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Joe Kaufman'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.

Joe Kaufman did not provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2024 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.

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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 2024.

  • 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.
  • "I do not view Social Security or Medicare as handouts or "entitlements." These are programs that seniors have earned through their hard work, and they deserve every penny of these benefits. As your soon-to-be Congressman, I will oppose any efforts to reduce these benefits that countless Americans have worked tirelessly to earn." (kaufmanforcongress.com)
  • "The income tax is a twentieth-century socialist experiment that has failed. ~ Alan Keyes #tcot #quote" (x.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.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • "In Congress, I will fearlessly advocate for the needs of our police, fire personnel, and military forces, whether it’s ensuring access to better equipment, fair compensation, or needed upgrades for fire houses." (kaufmanforcongress.com)
  • "Democrats – and Republicans – should grasp the fact that taxpayer dollars are not their own, and limits to spending are a requirement and not a trivial matter to ignore. We must combat Biden Administration spending with fiscal responsibility with the goal of economic stability." (kaufmanforcongress.com)
  • "California legislators cuased the housing crisis by over regulations. This is what happens when government makes it hard for developers to build." (x.com)
  • "One of the ways to deal with increased rents and mortgages is to deregulate and encourage development so there is no shortage of supply. Allow development companies to come up with creative solutions for housing...." (x.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.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • "America, including Florida, boasts stunning natural landscapes that require funding for preservation. However, abandoning our main energy sources threatens our nation’s wealth and environmental stability and makes us reliant on our adversaries, like Maduro in Venezuela, for needed supplies. Being energy independent is vital. Energy fuels mobility, security, production, and job creation. Shouting about a "climate crisis" is nothing more than fearmongering and ignores the one thing that is necessary to protect the environment – money. We can be good stewards of our planet, without sacrificing American jobs and American prosperity." (kaufmanforcongress.com)
  • "I support govt investment and/or federal contracts to those companies which can produce renewable fuels much more efficiently." (x.com)
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • "The Second Amendment safeguards our individual liberties, allowing us to protect our families and stand strong against tyranny. As your soon-to-be Congressman, I am dedicated to defending and preserving these precious, God-given rights, and I will stand in the way of anyone who attempts to lessen or remove them." (kaufmanforcongress.com)
  • Rated 90% by Gun Owners of America (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Rated 92% by the National Rifle Association (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • 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.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • "Drugs and human trafficking are real issues that threaten not just Americans, but the most vulnerable who make their way to our country. It is why we need a secure border wall – to protect those on both sides of the border and to encourage future Americans to come here the right way, via lawful immigration rather than illegal immigration." (kaufmanforcongress.com)
  • "I’m committed to securing our borders, protecting American jobs, and maintaining our sovereignty." (kaufmanforcongress.com)
  • "I will prioritize making sure that our borders are secure, protecting the most vulnerable, stopping the flow of illegal drugs, and capturing criminals and terrorists." (kaufmanforcongress.com)
  • "Today, there is a huge problem, where individuals cross our borders illegally, in the millions, without background checks. Many are criminals bringing drugs and human trafficking. Others are terrorists seeking to do harm to our nation" (kaufmanforcongress.com)
  • "We love legal immigration because it is fair. Rewarding illegal immigrants hurts those who have spent thousands of dollars waiting in line trying to get into this country." (x.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.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
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.
Pro-life Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
I am pro-life and proud of it, but you don�t have to be pro-life to be sickened by the fact that hundreds of thousands of lives are aborted annually in the US, especially when so many couples are looking to adopt. We should always look to protect life, and never should our tax dollars go to support ending it.
No In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket?
No In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending?
So many Republicans in Congress have forgotten their conservative principles, when it comes to spending and growing our nation�s debt. It is the reason why we desperately need to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment. However, doing this does not need to cause harm to come to the American taxpayer and our national defense.
Unknown Position Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions?
I have not considered any new reforms in campaign finance. However, if in the future we do need such reform, we should never enact reform that would violate free speech, and we should always remain within the confines of the Constitution.
Yes Do you support lowering corporate taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
No Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
I do not support federal spending just for the sake of putting money into people's pockets in the form of welfare. However, I do support spending towards job training, so we can put more people to work.
No Do you support requiring states to adopt federal education standards?
I do not think the federal government should dictate how states deal with the education of their residents. I want more power regarding education to go to the states. However, as Congressman, I will advocate for vocational training in our US schools, so that we can ready youth for the workforce. We do not want our kids graduating high school with no skills and then wind up sitting on their behinds collecting government welfare checks.
Yes Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)?
No Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions?
While I support aggressively going after the fuels of today and I love the fact that we have become a major exporter of energy, as Congressman, I will advocate for equal investment and incentives to go towards renewables and the fuels of tomorrow. I am very excited about America's future!
No Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
My heart goes out to the families/friends of the victims of the Stoneman Douglas shooting and attacks like it that occur way too frequently in our nation. But I am also sickened by government representatives who take horrific events such as these and use them politically to attack our Constitutional rights. Gun control measures do nothing to stop gun violence. At my daughter�s school, there are armed guards at the entrance and exit, and another roaming the perimeter. It is because of the firearms that these men carry that my wife and I are reassured that our daughter is safe.
Yes Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")?
Prior to Obamacare, the problem with healthcare in America was cost, basically a handful of insurance companies controlling price for everyone in the state. With Obamacare, cost went down for some, while quality suffered, businesses were severely harmed, and premiums/deductibles skyrocketed. The fix for this is competition. Instead of having a few companies set price, competition should be opened up across state lines to bring up quality, bring down price. Pre-existing conditions should be handled with the use of risk pools, where someone in poor health is paired with many in good health to mitigate cost across the board.
Yes Do you support the construction of a wall along the Mexican border?
Yes Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship?
I am the product of immigrants, who came here to escape violent anti-Semitism. I am married to an immigrant from Peru, who spent a decade working tirelessly to be a citizen. Legal immigration needs to be streamlined. We need E-Verify and a wall to keep out those who come here for sinister reasons. DACA youth who came here through no fault of their own should have the chance to seek residency, but those who are here legally need to have their cases handled first. My grandparents and my wife worked too hard to have people obtaining citizenship without earning it.
No Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes?
My mother, who suffers daily from Multiple Sclerosis, is prescribed major doses of Oxycodone, a drug that killed my 20-year-old cousin. It did not make sense to me that my mother could be given such a harmful drug, when marijuana has been shown to alleviate many symptoms of MS, as well as many other diseases and ailments. So I 100% support medical marijuana. I do not feel the same regarding marijuana for recreational use. Marijuana is much more powerful today than it was in years past, and I do not wish to encourage our youth to do any drugs recreationally.
No Do you support increased American intervention in Middle Eastern conflicts beyond air support?
Unknown Position Should the United States use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the U.S. from possessing a nuclear weapon?
Seven years ago, I co-founded one of the most prominent Iranian opposition groups, the Institute for an Open Society in the Middle East, to call for and bring about regime change in Iran. The Trump Administration has pledged full support to our group. Iran is the main terror-supporting entity in the world and a threat to America and her friends. Under no circumstance can Iran be allowed to produce nuclear weapons. The military should only be used as a last resort.
Through tax cuts and reduced regulations, companies that moved operations overseas will repatriate funds back to America and bring back tens of thousands of jobs to the Middle-class. While standardized testing is a good way to gauge student knowledge, I'd like to see America rely less on standardized testing and more on reality-based education, like bringing back vocational training as a norm for US schools. With the implementation of Obamacare, quality suffered, businesses were harmed, and premiums/deductibles skyrocketed. The fix is competition across state lines to bring up quality, bring down price. Pre-existing conditions should be handled with risk pools.

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