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Mike Conaway'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.

Mike Conaway has failed to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2018 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.

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 2018.

  • Rated 0% by Planned Parenthood (votesmart.org)
  • Rated 100% by the National Right to Life Committee (votesmart.org)
  • "There is nothing more important than respect for the sanctity of life and after 20 weeks, babies are able to feel pain and are increasingly able to live outside the womb." (votesmart.org)
  • "The President's proposal is a 'tax and spend' bill masquerading as jobs legislation. Instead of identifying real saving within our current budget, the President proposed a plan to raise taxes by $460 billion over the next ten years to finance this spending. After the failure of the first stimulus, you would of thought the White House finally got it: "permanent taxes for temporary spending' does nothing to create jobs." (votesmart.org)
  • "This increase would affect Americans at every income level. Higher taxes will discourage economic growth, reduce investor confidence and create a decline in jobs, wages and opportunities." (votesmart.org)
  • "This funding bill keeps our government open and running through FY2017, which is a win for our country. It increases military spending, taking a step towards rebuilding the strength and readiness of our military." (votesmart.org)
  • "Today, in a dangerous world filled with threatening nations like Iran and North Korea and terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and their affiliates in Africa and Asia, a strong military will keep us safe and deter those who would do us harm." (votesmart.org)
  • Voted in favor of HR 5912 "Prohibits Public Funding for Political Party Conventions" (votesmart.org)
  • "As a CPA and fiscal conservative, I am committed to working with my colleagues to cut spending and put our fiscal house in order. Congress does not have a blank check; it is vitally important that we balance the federal budget." (votesmart.org)
  • We have released a budget that cuts government spending responsibly, enacts commonsense reforms, and, most importantly, balances the government's books within 10 years. […] That is not what America needs, Mr. Speaker. With our budget, House Republicans have provided a genuine blueprint for creating more jobs and opportunity in America today." (votesmart.org)
  • "This increase would affect Americans at every income level. Higher taxes will discourage economic growth, reduce investor confidence and create a decline in jobs, wages and opportunities." (votesmart.org)
  • "We must pass fundamental, comprehensive tax reform to sweep away this mess. While I am partial to the fair tax, I support reform efforts that will reduce tax rates and expand the tax base." (votesmart.org)
  • Voted in favor of H.R. 1 "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" (votesmart.org)
  • "Achieving benchmarks for students is a necessary and important feature of NCLB; however, I believe that our school systems should be given more flexibility to work to ensure that the goals we set for all of our students are met. I am a strong supporter of educational standards and rewarding those who meet those standards. However, not all children are the same." (votesmart.org)
  • Rated 0% by the National Education Association (votesmart.org)
  • "The legislation calls to strike the paragraph, which was written and inserted by Texas Congressman Lloyd Doggett, that calls for Texas to make additional requirements beyond what all other states are required to make in order to qualify for the funding. These additional requirements are not only inequitable, but according to Texas officials, would require the state to make assurances that violate the Texas Constitution." (votesmart.org)
  • "While I believe our educational institutions are best controlled at a local level, the federal government has played a role in holding our schools and teachers accountable for quality education through the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). While I am a supporter of the foundation of the law, I believe that we can do a better job of its implementation." (votesmart.org)
  • "Alongside traditional fuels, renewable technologies like wind, solar, geothermal, and others are rapidly advancing here in Texas. These energy sources currently produce a small fraction of our total energy needs, but in time as they become cost competitive with fossil fuels, they will represent an important part of our energy portfolio." (conaway.house.gov)
  • "Today, West Texas also leads in the production of clean, renewable wind energy. I am very encouraged by the leaders in West Texas who are expanding our energy portfolio." (votesmart.org)
  • "The avalanche of regulations coming out of Washington are threatening to close hundreds of coal-fired power plants across the country, putting Americans out of work, and driving up electricity costs for businesses and families at the very time they cannot afford to pay more." (votesmart.org)
  • "The day that the cap-and-trade bill which more appropriately should be called cap-and-tax is signed by President Obama will be a 'Bad Day at Black Rock' for our country. (votesmart.org)
  • "As a gun owner, lifetime member of the NRA, and a congressman with an A NRA voting record, I am ardent supporter of the Second Amendment. I am committed to preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution." (votesmart.org)
  • Rated 90% by Gun Owners of America (votesmart.org)
  • Rated 100% by the National Rifle Association (votesmart.org)
  • "I will continue to demand that Congress and the President repeal this law and replace it with one that puts patients first, that allows new and innovative paths for care and coverage, and that does not put the government between patients and their doctors." (votesmart.org)
  • "Starting today, we will renew our effort to repeal this terrible legislation and replace it with patient centered solutions that are less bureaucratic, less costly, and less intrusive on the rights of Americans and the Constitution." (votesmart.org)
  • Voted in favor of H.R. 596 "Repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and Health Care-Related Provisions in the Health Care and Reconciliation Act of 2010" (votesmart.org)
  • "While I am committed to the repeal of Obamacare, until we can accomplish that I will do my level best to minimize the harm that it is causing." (votesmart.org)
  • "The 2017 NDAA is absolutely critical to our national security. Most importantly, it provides our men and women in uniform with the resources they need to properly execute their missions to protect the United States of America in an increasingly unstable world." (votesmart.org)
  • "A step-by-step approach to immigration reform should consist of three parts, starting with securing the borders and enforcing current laws, then modernizing our immigration rules, and deciding what to do with the 11 million illegal immigrants already in our country. Border security and enforcing existing laws must be starting points for any discussion about immigration reform. We cannot make lasting reforms without first ensuring that every immigrant enters our country lawfully. It is in America's best interest to know exactly who and what is coming across our borders." (conaway.house.gov)
  • "We cannot allow immigration or border policy to encourage unlawful immigration. While the majority of people seeking to enter our country may not be direct threats to national security, we simply cannot be certain without vigilant regulation. We must make it our goal to interdict every person trying to cross our border illegally." (votesmart.org)
  • "His decision to circumvent the proper legislative process was not the right way to handle this, and the President himself even admitted that he did not have the legal authority to act on immigration in this way." (votesmart.org)
  • Rated 100% by the Federation for Immigration Reform (votesmart.org)
  • Rated 17% by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (votesmart.org)
  • Rated 0% by Americans for Safe Access (votesmart.org)
  • Voted against H Amdt 748 "Prohibits Federal Agencies from Preventing States from Authorizing the Use of Medical Marijuana" (votesmart.org)
  • "Today, in a dangerous world filled with threatening nations like Iran and North Korea and terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and their affiliates in Africa and Asia, a strong military will keep us safe and deter those who would do us harm." (votesmart.org)
  • "The goal of a deal with Iran was to prevent Iran from obtaining or developing a nuclear weapon. Instead of dismantling Iran's nuclear program permanently, this agreement only delays it by 9 months and provides Iran with unrestricted financial assets it can then use to support terrorism. The deal also hinges on Iran's cooperation with international inspectors, which has never been successful in the past. […] This is a bad deal all around for the United States, plain and simple. The Obama Administration has decided to abandon many of our allies, including Israel, in the negotiations with Iran. 58% of American voters do not trust Iran at all, and I agree. Iran has never given us any reason to believe that they are serious about ending their nuclear program, and this deal proves that the Obama Administration isn't either." (votesmart.org)
  • "Tuesday, Congressman Mike Conaway (TX-11) announced the introduction of H.R. 3329, legislation to increase the number of operational aircraft carriers in the U.S. Navy fleet mandated by law from 11 to 12. This announcement comes after revelations during a House Armed Services Committee hearing that the Navy will not have the capabilities to provide a "continuous" aircraft carrier presence in both the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific until fiscal year 2021. 'When the United States first decided to conduct airstrikes against ISIS in 2014, the USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77) was in place within 30 hours. The carrier then remained the sole source of airstrikes for the first 54 days of the air campaign. Our carrier fleet today is being asked to deal with threats and crises all over the globe, from attacks in Iraq and Syria to humanitarian disaster relief in the Pacific.'" (votesmart.org)
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.
The Political Courage Test asks candidates which items they will support if elected. It does not ask them to indicate which items they will oppose. Through extensive research of public polling data, we discovered that voters are more concerned with what candidates would support when elected to office, not what they oppose. If a candidate does not select a response to any part or all of any question, it does not necessarily indicate that the candidate is opposed to that particular item.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding abortion.

a) Abortions should always be illegal.
b) Abortions should always be legal.
c) Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
d) Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape.
X e) Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
X f) Prohibit the dilation and extraction procedure, also known as "partial-birth" abortion.
X g) Prohibit public funding of abortions and of organizations that advocate or perform abortions.
h) Other or expanded principles

Using the key, indicate what federal funding levels you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category.Budget Priorities

Slightly Increase a) Agriculture
Slightly Decrease b) Arts
Slightly Increase c) Defense
Slightly Increase d) Education
Maintain Status e) Environment
Slightly Increase f) Homeland security
Slightly Decrease g) International aid
Maintain Status h) Law enforcement
Maintain Status i) Medical research
Maintain Status j) National parks
Slightly Increase k) Public health services
Maintain Status l) Scientific research
Maintain Status m) Space exploration programs
Slightly Increase n) Transportation and highway infrastructure
Maintain Status o) Welfare
p) Other or expanded categories

Defense Spending

Slightly Increase a) Armed Forces personnel training
Maintain Status b) Intelligence operations
Greatly Increase c) Military hardware
Slightly Increase d) Modernization of weaponry and equipment
Slightly Increase e) National missile defense
Slightly Increase f) Pay for active duty personnel
Slightly Increase g) Programs to improve troop retention rates
Maintain Status h) Research and development of new weapons
Maintain Status i) Troop and equipment readiness
j) Other or expanded categories

Using the key above, indicate what federal tax levels you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category.TaxesIncome Taxes:Family IncomeRetiree IncomeOther Taxes:Deductions/Credits:

Eliminate a) Less than $25,000
Greatly Decrease b) $25,000-$75,000
Slightly Decrease c) $75,000-$150,000
Slightly Decrease d) Over $150,000
Slightly Decrease e) Other or expanded categories
Slightly Decrease f) Over $40,000
g) Other or expanded categories
Maintain Status a) Alcohol taxes
Slightly Decrease b) Capital gains taxes
Maintain Status c) Cigarette taxes
Greatly Decrease d) Corporate taxes
Maintain Status e) Gasoline taxes
Eliminate f) Inheritance taxes
g) Other or expanded categories
Maintain Status a) Charitable contributions
Maintain Status b) Child tax credit
Maintain Status c) Earned income tax credit
Slightly Increase d) Medical expense deduction
Maintain Status e) Mortgage deduction
Slightly Increase f) Student loan credit
g) Other or expanded categories
Yes 4) Do you support permanent repeal of the federal estate tax?
Yes 5) Do you support eliminating taxes on dividends paid to individual investors?
Yes 6) Should a married couple filing jointly pay the same taxes as if they were an unmarried couple filing separately?
7) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding campaign finance and government reform.

a) Support public taxpayer funding for federal candidates who comply with campaign spending limits.
b) Increase the amount individuals are permitted to contribute to federal campaigns.
c) Prohibit Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions to candidates for federal office.
d) Allow unregulated soft money campaign contributions to political parties or committees.
e) Allow ads paid for by soft money that support or attack a candidate for federal office.
f) Allow issue advocacy commercials by corporations, labor unions, and non-profit groups which appear within 60 days of a general election and within 30 days of a primary election.
g) Remove all contribution limits on federal campaigns and parties.
No h) Do you support instant run-off voting (IRV)?
Yes i) Should Election Day be a national holiday?
No j) Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions?
Yes k) Should marriage be restricted to a union only between a man and a woman?
l) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding crime.

X a) Support the use of the death penalty for federal crimes.
b) Eliminate the use of the death penalty for federal crimes.
c) Impose "truth in sentencing" for violent criminals so they serve full sentences with no chance of parole.
X d) Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
X e) Support programs to provide prison inmates with drug and alcohol addiction treatment.
f) Reduce prison sentences for those who commit non-violent crimes.
X g) Support additional criminal penalties if a fetus is killed in the commission of a federal crime against a pregnant woman.
h) Require that crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, and disability be prosecuted as federal hate crimes.
X i) Support programs that provide job training and placement services for at-risk youth.
j) Impose stricter penalties for those convicted of white-collar crimes.
k) Enforcement of civil rights should primarily be the responsibility of the federal government.
X l) Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
m) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding drugs.

X a) Support mandatory jail sentences for selling illegal drugs.
b) Expand federally sponsored drug education and drug treatment programs.
c) Decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
d) Allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
X e) Increase border security to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the United States.
f) Eliminate federal funding for programs associated with the "war on drugs."
g) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.

X a) Support national standards for and testing of public school students.
b) Allow parents to use vouchers (equal opportunity scholarships) to send their children to any public school.
c) Allow parents to use vouchers (equal opportunity scholarships) to send their children to any private or religious school.
d) Allow teachers and professionals to receive authorization and funding to establish charter schools.
X e) Increase funding for block grants to states to aid in the hiring of additional teachers.
X f) Support teacher testing and reward teachers with merit pay.
g) Increase funding for school capital improvements (e.g. buildings, infrastructure, technology).
X h) Support granting states limited control over Head Start programs.
X i) Support changing the mission of Head Start to emphasize improving the math and reading skills of disadvantaged children.
j) Providing education is not a responsibility of the federal government.
k) Support affirmative action in public college admissions.
X l) Increase funding of programs such as Pell grants and Stafford loans to help students pay for college.
X m) Support federal tax incentives to help families save for college.
n) Other or expanded principles

1) Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding employment.2) Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding affirmative action.

a) Increase funding for national job-training programs that re-train displaced workers or teach skills needed in today's job market.
X b) Reduce government regulation of the private sector in order to encourage investment and economic expansion.
c) Provide tax credits or grants to businesses that offer child care services to employees.
X d) Encourage employers to offer flex-time scheduling, comp-time, and unpaid leave for family emergencies.
e) Eliminate all federal programs designed to reduce unemployment.
f) Increase the federal minimum wage.
g) Support the right of workers to strike without fear of being permanently replaced.
X h) Allow workers to sell company stock and to diversify their company retirement funds into other investment options.
i) Other or expanded principles
a) The federal government should consider race and gender in government contracting decisions.
X b) The federal government should discontinue affirmative action programs.
c) The federal government should continue affirmative action programs.
d) Include sexual orientation in federal anti-discrimination laws.
e) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.

a) Strengthen the regulation and enforcement of the Clean Water Act.
b) Strengthen the regulation and enforcement of the Clean Air Act.
X c) Require states to compensate citizens when environmental regulations limit uses of privately-owned land.
d) Relax logging restrictions on federal lands.
X e) Relax standards on federal lands to allow increased recreational usage.
X f) Support increased development of traditional energy resources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil).
g) Strengthen emission controls and fuel efficiency standards on all gasoline and diesel-powered engines, including cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles.
X h) Support opening a select portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil exploration.
X i) Encourage further development and use of alternative fuels to reduce pollution.
X j) Support the use of ethanol as an alternative fuel.
X k) Allow energy producers to trade pollution credits.
l) Support the U.S. re-entering the Kyoto treaty process to limit global warming.
m) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding guns.

a) Renew the ban on the sale or transfer of semi-automatic guns, except those used for hunting.
b) Maintain and strengthen the current level of enforcement of existing federal restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
c) Ease federal restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
d) Repeal federal restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
X e) Allow citizens to carry concealed guns.
f) Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks on guns.
g) Require background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows.
h) Require a license for gun possession.
i) Establish a national database of ballistic "fingerprints" to track guns used in criminal activities.
X j) Support legislation that would protect manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and importers of firearms from civil lawsuits by crime victims.
k) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding health care.

a) Providing health care is not a responsibility of the federal government.
b) Implement a universal health care program to guarantee coverage to all Americans regardless of income.
X c) Support a Patient's Bill of Rights which includes appeal mechanisms when claims are denied.
X d) Support a Patient's Bill of Rights which includes the right to sue when claims are denied.
X e) Expand eligibility for tax-free medical savings accounts.
X f) Establish limits on the amount of punitive damages awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
g) Support expanding prescription drug coverage under Medicare.
h) Support expanding prescription drug coverage under private managed care plans.
X i) Offer tax credits to individuals and small businesses to offset the cost of insurance coverage.
X j) Support automatic enrollment of children in federal health care programs such as CHIP and Medicaid.
X k) Allow 55-65 year-olds to buy into Medicare.
l) Support stem cell research on existing lines of stem cells.
m) Allow laboratories to create new lines of stem cells for additional research.
n) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding immigration.

X a) Decrease the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country.
b) Establish English as the official national language.
X c) Increase the number of visas issued for agricultural workers.
d) Relax restrictions barring legal immigrants from using social programs (e.g. public housing, food stamps).
e) Support amnesty for certain illegal immigrants who already reside in the United States.
f) Support the detention of asylum seekers from countries known to sponsor terrorism.
g) Other or expanded principles

International AidIndicate which principles you support (if any) regarding United States economic assistance.

X a) Aid should be granted to countries when extraordinary circumstances cause disaster and threaten civilian lives.
X b) Aid should be granted to countries when it is in the security interests of the United States.
c) Aid should be eliminated for any nation with documented human rights abuses.
d) Aid programs should be scaled back and eventually eliminated.
e) Other or expanded principles

International Policy1) Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the Middle East.2) Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding Central and East Asia.3) Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the United Nations.

Yes a) Should the United States continue to provide leadership in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process?
Yes b) Should the United States support the creation of a Palestinian state?
No c) Should the United States withdraw its troops from Iraq?
e) Other or expanded principles
Yes a) Should the United States use diplomatic and economic pressure to encourage North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program?
No b) Should the United States use military force to destroy the North Korean nuclear weapons program?
Undecided c) Should the United States remove the North Korean government from power?
No d) Should the United States increase financial support to Afghanistan?
No e) Should the United States increase military support to Afghanistan?
f) Other or expanded principles
No a) Should the United States maintain its financial support of the United Nations?
Yes b) Should the United States decrease its financial support of the United Nations?
Undecided c) Should the United States commit troops to United Nations peacekeeping missions?
d) Other or expanded principles
Yes 4) Should the United States lift the travel ban to Cuba?
No 5) Should the United States increase its financial support to Colombia to combat "the war on drugs"?
Yes 6) Should aid to African nations for AIDS prevention programs fund distribution of contraceptives?
Yes 7) Should aid to African nations for AIDS prevention fund abstinence education?
The initial phase should be paid by the international community with remainder of long term reconstruction paid for or financed using Iraq resources including sale of oil.

International TradeIndicate which principles you support (if any) regarding international trade.

Yes 1) Do you support the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)?
Yes 2) Do you support the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)?
Yes 3) Do you support continued U.S. membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO)?
Undecided 4) Should a nation's human rights record affect its normal trade relations (most favored nation) status with the United States?
No 5) Do you support the trade embargo against Cuba?
Yes 6) Should trade agreements include provisions to address environmental concerns and to protect workers' rights?
7) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding national security.

Yes a) Do you support using military tribunals to try suspected terrorists when ordinary civilian courts are deemed inappropriate or impractical?
Yes b) Should the United States adopt stricter rules for student visa applications from nations known to sponsor terrorism?
No c) Should the United States grant law enforcement agencies greater discretion to read mail and email, tap phones, and conduct random searches to prevent future terrorist attacks?
Yes d) Should the United States hold foreign states accountable for terrorists who operate in their country?
Yes e) Should the federal government increase funding to states and cities for homeland security?
Yes f) Do you support a policy of pre-emptive strikes against countries deemed to be a threat to national security?
g) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding Social Security.

X a) Allow workers to invest a portion of their payroll tax in private accounts which they manage themselves.
X b) Allow workers to invest a portion of their payroll tax in private accounts managed by private firms contracted by the government.
c) Invest a portion of Social Security assets collectively in stocks and bonds instead of United States Treasury securities.
d) Increase the payroll tax to better finance Social Security in its current form.
e) Lower the annual cost-of-living increases.
f) Raise the retirement age for when individuals are eligible to receive full Social Security benefits.
g) Other of expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding technology and communication.

a) Collect taxes on commercial Internet transactions.
b) Continue the moratorium on Internet taxation.
X c) Implement regulation of Internet content.
X d) Support government mandates to curtail violent and sexual content on television.
X e) Support strict penalties for Internet crimes (e.g. hacking, identity theft, worms/viruses).
X f) Support legislation to detail how personal information can be collected and used on the Internet.
g) Regulating the Internet is not a responsibility of the federal government.
X h) Impose regulations on "spam" emails.
i) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding welfare and poverty.

X a) Require welfare recipients to spend at least 40 hours a week in a combination of work and training programs.
b) Increase funding for child care programs.
X c) Continue to give states and local governments flexibility in and responsibility for welfare programs through federal block grants.
X d) Direct federal poverty aid through religious, community-based, or other non-profit organizations.
e) Abolish all federal welfare programs.
X f) Support housing assistance for low-income families.
g) Other or expanded principles
On an attached page, disk, or via email, please explain in a total of 75 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected. If they require additional funding for implementation, please explain how you would obtain this funding.

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