Todd Kolosso's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Todd Kolosso refused to tell citizens where he stands on any of the issues addressed in the 2010 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart, national media, and prominent political leaders.
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 2010.
- Todd Kolosso. Issue Position: Protecting Life from Beginning to End. "My pro-life stance is deeply personal. As an adoptee, I am very grateful that my birth mother had access to information about adoption and had the support she needed to make the choice to give me the opportunity to be here and to be raised by loving parents who welcomed me into their lives. I believe that women who face an unplanned pregnancy deserve accurate information about all of their options, including adoption, and that no woman should be penalized for choosing to give birth to her baby. That's why protecting life means more to me than legislation affecting abortion and why I do not believe that abortion legislation will address the problems we face. To me, protecting life means raising the standard of living for the millions of mothers and would-be mothers upon whom our children rely and enacting family-friendly policies that expand access to maternity care for all women, regardless of income. Protecting life also means advocating for policies that protect babies after they are born by giving parents the tools they need to balance their child care and job responsibilities without having to sacrifice opportunities for educational or career advancement." (votesmart.org)
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Todd Kolosso. Issue Position: The Economy and Small Business. "Fiscal responsibility should be based on fiscal respect for all Americans. The federal government has a vested interest in focusing targeted efforts on helping small business owners, entrepreneurs, farmers and others who are responsible for the livelihood of both their employees and their own families. I firmly believe that federal economic policy needs to focus more on growing small businesses and less on promoting lop-sided initiatives that give corporations and large businesses an unfair advantage in the marketplace. . . . My grandparents lived though the Great Depression and, owing to our current "Great Recession," I feel a connection to their plight. Although they were Republicans, my grandparents developed a deep respect for President Roosevelt's leadership in paving the way toward economic recovery and providing aid for the unemployed. With ever-increasing numbers of people facing unemployment, retraining and public works programs are as necessary now as they were during the Depression. To help spur job creation, expand workforce education and training and provide the unemployed with meaningful assistance, I will make it a priority to invest in people and jobs in our district by pushing for the best return possible on the tax dollars we send to Washington." (kolossoforcongress.com)
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Todd Kolosso. Issue Position: Education. "Contrary to what we might hear from current elected officials, the federal government can and should have some involvement in the educational system as a whole. This involvement can be direct or indirect, with a focus on limiting the insertion of federal decision-making over state and local curriculum, but equally ensuring that the infrastructure exists for such localities to make decisions without fear of robbing one program to fund another. I believe that direct federal involvement is necessary specifically in the area of shoring up our educational system's physical plant and infrastructure needs. Direct federal grants for repair, maintenance and modernization need to be sought to help alleviate the stress on the local taxpayer, as well as the conflict these stresses create on local school boards. Equally important is the support to our district that the federal government can provide in an indirect way. First and foremost, I would seek to end placing unfunded mandates on the state. This does not mean I do not believe in setting reasonable mandates, but rather that should we choose to do so, we need to make certain that the federal government provides enough funding for them. In addition, the federal government has a large interest in making certain that the state and municipalities have an adequate social and education support system. We need to assess and promote what is working in education, and provide different options for school districts based on their needs, resources and priorities. . . . Given the number of choices for parents on whether to enroll their children to private, public or home-schooling, we need to have academic standards for everyone no matter if learning happens in the traditional classroom or a home environment." (kolossoforcongress.com)
- Clean Wisconsin Action Fund. 2010. Interest Group Endorsements. Clean Wisconsin Action Fund endorsed Todd Kolosso in the 2010 general election. (www.cwactionfund.org)
- Todd Kolosso. Issue Position: Environmental Policy and Natural Resource Management. "Domestic-Only Cap and Trade: I support a free-market approach for reducing pollution and rewarding environmental innovation. The implementation of a domestic-only cap and trade system would foster competition and growth in new technologies by comparing American corporations to each other on a specific industry-to-industry and region-to-region basis and ensuring a level playing field." (votesmart.org)
- Todd Kolosso. Issue Position: Gun Rights and Ownership. "I come from a family that takes pride in responsible gun ownership and in our constitutional right, as Americans, to possess guns free from undue interference by the federal government. While I am troubled by the level of gun-related crime in our society, I do not believe that banning guns is a reasonable or practical solution to the problem. At the same time, I also believe that the federal government should play a role in setting standards for the sale and trading of firearms. We need to use all of the resources at our disposal to keep guns from getting into the hands of criminals or other persons mentally unsuited to gun ownership, and we need to make sure that our current gun laws are properly enforced." (kolossoforcongress.com)
- Todd Kolosso. Issue Position: Health Care and Insurance Reform. "I do not believe that our private health care system is an obstacle to reaching the goal of creating access to high quality health care for all Americans. On the contrary, given the entrenched private market history of our health care system, I believe that modifying our current system, as this legislation has done, will be prudent and cost-effective in the long run. . . . At the same time, we need to restore free-market values to our health care insurance system by ending the outdated exemption to anti-trust laws, which will also end the ability of insurance companies to impose unchecked premium hikes on their customers. Real competition in the insurance industry will give Americans real choices when it comes to shopping for a plan. Many provisions in the health care bill take effect immediately and will significantly increase the number of Americans who will be able to buy insurance, which is something we can all welcome. But we need to do more to expand the number of physicians and primary care providers who can treat the growing ranks of the insured." (kolossoforcongress.com)
- Todd kolosso. Issue Position: Immigration. "I support immigration policies that will: Allow people a realistic path to citizenship and punish those who don't become legal Require everyone to pay their fair share of taxes Target bad employers who take advantage of workers, drive down wages, and create an uneven playing field Expand requirements to learn English Keep families together Encourage people to fully participate in the US economy and society Throwing money away on fiscally irresponsible and unrealistic plans, such as paying for the mass deportation of 12 million men, women, and children, is not a solution. We need a practical plan that will reduce illegal immigration, strengthen the economy, and move us forward together as a nation." (votesmart.org)
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
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