Bill Townsend'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.
Bill Townsend has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2018 Political Courage Test.
Nevada Congressional Election 2018 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
|
|||
| Abortion is a deeply personal matter that has been challenged in the courts. Though I am pro-life, I am also pro-law, for that is what we as a nation were established on and it is how we as a country operate. A pro-choice or pro-life position is one thing, but if we don't address the root case of abortions, which is unwanted pregnancies, we will never resolve this sensitive issue. As this topic cannot be addressed in 100 words, I am sending my position on abortion and other women's issues to your email address. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| I believe campaign contributions must always be properly reported and advertising which takes sides on a particular candidate must be approved by the candidate(s) before being run. Too often, outside groups publish inaccurate information on a candidate they are against, with the candidate not having any recourse. All political campaigning should be subject to the same truth-in-advertising laws that consumer products are required to adhere. I believe unions and worker groups should be able to band together to make political contributions to individual candidates and causes. | |||
| Yes | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support lowering corporate taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Infrastructure spending is good for America. It creates jobs, improves our highways, reinforces our energy grid, and, as long as American companies are benefiting, creates positive net results. I supported the President's tax program to lower corporate taxes. Doing so resulted in my companies being able to increase salaries by 12% and increase staff by 6%. What I don't support is companies with billions in revenue who do not pay any corporate taxes, just as GE, Priceline.com and others have done and I have a plan to stop this accounting chicanery. Policy paper on taxes: https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/9b2a6167-65e9-4656-86d6-8013ed679f90/downloads/1caffh4i1_503628.pdf | |||
| No | Do you support requiring states to adopt federal education standards? | ||
| The Federal government should make recommendations and can do much to improve access to educational materials but I favor local control of schools. I designed a national knowledge sharing program featuring 11,000 lecture series, representing 134,000 hours from the brightest minds in higher education that would be available for every child and teacher. For example, want to learn computer programming? Learn from great minds at MIT or Stanford. Courses featuring professors from 5,600 colleges can be created for $68 million or $1.33 per student. We can't afford not to do this. Education policy paper: https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/9b2a6167-65e9-4656-86d6-8013ed679f90/downloads/1cbbhccs5_693648.pdf | |||
| Yes | Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| I am especially interested in biomass and hydro power which have less negative footprint on our planet than solar and wind, although all types of energy production should be investigated and tested. | |||
| No | Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| I have published comprehensive policy papers on Guns & Violence and School Safety, which I am emailing to you. I believe in enforcing our existing gun laws, looking at common sense compromises such as ensuring NICS is fully funded and the right data is being shared, and closing the gun-show loophole. I am against any form of gun ban as they serve no purpose but to take rights away from law abiding citizens. Policy paper on Guns & Violence: https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/9b2a6167-65e9-4656-86d6-8013ed679f90/downloads/1cbbi43l3_770589.pdf Policy paper on School Safety: https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/9b2a6167-65e9-4656-86d6-8013ed679f90/downloads/1cbbhe86j_120117.pdf | |||
| Yes | Do you support the construction of a wall along the Mexican border? | ||
| No | Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| My wife is an immigrant, having come to America in 1992 and earning her citizenship in 1999. I support the construction of a wall, where needed, to stop the flow of illegal drugs into America. I don't believe it is realistic that Americans will spend $80 billion to deport 11 million illegal immigrants. DACA and DREAMers with no criminal records, have learned English, and have jobs or are in school/training should be given a shot at earned citizenship. Those illegals with criminal records should be deported. I have published a comprehensive immigration policy which can be read at: https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/9b2a6167-65e9-4656-86d6-8013ed679f90/downloads/1cb3vtrdi_948290.pdf | |||
| No | Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes? | ||
| I support the Federal declassification of cannabis for pharmacological and nutraceutical purposes with specific regulations including best-in-class comprehensive testing, seed to market tracking, legalized banking, truth-in-advertising and labeling and the requirement of at least 40 person double-blind testing before products are offered to consumers. I believe we should hold off on recreational legalization for 10 years to determine what occurs when the Federal government changes the Schedule classification on cannabis to open the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries. This delay will help states and cities prepare for eventual legalization. I have published two policy papers available here: https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/9b2a6167-65e9-4656-86d6-8013ed679f90/downloads/1caffismd_702617.pdf https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/9b2a6167-65e9-4656-86d6-8013ed679f90/downloads/1cbtgqbh1_627494.pdf | |||
| My top priority for Nevada is in "12 Big Ideas for Nevada" which include Education, School Safety, Women's Issues, Immigration, and Jobs as the key priorities for Nevada. Like most issues, they are intertwined. Funding for school safety can be accomplished by additional NICS fees and restructuring school finance. Educational standards must be raised, and as previously noted, my plan for accessing world-class content will help drive student excellence. I will push for passage of Equal Rights Amendment and Equal Pay for Equal Results legislation for women. All these issues have policy papers which can be accessed at: https://townsendfornevada.com/downloads |
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.