Bill Burke's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
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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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Bill Burke has failed 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.
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.
Massachusetts Congressional Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| I am aware that we live in modern and progressive times. None the less, I am in favor of the Pro-Life stance. I do respect women and their right to choose however, I know that there are other options that don?t involve the loss of life of a child. My stance is not against a woman?s right to choose, my stance is merely one for a child?s right to live. | |||
| 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 feel that we may be able to trim defense spending but, we would be remiss in choosing to trim too much. Raising income tax on the wealthiest tax bracket, I would. However, I feel that raising the income tax isn?t necessary, we just need to close the loopholes that allow the exceptionally rich to avoid paying their fair share as the rest of our less well-off citizens do and are expected to. I believe that would go a long way in helping to achieve a balanced budget. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| I do support such regulations. I believe that allowing corporations and unions to play such large roles in the funding of a candidate?s campaign only contributes to corruption. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| I do believe that counseling and substance abuse treatment can be a viable and useful alternative to incarceration. However, I believe there should be less opportunity to abuse this alternative by implementing some form of strike system for repeat offenders. I do believe in minimum mandatory sentences for non-violent drug offenders. Particularly for those that are dealing drugs. Drug addicts may be able to be rehabilitated via the afore mentioned counseling and substance abuse treatment but, the likelihood of such programs dissuading drug dealers and helping to reform them is quite low. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| I support federal spending, in a responsible, proven, and effective manner only. I do believe that lowering taxes is an effective means of promoting of economic growth. I believe job creation is the natural evolution of growing a successful business, and a healthy economy. | |||
| No | Do you generally support requiring states to adopt federal education standards? | ||
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| I believe education is and will be the backbone of any great nation. Teachers will do a fine job on the local level with regards to the curriculum of their children. I believe it is our duty and responsibility to rectify that situation through education reforms, and regain our standards of academic excellence, these reforms should be done on the local level and schools should not be held hostage by the federal government. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| I do support building the Keystone XL pipeline. The influx of resource, job creation, and economic ramifications outweigh the cons to me in this instance. Though I believe in the future of clean, wind, thermal, and solar energy sources, I feel it is just a matter of practicality in the present. I do support funding for the development of renewable energy. Renewable energy is the future of a more sustainable world. There is no denying the benefits. I do not however support subsidies. I believe increased regulations are necessary in regards to ?fracking?. | |||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| I believe it is narrow minded to believe that human activity has made no contribution what so ever to climate change. I believe in federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. I believe this is a clear case of an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure. | |||
| No | Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| Though I do believe in due diligence, waiting periods, and background checks. I am a firm believer in our right as Americans to bear arms. | |||
| Yes | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| Though, we are in need of a better healthcare system and the Affordable Care Act had some positive ideas and good intentions, the end result was a broken system. Health care reform is necessary, it is a problem I believe should be and can be rectified. | |||
| Yes | Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
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| Though we are a country of immigrants, there is a right way and a wrong way to enter this country and become a citizen if one chooses. I welcome anyone willing to do things the right way, and don?t feel as though we should reward those unwilling to do the same. | |||
| Yes | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Although it may not be my lifestyle choice, I believe in equality for all regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation. If two people love each other enough to make that commitment to one another, I don?t feel it is the government?s place to deny them that opportunity. | |||
| Yes | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the United States from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| Unknown Position | Do you support increased American intervention in Iraq and Syria beyond air support? | ||
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| This has been a growing threat for many years. In this day and age of technology these enemies of our entire way of life have never been more organized or more dangerous. It has never been more evident that we need to protect ourselves and be vigilant in our efforts to thwart this unconscionable and evil threat. | |||
| No | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| I believe this could only lead to the dismantling of the Social Security system. The elderly need and deserve a stronger and more stable Social Security system. I believe we need to resolve to strengthen this system and put the security back in Social Security, not weaken and put it at risk. | |||
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.
| Maintain Status | a) Agriculture | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Arts | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Defense | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Education | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Environment | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Medical Research | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Slightly Decrease | j) Space exploration | ||
| Maintain Status | k) United Nations | ||
| Maintain Status | l) Welfare | ||
| m) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Slightly Increase | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Small business taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | j) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | k) Payroll taxes | ||
| l) Other or expanded categories | |||
| My first priority if elected will be to work towards a balanced budget. I believe bipartisan cooperation towards, cutting down on wasteful spending, closing tax loopholes for the exceptionally wealthy, and cutting back on foreign aid will allow us to make great strides in accomplishing this objective. My second objective if elected will be to reform our health care system. Medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy in America. This is an unacceptable reality in our great nation. There are great examples and working models throughout the world that we should be using to fix this problem. |
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