Dave McTeague'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.
Dave McTeague has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
Oregon Congressional Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Strongly pro-choice. | |||
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| The wealthy and large corporations must pay their fair share in taxes. As congressperson I will work to stop corporations from shifting their profits and jobs overseas to avoid paying U.S. income taxes. I support a progressive estate tax on the top 0.3 percent of Americans who inherit more than $3.5 million and a tax on Wall Street speculators who caused millions of Americans to lose their jobs, homes, and life savings. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| We must work to repeal Citizens United and move toward public campaign financing or other ways for voters to get the information they need to make informed decisions. We must reform our CORRUPT CAMPAIGN FINANCE SYSTEM. A review of many incumbent congressperson's PAC contributions illustrates how the lobbyists influence Congress to vote their way. | |||
| No | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| No | Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| We need more programs and efforts to treat drug addiction as a public health issues. We need more positive interventions. This is an area where leaving more discretion to objective judges is preferable to minimum sentencing. | |||
| Yes | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| This depends on the specifics of course. For example, I sponsored legislation to renew Oregon's solar and renewable energy tax credits; and passed legislation give tax credits to farmers who installed fish screen protection devices. Sometimes targeted tax relief is effective. But I would oppose massive giveaways to large corporations, as often seems to be the case. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| Maybe is a better answer. There may be some reform efforts to encourage, but by and large, its better to leave education quality to the states. Some benchmarks are important to gauge progress; but if school districts emasculate their programs simply to teach to the tests; that's not such a great thing. I'm open to hearing more from educators/parents about this. | |||
| No | Do you support building the Keystone XL pipeline? | ||
| Yes | Do you support funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Yes | Do you support increased regulations on the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| Fracking contributes to water pollution. It contributes to climate change, which is an emergency. It some places it causes local earthquakes. I understand the water/chemical mixtures pumped into the ground are shielded from public knowledge--which is very disturbing. What do they have to hide? | |||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| I strongly support aggressive common sense action to address climate change. | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| Or Maybe. I don't want to take legitimate gun owners' guns away. Proper use of firearms for hunting and sport shooting is part of our culture. There's been too much NRA fear mongering. To Prevent Gun Violence I favor the Congressional Progressive Caucus position: At a minimum, implement greater safety requirements to prevent violent use of guns, by: 1) Banning sale of military-style assault weapons, high-capacity magazines. 2) Requiring gun buyers pass criminal background checks, no matter how a gun is purchased . 3) Funding Mental health and substance abuse treatment with access to all and enhanced services for children. | |||
| No | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| Over time I favor moving to a Medicare for All program, as Sen. Sanders has proposed. I would have supported the Public Option for the current ACA. There are parts of the ACA that could be changed and improved upon. We need more effective cost controls, for hospitals and unnecessary procedures. We can't let the drug industry endlessly drive up costs. (The TPP would make generics less available.) Overly high deductibles are harmful. Alternative/complementary health care is not getting fair due for their effective approaches. We should bring quality of health plans up to, not down from so-called "Cadillac" plans. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| I favor comprehensive immigration reform that provides a path to citizenship. I favor the DREAM Act for the young people who've known no other country than the United States. | |||
| Yes | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| I am strongly in favor of equal rights for LGBT citizens. | |||
| No | Do you support targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict? | ||
| No | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the United States from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| Who writes these questions? Would I support targeting KNOWN terrorists? - probably, to save lives. Question 2 is the IRAQ question- we were lied to, misled into believing this, and see what we got? A destabilized Middle East, ISIS, massive civilian casualties, ethnic and religious conflict and thousands of dead and injured service people. Chances are the use of military force, in lieu of diplomacy, would have negative results. We're better off with Sec. Kerry's sustained diplomacy to address the proliferation question. Only in the most dire circumstances would use of military force be justified. | |||
| No | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| Republicans have long advocated this to weaken Social Security. Social security has been one of the most successful government programs of all time providing a minimal base level of income for senior citizens. I will fight to protect and expand Social Security. | |||
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 Increase | b) Arts | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Education | ||
| Greatly Increase | e) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Maintain Status | g) International aid | ||
| Greatly Increase | h) Medical Research | ||
| Greatly Increase | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Space exploration | ||
| Maintain Status | k) United Nations | ||
| Slightly Increase | l) Welfare | ||
| Greatly Increase | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Small business taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Greatly Increase | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | j) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | k) Payroll taxes | ||
| We need to eliminate corporate tax breaks. We need to tax Wall St. speculators. | |||
| a) 12 weeks paid family and medical leave. Additional 0.2% Payroll Tax b) Medicare for all Paid for by a 6.2 percent income-based health care premium paid by employers, a 2.2 percent income-based premium paid by households, progressive income tax rates, taxing capital gains and dividends the same as income from work, limiting tax deductions for the rich, adjusting the estate tax, and savings from health tax expenditures. c) Progressive estate tax on inheritances over $3.5 million; closes estate tax loopholes. d) Social Security Expansion: Remove payroll tax cap for earnings above $250,000 | |||
| 1) Massive infrastructure, bridges, roads, public transportation; to really address Earthquake preparedness in the Pacific NW. 2) Green energy jobs, solar, wind, conservation for employment and to address climate change. 3) Public works jobs programs for youth and long-term unemployed; to address our growing housing challenged and homeless problem. 4) See above (including: e) College for All: Wall Street speculation tax |
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.