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Johnny Isakson'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.

Johnny Isakson has refused to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2016 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.

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Issue Positions

For Presidential and Congressional candidates who refuse to provide voters with their positions, Vote Smart has researched their public records to determine their likely responses. These issue positions are from 2016.

  • Rated 100% by National Right to Life Committee (votesmart.org)
  • "By providing taxpayer funding of abortion, Senate Democrats are poised to radically change a federal policy that has been in place for over 30 years." (votesmart.org)
  • "I have a deep respect for life, and a voting record that reflects that respect. I am personally opposed to abortion except in cases of rape, incest, and to protect the life of the mother. I strongly support the view that we need to create a culture of life in America." (www.isakson.senate.gov)
  • "I voted for this plan while serving in the U.S. House because it reduced taxes for everyone who pays income taxes, eliminated the death tax and marriage penalty tax, and increased the child tax credit." (www.isakson.senate.gov)
  • "Just as I did in the 109th Congress, I am again a cosponsor of S.1025, the Fair Tax Act of 2007, which would repeal the tax code and establish a national sales tax." (votesmart.org)
  • "This economic stimulus bill is yet another example of Congress throwing money at the symptoms but not getting to the root of the problem." (votesmart.org)
  • "We must take large and immediate steps to end the reckless spending that is threatening the future of our nation. Congress must become better stewards of the taxpayers' money." (votesmart.org)
  • "I have always believed that taxpayer dollars are best left in the hands of the people who earned them. In 2001, Congress passed the largest federal tax relief package in a generation. I voted for this plan while serving in the U.S. House because it reduced taxes for everyone who pays income taxes, eliminated the death tax and marriage penalty tax, and increased the child tax credit. In 2013, after these tax cuts had expired, I voted to reinstate the lower individual rates for 99.1 percent of Americans and to make those lower rates permanent." (www.isakson.senate.gov)
  • "I believe jump-starting the demand for housing is essential to boosting the economy. We must fix housing first. To that end, I introduced the home buyer tax credit in the Senate, which passed for first-time home buyers at the beginning of 2009." (votesmart.org)
  • "I worked for passage of the President's tax relief package and one of my top priorities in the Senate is to make these tax cuts permanent." (votesmart.org)
  • "This bill ensures there will be no Common Core mandate by the Federal Government to the States and ensures local control of curriculum from beginning to end." (votesmart.org)
  • "One provision included in No Child Left Behind called Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, requires that states use standardized testing in order to measure progress […] while I believe that schools should still report their progress, it is time for Congress to repeal AYP in the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind." (www.isakson.senate.gov)
  • "The Obama administration’s rejection of a construction permit for the Keystone XL pipeline in January 2012 was a terrible mistake." (www.isakson.senate.gov)
  • Voted in favor of "S 1 - A Bill to Approve the Keystone XL Pipeline" (votesmart.org)
  • "I believe we must encourage all forms of energy alternatives. We have a diverse country with many assets that regionally are very different. If we're going to have standards that call on us to find renewable energy to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we must promote all those sources and not narrow those sources." (votesmart.org)
  • "The United States must develop a balanced national energy policy that increases and diversifies our country’s energy supply in environmentally and economically friendly ways." (www.isakson.senate.gov)
  • Cosponsored and voted in favor of S.J.Res.26 "Statement of Opposition to EPA Greenhouse Gas Rule" (votesmart.org)
  • "We need incentives to reduce carbon, not to punish its production, and I am working to ensure that the flawed Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill, that would raise the cost of energy to all Georgians and negatively impact the American economy, does not pass the Senate." (votesmart.org)
  • "We should implement market-based approaches to air and water quality that guarantee results while keeping utility prices affordable for Americans." (votesmart.org)
  • Rated 93% by National Rifle Association (votesmart.org)
  • Voted in favor of S.Amdt.2915 "Defend Our Capital Act of 2015" (votesmart.org)
  • "I firmly believe that we do not need more gun control in America; rather we need more criminal control. To that end, I support instant background checks on the purchase of all guns to prevent convicted felons from obtaining them, but I do not support waiting periods or the registration of any firearm." (votesmart.org)
  • "I have co-sponsored several pieces of legislation aimed at repealing provisions of the health care law, and have voted to repeal the health care law altogether." (www.isakson.senate.gov)
  • "Since Obamacare became law, I have voted nearly 60 times to kill, repeal, dismantle and defund it." (www.facebook.com)
  • Voted in favor of H.R.3762 "Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 " (votesmart.org)
  • "I do not believe in any special pathway to citizenship for individuals who are here illegally. I believe that all immigrants should pursue citizenship by getting in line and complying with the same rules that are already in place." (www.isakson.senate.gov)
  • "My legislation would not offer any special pathway to obtaining U.S. citizenship for these individuals. They would have to pursue citizenship by getting in line and complying with the same rules and procedures that are already in place for any other immigrant." (votesmart.org)
  • Voted in favor of S.Amdt.1197 "Requires the Completion of the Fence Along the United States-Mexico Border" (votesmart.org)
  • Rated 0% by Human Rights Campaign (votesmart.org)
  • "I have co-sponsored the Marriage Protection Amendment because I believe it is important for the sanctity of marriage and for the laws of this country that we have a seamless definition of marriage, and the only way to do that is to establish one in the Constitution." (www.isakson.senate.gov)
  • Voted in favor of "S.J. Res. 1 'Same Sex Marriage Resolution'" (votesmart.org)
  • "As I have said repeatedly, the United States must take the fight to ISIL. We should exercise Article 5 of the NATO accord to engage the entire free world against terror. What happened in Paris could happen anywhere and we must stop it now." (votesmart.org)
  • "The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, changed our nation forever, and I believe America must remain vigilant and prepared to defend itself against a wide variety of threats. It is important now more than ever that we protect our homeland by continuing our efforts against terrorism and fighting for freedom around the world." (votesmart.org)
  • "Many Georgians and their families depend on the Medicare and Social Security benefits they have spent much of their lives paying in to, and I will continue to work to protect access to care and benefits for millions of seniors across the country." (votesmart.org)
  • "We must change the formula for Social Security […] Adjusting the age of eligibility for Social Security benefits, except for those who are currently receiving it, would help secure funding for future generations." (www.isakson.senate.gov)

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