Mary Hoeft'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.
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Mary Hoeft has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
Wisconsin Congressional Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| I will increase taxes only on the top 1%. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| I have volunteered for more than 20 years as a victim/offender facilitator for Restorative Justice, a program that gives first time juvenile offenders an opportunity to make amends for their crime with the victim. | |||
| Yes | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| I support tax incentives for small companies that are getting started. I do NOT support tax incentives for lucrative companies who send jobs overseas thanks to those tax incentives. | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support requiring states to adopt federal education standards? | ||
| I do not support test based standards. | |||
| No | Do you support building the Keystone XL pipeline? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| I support the Carbon Fee and Dividend policy as a way to tax fossil fuels at the site where they are removed and then, distribute dividends to households. Those with the smallest carbon footprint will reap the greatest dividends. | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| I support background checks at gun shows and private sales. I support banning those whose names are on terrorist watch lists from purchasing guns. | |||
| No | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, 20 million Americans now have insurance. But, for many, insurance remains to costly. I support single payer. I also believe that Medicare must be authorized to negotiate pharmaceutical drug prices. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| I support the bipartisan plan passed by Senate. | |||
| No | Do you support increased American intervention in Iraq and Syria beyond air support? | ||
| No | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the United States from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| No | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| Diversion of a portion of Social Security is privatization--a huge step toward killing the program. I am in total opposition to privatization. I would strengthen social security but taxing all Wall Street speculative transactions and using that tax to bolster social security. I would also remove the cap of $118,500. | |||
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 Increase | a) Agriculture | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Arts | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Education | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Slightly Increase | g) International aid | ||
| Slightly Increase | h) Medical Research | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Space exploration | ||
| Maintain Status | k) United Nations | ||
| Slightly Increase | l) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Small business taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Eliminate | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Greatly Increase | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Greatly Increase | j) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | k) Payroll taxes | ||
| The Welfare Category was unclear. I think the greatest welfare category that MUST be greatly decreased is entitlement programs for the top 1%. Under Agriculture, at the moment, dairy farmers are hurting greatly and need our help so "slightly" might be misunderstood. Military Defense spending on equipment that goes unused must be curtailed. | |||
| I will not support tax increases on anyone but the top 1% | |||
| I will work to take money out of politics. Each campaign should be limited to a specific amount of spending. I will fight to eliminate all tax incentives and loopholes that allow company owners to terminate American workers and send their jobs beyond our borders. I will fight to enhance funding for education--funding that has been cut by more than 20% in the past few years. |
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