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Tom Latham'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.

What else does Latham say?

Tom Latham refused to tell citizens where he stands on any of the issues addressed in the 2012 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart, national media, and prominent political leaders.

What is the Political Courage Test?

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 2012.

Pro-life

Abortion: Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?

Pro-life

Yes

Afghanistan: Do you support United States' combat operations in Afghanistan?

Yes

Tom Latham. Project Vote Smart: 2010 Iowa Congressional Political Courage Test. Selected "Yes" for: "a) Do you support United States military action in Afghanistan?"
Tom Latham. Project Vote Smart: 2004 Iowa Congressional Political Courage Test. Selected "Yes" for: "e) Should the United States increase military support to Afghanistan?"
Tom Latham. Latham Statement on President's Afghanistan Speech. 1 December 2009.”I understand the difficulty of the mission and the sacrifice our country is asking of our men and women in uniform, including the 3,500 members of the Iowa National Guard currently preparing for deployments in Afghanistan. But I also understand the danger of allowing the country to become a safe haven for the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. I applaud President Obama's increased commitment to training Afghan forces to provide peace and security for the country's population. The Afghan national army will have to play an increasingly prominent role to ensure the long-term stability of the country. Additionally, I remain opposed to setting an arbitrary withdrawal date that would allow the enemy to simply wait for us to go home before reasserting its presence in the region.” (votesmart.org)
Tom Latham. H Con Res 28. 112th Congress. Removing Troops from Afghanistan. Tom Latham voted Nay on 03/17/2011. (votesmart.org)
Peace Action. 04/18/2012. "Tom Latham supported the interests of the Peace Action 25 percent in 2010." (votesmart.org)
Peace Action West. 04/18/2012. "Tom Latham supported the interests of Peace Action West 25 percent in 2010." (votesmart.org)
Tom Latham. Project Vote Smart: 2010 Iowa Congressional Political Courage Test. Selected "Yes" for: "b) Do you support increasing military assistance for Afghanistan?"

Budget: In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending?

Budget: In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket?

Economy: Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth?

Yes

Economy: Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation?

Yes

Education: Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants?

Yes

Energy: Do you support reducing restrictions on offshore energy production?

Yes

Environment: Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions?

Guns: Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?

Yes

Health Care: Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act?

Yes

Immigration: Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship?

Yes

Marriage: Do you support same-sex marriage?

Yes

National Security: Do you support targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict?

Yes

Tom Latham. Project Vote Smart: 2004 Iowa Congressional Political Courage Test. Selected "Yes" for: "f) Do you support a policy of pre-emptive strikes against countries deemed to be a threat to national security?"
Tom Latham. Project Vote Smart: 2010 Iowa Congressional Political Courage Test. Selected "Yes" for: "d) Should the United States continue to strike suspected terrorist targets in Pakistan?"

Social Security: Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts?

This candidate has responded to a Political Courage Test in a previous election. As a continued effort to provide the American public with factual information on candidates running for public office, these archived responses are made available here.

Iowa Congressional Election 2010 Political Courage Test

Abortion Issues

Pro-life		a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life?
		b) Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy?
Yes		c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape?
Yes		d) Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered?
Yes		e) Should federal subsidies be prohibited from being used for abortion procedures?
		f) Other or expanded principles

Budget, Spending, and Tax Issues

1) SpendingIndicate what federal funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category- you can use a number more than once.2) 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.

Maintain Status		a) Agriculture
Slightly Decrease		b) Arts
Maintain Status		c) Defense
Maintain Status		1) Intelligence operations
Maintain Status		2) Military hardware
Maintain Status		3) National missile defense
Maintain Status		4) Salary and benefits for active duty personnel
Maintain Status		5) Programs to improve troop retention rates
Maintain Status		6) Research and development of new weapons
Maintain Status		d) Education
Slightly Decrease		e) Environment
Maintain Status		f) Homeland security
Greatly Decrease		g) International aid
Maintain Status		h) Medical research
Maintain Status		i) Scientific research
Slightly Decrease		j) Space exploration
Greatly Decrease		k) United Nations
Slightly Decrease		l) Welfare
		m) Other or expanded categories
Maintain Status		a) Alcohol taxes
Slightly Decrease		b) Capital gains taxes
Maintain Status		c) Cigarette taxes
Slightly Decrease		d) Corporate taxes
Maintain Status		e) Gasoline taxes
Slightly Decrease		f) Income taxes (low-income families)
Slightly Decrease		g) Income taxes (middle-income families)
Slightly Decrease		h) Income taxes (high-income families)
		i) Other or expanded categories
Yes		3) Do you support the elimination of the federal estate tax?
Yes		4) Do you support requiring the federal budget to be balanced each year?
No		5) Do you support using government funds in an effort to stimulate and improve the economy?
		6) Other or expanded principles

Business and Employment Issues

No		a) Do you support privatizing elements of Social Security?
Yes		b) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector?
No		c) Do you support increasing the federal minimum wage?
Yes		d) Do you support the ability of workers to unionize?
Yes		e) Do you support federal funding for job-training programs that retrain displaced workers?
		f) Other or expanded principles

Campaign Finance and Government Reform Issues

Yes		a) Do you support increasing the amount individuals are permitted to contribute to federal campaigns?
No		b) Should Congress regulate indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions?
Yes		c) Do you support removing all contribution limits on federal campaigns?
No		d) Should candidates for federal office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits?
Yes		e) Do you support giving the President the power of the line item veto for items concerning appropriations?
Yes		f) Do you support limiting the President's ability to define how legislation is applied through the use of signing statements?
		g) Other or expanded principles

Crime Issues

Yes		a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?
Yes		b) Do you support programs that provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related training and job-placement assistance when released?
Yes		c) Do you support programs that provide prison inmates with substance abuse treatment?
Yes		d) Do you support reduced prison sentences for non-violent offenders?
Yes		e) Do you support mandatory prison sentences for selling illegal drugs?
		f) Other or expanded principles

Education Issues

No		a) Do you support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students?
Yes		b) Do you support federal funding for universal pre-K programs?
Yes		c) Do you support federal funding for charter schools?
Yes		d) Do you support federal funding for K-12 school vouchers?
Yes		e) Do you support the federal government providing college students with financial aid?
		f) Other or expanded principles

Environment and Energy Issues

No		a) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change?
No		b) Do you support international emissions targets aimed at reducing the effects of climate change?
No		c) Do you support allowing energy producers to trade carbon credits under a "cap and trade" system?
Yes		d) Do you support strengthening fuel efficiency standards on all gasoline and diesel-powered engines, including cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles?
Yes		e) Do you support domestic oil exploration in federally-protected areas?
Yes		f) Do you support federal funding for the development of alternative energy?
Yes		g) Do you support the development of nuclear reactors?
		h) Other or expanded principles

Gun Issues

No		a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
Yes		b) Do you believe that the Second Amendment guarantees the right of individual citizens to own guns?
Yes		c) Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns?
No		d) Do you support a ban on assault rifles?
		e) Other or expanded principles

Health Issues

No		a) Do you support a publicly-administered health insurance option?
Yes		b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform?
Yes		c) Should the federal government expand eligibility for tax-free medical savings accounts?
Yes		d) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits?
No		e) Do you support relaxing regulations on the importation of prescription drugs?
		f) Other or expanded principles

Immigration Issues

No		a) Do you support a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants?
No		b) Do you support decreasing the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country?
Yes		c) Do you support establishing English as the official national language?
Yes		d) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police?
		e) Other or expanded principles

International Policy Issues

Yes		a) Do you support United States military action in Afghanistan?
Yes		b) Do you support increasing military assistance for Afghanistan?
Yes		c) Do you support increasing economic development assistance for Afghanistan?
Yes		d) Should the United States continue to strike suspected terrorist targets in Pakistan?
Yes		e) Do you support granting aid to countries when it is in the security interests of the United States?
Yes		f) Should the United States support the creation of a Palestinian state?
Yes		g) Do you support increasing sanctions on Iran if it continues to defy United Nations mandates?
Yes		h) Do you support the withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq?
Yes		i) Do you support the United States' involvement in free trade agreements?
		j) Other or expanded principles

Social Issues

Yes		a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman?
No		b) Do you support allowing openly-gay men and women to serve in the United States military?
No		c) Do you support federal funding for embryonic stem cell research?
Yes		d) Should the federal government end affirmative action programs?
		e) Other or expanded principles

Legislative Priorities

1 - Growing the nation's economy and job opportunities for Americans 2 - Reducing government waste, debt and spending

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