Jeff Byrd'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.
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Jeff Byrd has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2014 Political Courage Test.
New Mexico Congressional Election 2014 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Science has proven that DNA is unique to that baby at the moment of conception. Life is precious whether the are young or the elderly. | |||
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| No | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| I believe that waste exists in all branches of government. We need to look at every department and consider where waste can be eliminated. I also know, based on numerous studies, that our taxes are to high. If the purpose of taxes is to fund the government, then they should be managed in a manor that would maximize the revenue to the government while minimizing the impact to the economy. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| I believe that individuals should be allowed to donate as they choose. Corporation and union donations should be regulated. | |||
| No | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support lowering taxes as a way of promoting growth in the economy? | ||
| Yes | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| The Federal government does not have any Constitutional authority regulating education. This practice of "dangling a carrot" in order to push certain agendas needs to be stopped. | |||
| Yes | Do you support building the Keystone XL pipeline? | ||
| Yes | Do you support reducing restrictions on offshore energy production? | ||
| No | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| No | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| I believe it to be hypocritical to say that we cannot access our resources and create jobs here in America in the name of defending the environment. Just because we do not see the damage caused by other countries does not mean it doesn't happen. We can use our resources, create jobs, and protect the environment as well as or better that any other country. | |||
| No | Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Law abiding citizens should not be restricted nor penalized for others crimes. | |||
| Yes | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | ||
| There are common since regulations such as tort reform, medical savings accounts, and interstate commerce for insurance that would actually work to improve competition and reduce healthcare costs. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| I believe our priority at this point should be to close the border. Once this is accomplished, I believe that those already here need to be accounted for and dealt with on a more personal basis. I believe that requiring them to leave would not be practical. However, I recognize that they have broken the law and therefore should be penalized appropriately. I do not see an easy path to citizenship as a solution to that. | |||
| No | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| "Marriage" is a term reserved for one man and one woman. However, I do believe that people deserve equal protection, regardless of their personal life styles. | |||
| Yes | Do you support targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict? | ||
| Yes | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the United States from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| Number one priority of the Federal Government is to protect this country. If a known threat existed prior to an attack, and steps were not taken to neutralize that threat, I believe severe penalties should be imposed on those that made the decision not to act. | |||
| Yes | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| People should be able to prepare for their financial futures as they chose (we are a country based on personal freedoms). In addition, however, I do not believe that we the people are responsible for that portion either. | |||
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.
| Slightly Decrease | a) Agriculture | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Arts | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Defense | ||
| Eliminate | d) Education | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Medical Research | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Space exploration | ||
| Greatly Decrease | k) United Nations | ||
| Maintain Status | l) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | i) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | j) Payroll taxes | ||
| Certain steps can be made in some categories above that would actually reduce spending from the Federal Gov't and also increase productivity. Specifically in the Agriculture bill. Being a rancher, I see the waste regularly. We need to protect the business, while also protecting the "bottom line". | |||
| The purposes of taxes is to fund the Federal Gov't, not to penalize productivity. We need to institute a plan that would actually increase revenue and decrease the impact. Several studies have shown (based on the Khaldun-Laffer Curve) that we are grossly over taxed. | |||
| Implement real health care reform with the goal of reducing costs while improving care. I stated some actions earlier to achieve this. Overhaul our tax system, with the goal of reducing taxes and increasing revenue. Eliminate the need for the IRS. Reduce job killing regulations and certain agencies such as the EPA. The EPA has redundancy in every state, therefore the bloated EPA and the costs to operate should be eliminated. Push back on Federal Agencies such as the USFS, USF&G, BLM who have costs thousands of jobs across America for an agenda. |
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