Nicholas Betts' 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.
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Nicholas Betts has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2020 Political Courage Test.
Virginia Congressional Election 2020 Political Courage Test
| No | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Yes | Do you support expanding federal funding to support entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare? | ||
| This is not the time to raise taxes. The United States government has tremendous purchasing power and we have the ability to generate economic growth if we properly invest our resources. Increased economic growth and productivity will allow many programs to pay for themselves over time without raising taxes right now. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| No | Do you support the protection of government officials, including law enforcement officers, from personal liability in civil lawsuits concerning alleged misconduct? | ||
| Government officials should be treated just like everyone else and should be held responsible for their actions. | |||
| No | Do you support increasing defense spending? | ||
| The United States Military is the strongest in the world and the current funding levels are appropriate at this time. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | Do you support providing financial relief to businesses AND/OR corporations negatively impacted by the state of national emergency for COVID-19? | ||
| Yes, if lowering corporate taxes is directly attached to a requirement for using any tax savings to hire more workers. | |||
| Yes | Do you support requiring states to adopt federal education standards? | ||
| Education should be a Federal, State, and Local partnership. Peoples' education needs to prepare students to compete for jobs anywhere in the United States. | |||
| Yes | Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| I support universal background checks; however, I do not support any bans that would stop law-abiding citizens from owning semi-automatic firearms. | |||
| No | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| Yes | Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Building a wall is a waste of resources that could be used to secure the boarders in other ways. I believe there should be a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants if they are willing to and are actively trying to pay unpaid taxes for the time that they worked as an adult in this country. | |||
| Yes | Should the United States use military force to prevent governments hostile to the U.S. from possessing a weapon of mass destruction (for example: nuclear, biological, chemical)? | ||
| Yes | Do you support reducing military intervention in Middle East conflicts? | ||
| I only support the use of military force when all diplomatic solutions have failed and it is the only option left. | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support removing barriers to international trade (for example: tariffs, quotas, etc.)? | ||
| Establishing an opt out public healthcare option, reducing student loan debt by permanently eliminating student loan interest rates, and increasing broadband internet access are important. Broadband internet access would increase economic growth and pay for itself over time. Eliminating interest rates on student loans may not add to the deficit at all, the Federal government has historically generated a surplus on collections, and student loan borrowers would likely purchase things, such as homes, which would also generate economic growth. A public healthcare option would allow for a healthier population, which could also expand economic growth and pay for itself overtime. |
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