votesmart.org)
- Voted in favor of H.R. 4712 "Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act" (votesmart.org)
- In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? "No" (votesmart.org)
- Voted in favor of H.R. 1 "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" (votesmart.org)
- "Are you tired of Uncle Sam picking your pocket? [â¦] President Trump and I agree you deserve a tax code that builds a healthy economy and helps make America great again." (votesmart.org)
- "In these challenging times, raising taxes on individuals and small businesses is irresponsible." (votesmart.org)
- "As your congressman I will fight to protect our defense budget and to fight for the money that our service men and women need. I will make our security the priority of our government." (votesmart.org)
- "[...] Congressman Robert Pittenger (NC-09) voted to fund President Trump's $1.6 billion request for a border wall, provide the largest military pay raise in 8 years, and increase Defense spending by 13% to rebuild America's military." (votesmart.org)
- "NATIONAL SECURITY: Reversed President Obama's potentially dangerous cuts to defense spending and readiness." (votesmart.org)
- In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending? "No" (votesmart.org)
- Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? "Yes" (votesmart.org)
- "Inefficient management and inadequate transportation funding is not only frustrating, but harmful to job growth and the economy." (votesmart.org)
- Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? "No" (votesmart.org)
- Voted in favor of H.R. 22 "Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act" (votesmart.org)
- "Other nations across the world are lowering their corporate tax rate to lure businesses to move to their country -- Canada just lowered their rate to 15 percent in January 2012. Failure to address this issue will only leave the United States with an ever-shrinking role in a globalized economy." (votesmart.org)
- "Shame on us for having the highest corporate tax rate in the world." (votesmart.org)
- Voted in favor of H.R. 1 "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" (votesmart.org)
- "Common Core standards, though not currently implemented at the federal level, mimic the same one-size-fits-all approach of the federal bureaucracy. In response, I have co-sponsored House Resolution 476, which strongly denounces President Obama's efforts to coerce states into adopting Common Core." (votesmart.org)
- "Local parents and local teachers best understand the need of local students [â¦]" (votesmart.org)
- "Prefer local autonomy" (votesmart.org)
- Voted in favor of H.R. 5 "Student Success Act" (votesmart.org)
- Rated 100% by American Energy Alliance (votesmart.org)
- "America has an abundant supply of energy resources, including natural gas reserves larger than the crude oil reserves of Saudi Arabia. [â¦] Renewable energy can be very important to achieving energy independence, but is only part of the equation." (votesmart.org)
- "Washington borrows $3.8 billion every day, and we can't afford to continue underwriting green energy while ignoring our vast reserves of oil, natural gas, and coal." (votesmart.org)
- "While we are hopeful the free market will take the lead in growing this source of energy, the real opportunity for energy independence is through the continual development of hydrocarbons -- especially natural gas." (votesmart.org)
- Rated 0% by Environment America (votesmart.org)
- "President Trump knows a good deal from a bad deal. The Paris climate accord would have had an onerous impact on our economy." (votesmart.org)
- Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? "No" (votesmart.org)
- Voted in favor of H. Amdt 585 "Prohibits the Social Cost of Carbon from Being Included in Agency Determinations" (votesmart.org)
- Rated 92% by National Rifle Association (votesmart.org)
- "History has shown that gun control laws don't prevent mass shootings. [â¦] restrictive gun control measures violate the Constitutional rights of law-abiding American citizens." (votesmart.org)
- Voted in favor of H. Amdt 1098 "Prohibits District of Columbia from Implementing Certain Firearm Laws" (votesmart.org)
- Voted in favor of H.R. 38 "Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017" (votesmart.org)
- "I have voted 20 times to defund, repeal, or replace Obamacare [â¦]" (votesmart.org)
- "My constituents asked me to repeal and replace Obamacare, and I am proud to have worked with my colleagues in the House of Representatives to deliver." (votesmart.org)
- Voted in favor of H.R. 1628 "American Health Care Act of 2017" (votesmart.org)
- Voted in favor of H.R. 596 "Repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and Health Care-Related Provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010" (votesmart.org)
- "[...] Congressman Robert Pittenger (NC-09) voted to fund President Trump's $1.6 billion request for a border wall, provide the largest military pay raise in 8 years, and increase Defense spending by 13% to rebuild America's military." (votesmart.org)
- "I will reject any amnesty proposals, strengthen our borders and insist that existing immigration laws be enforced." (votesmart.org)
- "[...] we do make the world and our community safer by supporting freedom, clearly supporting our allies, and implementing safety borders from our enemies." (votesmart.org)
- Rated 97% by NumbersUSA (votesmart.org)
- "I will reject any amnesty proposals, strengthen our borders and insist that existing immigration laws be enforced." (votesmart.org)
- "We need to secure the borders, ensure the rules are fair, support a suitable work-visa program, and provide real consequences for those who break the rules." (votesmart.org)
- Rated 0% by Americans for Safe Access (votesmart.org)
- Rated 17% by National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (votesmart.org)
- Rated 100% by Center for Security Policy (votesmart.org)
- Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the United States from possessing a nuclear weapon? "Yes" (votesmart.org)
- Rated 100% by Center for Security Policy (votesmart.org)
- "[...] we should all be concerned by Syria's substantial stockpile of chemical weapons and the risk these weapons could fall into the hands of Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, or Hamas and used to kill hundreds of thousands of Americans." (votesmart.org)
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.
| No | In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| No | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Yes | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| Yes | Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| I support drug courts with mandatory treatment and accountability to the court | |||
| No | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| prefer tax reform and lower rates for everyone. Incentives only in proper tax environment. | |||
| No | Do you generally support requiring states to adopt federal education standards? | ||
|
|||
| Prefer local autonomy | |||
| Yes | Do you support building the Keystone XL pipeline? | ||
| No | Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| No | Do you support increased regulations on the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| Idividual states should regulate fracking | |||
| No | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| No | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| 1. To human activity question- I believe humans have a minimal contribution to climate change 2. Not with current standards proposed by EPA. | |||
| Yes | Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
|
|||
| Yes | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the United States from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| Yes | Do you support increased American intervention in Iraq and Syria beyond air support? | ||
|
|||
| Yes | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
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 Decrease | a) Agriculture | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Arts | ||
| Greatly Increase | c) Defense | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Education | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Environment | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Slightly Increase | h) Medical Research | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Space exploration | ||
| Slightly Decrease | k) United Nations | ||
| Greatly Decrease | l) Welfare | ||
| m) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Greatly Decrease | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Small business taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | j) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | k) Payroll taxes | ||
| Support a 17% flat tax | |||
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.