Melanie Black's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
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Melanie Black has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2020 Political Courage Test.
Texas Congressional Election 2020 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| I would not support making abortion illegal. I feel it is an issue best approached by education, empowerment, and support for families facing an unwanted pregnancy. Many people and groups offer support to women in this situation. I do favor an end to federal funding of Planned Parenthood. Why is the Federal Government in the role of funding sexual health? Leave this to the states and districts. | |||
| No | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| No | Do you support expanding federal funding to support entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare? | ||
| I favor transitioning Social Security to a voluntary participation program. I would like to decrease the government footprint in healthcare in general. However this can't be done abruptly; people forcibly paid into these programs for years. If we keep them, then look at where funding can be reallocated. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| I would need to explore this topic further | |||
| No | Do you support the protection of government officials, including law enforcement officers, from personal liability in civil lawsuits concerning alleged misconduct? | ||
| Officials should be held to the same standards at the general public | |||
| No | Do you support increasing defense spending? | ||
| I support decreasing our military presence in other countries and closing bases overseas whenever possible. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | Do you support providing financial relief to businesses AND/OR corporations negatively impacted by the state of national emergency for COVID-19? | ||
| Should there be talk of increase federal spending with the national debt increasing from 27 plus trillion? | |||
| No | Do you support requiring states to adopt federal education standards? | ||
| I don't think the Federal Government has a role in public education. That is more appropriately handled by the States and districts. I favor doing away with the Federal Department of Education. | |||
| No | Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| No | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Government funding often seems to lead to waste, fraud, and abuse. If there is a need and money to be made, private industry will be looking at renewable energy in a more cost effective way. If a company wants to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, they can look at the best and most cost effective way to do that that suits their needs. This of course is simplistic, but Federal government is not always the best answer to the problems we want to solve. | |||
| No | Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| We have a plethora of gun control laws on the books. | |||
| Yes | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| No | Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19? | ||
| Should the Federal government be involved in telling private businesses what they can and cannot do financially? Unemployment insurance should cover this. Perhaps the unemployment insurance providers can loosen the filing requirements and turnaround time to reflect the challenges of the pandemic. | |||
| 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? | ||
| If they are here as productive citizens, I see no purpose in disrupting their lives to force them to go back. I prefer to see a smoother path to citizenship for anyone who seeks it. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| This is a very complex, ongoing situation. I would have to give it more consideration than is possible in this short space. However having a military presence in some of these countries doesn't seem to be causing any lasting peace. It's a huge part of our budget as well. Are we using troops in the most effective manner, and is the Government living up to it's promise to take care of them once they return? | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support removing barriers to international trade (for example: tariffs, quotas, etc.)? | ||
| My response is 'yes' but I would have to do research this to understand more about it. | |||
| My priorities are limiting federal government. It's to be hoped this would mean less, not more, spending. Federal income tax elimination, transitioning Social security to a voluntary program while leaving current accounts intact for people who have paid in for years, and looking at where government has hampered health care to see where that can be reorganized or decreased. I am running for representative; naturally my focus will be on representing the district while adhering to Libertarian principles whenever possible. |
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