John Callahan'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.
John Callahan refused to tell citizens where he stands on any of the issues addressed in the 2010 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart, national media, and prominent political leaders.
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 2010.
- John B. Callahan. Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania PAC: 2010 Pennsylvania Congressional Election Voter Guide. "John Callahan is listed as PRO - Candidate supports a woman's right to choose; candidate supports access to and funding of family planning and prevention services - by Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania PAC." (www.pppavotes.org)
- John B. Callahan. Democratic challenger cites two votes by GOP congressman on abortion and equal pay. 17 March 2010. "Callahan said he supports a woman's right to have an abortion and opposes limits on late-term procedures. But he supports a ban on federal funding for abortion and parental notification laws if they include a provision that allows a judge to lift the requirement in certain cases. "Government should not be in the business of telling a woman, or anyone for that matter, what they can or cannot do with their own bodies," Callahan said." (www.callahanforcongress.com)
- Planned Parenthood. 2010. Project Vote Smart: Interest Group Endorsements. 14 September 2010. Planned Parenthood endorsed John B. Callahan in the 2010 general election. (votesmart.org)
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Pa 2010. Callahan says he would have opposed the bailouts. 14 June 2010. "Democratic congressional hopeful John Callahan is adamant that he would have voted against both financial bailouts that came before Congress in 2008-both the $700-billion measure that didn't pass and the $850-billion bill that did. "I want to be very clear about where I stand on both of those bailouts," Callahan, the Bethlehem mayor, said in a recent interview with pa2010.com. "If I had to vote on either version of the bailout, I would have opposed both of them because neither had? necessary taxpayer protections." [?] "We need common-sense Wall Street reform to prevent future bailouts, to make sure that we have proper consumer protection and to strengthen the oversight," Callahan said. [?] Callahan also said "I do not accept [the] premise" that taking the time to put more taxpayer protections into the bailout measure would have risked a financial collapse." (www.pa2010.com)
- John Callahan. Issue Position: Jobs & Economic Development. "In these tough times, we need more than the same old Washington politics as usual. It's time we help middle class and working families who are struggling by creating new jobs, expanding opportunities, and ending reckless spending practices." (votesmart.org)
- John B. Callahan. Issue Position: Protecting Social Security and Medicare. "Social Security is a promise we made to our seniors, and it's one I intend to keep. For the last 75 years it has provided a safety net for our seniors and today nearly 40 million people receive Social Security, including nearly 150,000 in Pennsylvania's 15th Congressional District. At the same time politicians are putting the program in jeopardy like never before. Social Security faces the dual threat of privatization and out of control spending that threaten the next generations ability to have the same Social Security we have today. To ensure future benefits, we must make sure Washington never tries to gamble Social Security on Wall Street and we must get our debt under control so that we have the means to ensure its continued success for the next 75 years." (www.callahanforcongress.com)
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- John B. Callahan. Issue Position: Education. "It's time for Washington to start working with parents, students, and teachers instead of against them. To improve our children's education, we need more support, not more mandates...While the goals of Obama's Race to the Top may have been well intended, the net result was to create a program that inequitably distributed desperately needed education funding. Untold numbers of teachers may have to be laid off because Pennsylvania's application didn't meet arbitrary guidelines. We shouldn't be basing our school funding decisions on some kind of one size fits all contest. These are our children and we can't afford to play politics with their future. No Child Left Behind created one size fits all standards, but didn't ever provide the needed funding. Race to the Top does give far more local control but in the end rewarded less than 15 states. If Washington is going to meddle in local education it needs to do so in a way that provides equitable support rather than mandates and uneven funding." (votesmart.org)
- John B. Callahan. Joined by Teachers Representing Every School District in PA-15, Callahan Calls for an Education Policy that Puts Our Kids First. 31 August 2010. "We shouldn't be basing the future of our children on a contest and that is why I oppose the Race to the Top." (votesmart.org)
- Pa2010.com. Dent, Callahan agree on cap-and-trade. 29 June 2010. "The common ground emerged after Dent, the incumbent Republican, challenged Callahan, the Bethlehem mayor and White House recruit, to take a stance on the cap-and-trade energy legislation that has passed the House but stalled in the Senate. Dent voted against the bill last year, and in response to the challenge, Callahan campaign manager Justin Schall said his candidate would have voted against the measure had he been in Washington. 'The bill had a lot of benefits? [such as] investing in renewable energy,' Schall told pa2010.com. "But in this economy, cap-and-trade would just be too much." (www.pa2010.com)
- Mayors Against Illegal Guns. A Common Sense Strategy to Fix America's Broken Background Check System. 1 May 2008. "We write to you as members of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a bipartisan coalition of more than 300 mayors from across the country who are committed to keeping illegal guns out of the hands of criminals. The coalition wishes to express our shared concern that the federal government is not doing enough to close gaps in America's background check system. [?] That's why Mayors Against Illegal Guns is proposing a common sense strategy to fix the most glaring remaining gaps in the background check system: Close the gun show loophole: [?] End the gun dealer fire sales: [?] Require gun dealers to do background checks on employees: [?] Close the "Terror Gap": [?] Closing these loopholes has nothing to do with the Second Amendment or the rights of responsible gun owners. It is about protecting the public by preventing guns from falling into the hands of criminals. [?] Mayor John B. Callahan, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania [?]." (www.nraila.org)
- John B. Callahan. Callahan Supports Health Insurance Reform. 22 March 2010. "As I've stated for months, this country needed healthcare reform. Though this bill is far from perfect, and the process was far from perfect, the fact is our healthcare system is broken and the status quo is unsustainable. I believe that passing this bill is a step in the right direction because the good outweighs the bad for the people of the Lehigh Valley." (www.callahanforcongress.com)
- John B. Callahan. Issue Position: Health Care. "John has several main principles on health care reform: that people who like their coverage and their doctors should have the choice to keep that coverage; that it reduce the sky rocketing cost of good insurance coverage; that there are no cuts to the benefits our seniors get from Medicare and Medicaid; that people with pre-existing conditions can't be denied coverage, and lastly that any reform is fiscally responsible and deficit neutral. Expanding access to health care is also one of John's priorities." (votesmart.org)
- John B. Callahan. The Morning Call: Live Congressional Candidate Chat with John Callahan (D). 20 October 2010. "There is no question that immigration is an important issue. Right now it's a problem because Washington and Charlie Dent have failed. Charlie Dent has had almost six years to fix this problem and nothing has happened. We have to have comprehensive reform, and that starts with securing our borders. We also have to crack down on employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. For me any reform plan must do the following with illegal immigrants already here: 1. Go to the back of the line 2. Register with the government 3. Pay back taxes 4. Undergo criminal background checks 5. Learn English There is no question though that the visas you speak of should only be issued in limited circumstances. With 10% unemployment there are many Americans looking for work, and new employment should start there." (www.coveritlive.com)
- John B. Callahan. The Morning Call: Live Congressional Candidate Chat with John Callahan (D). 20 October 2010. "A withdrawal shouldn't be based on an arbitrary date on the calendar, it should be based on a clear set of objectives, and our ability to meet them. I agree with the December review, but any withdrawal has to be based on conditions on the ground. We must listen to our generals and make sure we deprive Al-Qaeda of a haven. We can never forget why we are in Afghanistan in the first place. 3,000 Americans were murdered simply because they went to work on a Tuesday. We are still a nation at war with a real threat out there. We must take the fight to wherever the terrorist go." (www.coveritlive.com)
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.