Brian Heinrich's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
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Brian Heinrich has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
Oregon Congressional Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
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| I support the reduction of abortions and unplanned pregnancies. This should be the goal of both sides of this argument. Rather than spending countless millions of dollars on campaigns and legal attacks on both sides, it seems to me that the money would be better spent trying to educate people on making wiser choices. That being said, I don't believe tax payers should be forced to fund any type of organization that provides abortions. These organizations can and will accept direct donations from those who are passionate about their cause. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Defense is the primary responsibility of the Federal Government. Our military strength needs to be maintained. In order to balance the budget, we need a combination of spending cuts, regulatory reductions to open up markets, and tax reform to spur risk taking and economic growth. | |||
| No | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| With donations comes influence. Whether those donations are direct or indirect. I am choosing to self fund my campaign and am refusing to take donations. Money in politics only breeds corruption. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Strong punishments to crime have been shown to reduce crime. It is often when punishments are reduced, we see an increase in illegal activity and constant repeats offenders. The first priority of our legal system must be the safety and security of law abiding citizens. Based upon that standard being met, then sentences should be handed down that will improve the criminals future actions. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| If taxes are preventing job creation, then taxes should be reduced across the board. Not just for select businesses that have influence. | |||
| No | Do you generally support requiring states to adopt federal education standards? | ||
| Education is a state responsibility. The Federal Government should not put itself in a position where it can influence the states by withholding tax dollars. If the Federal Government has excess tax dollars, that money should be returned to the states. | |||
| 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)? | ||
| Yes | Do you support increased regulations on the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| Private investment is the best source of capital for the development and innovation of renewable energy. Federal officials should not be in charge of picking winners and losers with our tax dollars when they can be influenced by the beneficiaries of those tax dollars. Regulations on fracking are best decided on a local and state level. | |||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| No | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Climate change is a constant. Human activity most likely has some impact. But history has shown times within the last 1500 years where temperatures have been much higher and much lower for longer periods of time than present day. These extremes occurred long before the industrialization of the 20th century. So to say our impact is resulting in drastic climate change where we have a Federal Government quickly assuming authority over all human activity is wrong. Environmental Protections are best done on a state level where the citizens have a voice. | |||
| No | Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| I am a strong advocate of the 2nd Amendment. | |||
| Yes | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| Insurance is just that, insurance. It is a pool of money to cover those who are unfortunate enough to need it. Free market with open competition improves choices, lowers costs, and promotes innovation. Government involvement increases costs, lowers quality, removes choices, and often stifles innovation. The problem with healthcare in the past is that individual state mandates prevented open competition on a national level. | |||
| Yes | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| Social Security and other entitlement programs must be overhauled to correct their flaws . I support any program that promotes phasing them out and replacing them with programs that have little or no government involvement. These programs must not reduce current and soon to be recipients. | |||
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.
| Greatly Decrease | a) Agriculture | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Arts | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Defense | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Education | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Medical Research | ||
| Greatly Decrease | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Slightly Decrease | j) Space exploration | ||
| Greatly Decrease | k) United Nations | ||
| Greatly Decrease | l) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Decrease | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Small business taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | j) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | k) Payroll taxes | ||
| Taxes are not collected just to be redistributed to those with the most influence. Taxes are collected to pay for defense and the basic operation of the Federal Government. When that government has accumulated a debt of 19 Trillion dollars, with half of that occurring in the last 8 years, reductions in Federal spending must happen. My ratings on the above list are subjective, but reductions, and not automatic increases must be done. | |||
| A complete overhaul in the tax system is preferred, but this chart does not permit that. But an across the board tax reduction should increase economic output and thus keep tax revenue stable. This, combined with a reduction in Federal Spending above should allow for a balanced budget and a decrease in the national debt. | |||
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