Ron Paul
is a Republican Congressman and Physician |
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Universal Health Care strongly against Paul advocates a strictly free-market approach to health care that would minimize government mandates and regulation. He does not feel that the Constitution grants congress the power to provide or regulate health care and he is therefore critical of Medicare and the 1973 HMO Act, which tied health insurance to employment (http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul339.html). When asked in the GOP primary debate on 21 Oct 2007, the GOP Presidential Forum on 27 Sept 2007, and the GOP Values Voter Presidential Debate on 17 Sep 2007, Paul opposed mandated health insurance and universal coverage. He has voted against bills that would expand subsidized medical care programs (Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act; Bill H.R. 3963 25 Oct 2007) and prescription drug coverage (Bill HR 4680, 28 Jun 2000). |
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Kyoto Protocol Ratification strongly against Fears the Kyoto Accords will affect world trade and will be an "open door" for the WTO to act as enforcer toward the United States (http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul250.html). Voted against implementing Kyoto Protocol (Bill HR 4690 ; 26 Jun 2000). |
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Economic Sanctions on Iran strongly against Paul has consistently opposed Iran sanctions for a number of reasons. On his congressional website, he writes, "Economic sanctions are acts of aggression. Sanctions increase poverty and misery among the very poorest inhabitants of targeted nations, and they breed tremendous resentment against those imposing them. But they rarely hurt the political and economic elites responsible for angering American leaders in the first place.In fact, few government policies are as destructive to our economy as the embargo" (http://www.house.gov/paul/tst/tst2006/tst041706.htm). He has stated that this proposal is similar to the 1998 Iraq Liberation Act. He feels this legislation was ineffective, destructive, and led to the Iraq War (Fox New, 15 March 06, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RBBV-_Uudk). |
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Assault Weapons Ban strongly against Paul is a strong supporter of gun ownership (http://www.gunlawnews.org/Representatives/Ron-Paul.html) and the preservation of the 2nd Amendment (http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul73.html). On 17 Feb 2007, Paul introduced the Second Amendment Protection Act (H.R. 1096). |
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Same Sex Marriage against Paul says he would have voted for the Defense of Marriage Act if he were in congress in 1996 to ensure that no state would be forced to recognize a “same sex” marriage license issued in another state. He was an original cosponsor of the Marriage Protection Act, HR 3313, that removes challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act from federal courts’ jurisdiction (http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul207.html). Paul's opposition to legislation regarding same-sex marriage stems mainly from his belief that the federal government should not interfere in voluntary associations of any kind (Candidates@Google, 13 July 2007, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCM_wQy4YVg), and that recognizing or legislating marriages should be left to the states (http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul160.html). However, he also states his opposition to "federal efforts to redefine marriage as something other than a union between one man and one woman," implying that he supports a federal definition of marriage. He also wrote, "If I were a member of the Texas legislature, I would do all I could to oppose any attempt by rogue judges to impose a new definition of marriage on the people of my state"(http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul207.html). |
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Legalized Abortion against Paul believes that under the 10th Amendment, the federal government (including the Supreme Court) does does not have the authority to decide on the legality of abortion (http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul301.html). Paul introduced The Sanctity of Life Act of 2005, a bill that would have defined human life to begin at conception, and removed challenges to prohibitions on abortion from federal court jurisdiction (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h109-776). In 2005, Paul introduced the We the People Act, which would have removed "any claim based upon the right of privacy, including any such claim related to any issue of ... reproduction" from the jurisdiction of federal courts (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-300). In 2005, Paul voted against restricting interstate transport of minors to get abortions. Voted for the Partial Birth Abortion Act on 05 Oct 2000 (Bill HR 3660). |
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Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Oil Drilling supports |
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Agricultural Subsidies strongly against Paul voted against the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 and Agricultural Act of 200l which granted subsidies for agriculture. |
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No Child Left Behind Act strongly against Opposes federal control of education. |
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Constitutional Ban on Flag Desecration against In June of 2003 Paul voted NO on constitutional amendment prohibiting flag desecration, arguing that its practice is protected by the 1st amendment. |
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Legalization of Medical Marijuana strongly supports Paul strongly supports states decision to legalize medical marijuana and was a co-sponsor to States Rights to Medical Marijuana Act. |
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Legalization of Gambling supports Paul and vocally opposed internet gambling restrictions because it is "inconsistent with the Constitution and a free society" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FckujHMuf3w). He voted against the Internet Gambling Bill (HR 2143, 10 Jan 2003), but has not taken a position on other forms of gambling. |
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Mandatory Sentencing against "Irrational mandatory minimal sentences have caused a great deal of harm. We have non-violent drug offenders doing life sentences, and there is no room to incarcerate the rapists and murderers" (http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2000/cr020200.htm). |
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Capital Punishment supports In August 2007, Paul said that capital punishment is a "deserving penalty for those who commit crime," but opposes a federal death penalty (http://theamericanview.com/index.php?id=898&PHPSESSID=5fcc4750ffc284dbf49756d2142c7cf6).On 27 September 2007, Paul explained, "Over the years I've held pretty rigid to all my beliefs, but I've changed my opinion of the death penalty. For federal purposes I no longer believe in the death penalty. I believe it has been issued unjustly. If you're rich, you get away with it; if you're poor and you're from the inner city you're more likely to be prosecuted and convicted, and today, with the DNA evidence, there've been too many mistakes, and I am now opposed to the federal death penalty" (In Tavis Smiley's All-American Forum debate at Morgan State). Paul has not expressed opposition to state death penalty laws. |
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Patriot Act strongly against Ron Paul voted against Patriot Act and it's reauthorization (HR 3199), standing in opposition to President Bush and many in his party. He believes that the Patriot Act threatens civil liberties (Meet the Press: 2007 "Meet the Candidates" series 23 Dec 23 2007). |
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Death Penalty for Child Offenders against Voted against increasing funding to support graduated juvenile sentences (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=h1999-233) and opposes the federal death penalty. He has not explicitly stated any opposition to state death penalty laws for child offenders. |
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Prison Reform supports Voted for federal funding for alternative sentencing over more prisons (Bill HR 4690, 22 June 2000). Opposes harsh sentences of non-violent offenders and perpetrators of victimless crimes. He believes that excessive sentencing has "left no room to incarcerate the rapists and murderers" (http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2000/cr020200.htm). |
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Border Fence Wants a fence across parts of the border with the heaviest traffic The border fence spans two issues: immigration and homeland security. First passed in 2006, the fence has been included in immigration legislation to control illegal immigration flow across the southern border. |
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Minimum Wage strongly against Paul does not think the government should determine the price of labor. |
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Affirmative Action strongly against Paul feels that Affirmative action results in the exact opposite of what it's intended to do. |
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Outsourcing strongly supports Paul opposes virtually all federal interference with the market process. |
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Free Trade undecided Paul believes in completely free trade with all countries, opposes virtually all federal interference with the market process, and therefore is against managed trade agreements such as NAFTA and CAFTA. He regularly votes AGAINST free trade agreements, which is why his position is 'undecided.' Please note: Trade positions are determined based on a person's feelings towards trade agreements and other trade distorting legislation, in addition to statements made on the topic. |
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Corporate Governance undecided Paul opposes virtually all federal interference with the market process. |
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Antitrust Regulation strongly against "Sherman antitrust laws are based on a flawed economic theory: that federal regulators can improve upon market outcomes by restricting the rights of certain market participants deemed too powerful by the government." Introduced 3 pieces of legislation that would repeal or curtail existing antitrust law (H.R.1789, H.R.1204, and H.R.1247). http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/?&Db=d098&querybd=@FIELD(FLD003+@4((@1(Rep+Paul++Ron))+00900)) |
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Bank Regulation against Believes that regulation of the banking sector, of mortgage brokers, mortgage lenders, or credit-rating agencies will and have failed to prevent bubbles" (http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul410.html). Voted against Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005 (H.R. 1185), stating that it will be used to bail out banks with taxes (http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul249.html). |
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Business Regulation against Paul generally opposses federal government regulation of business. Paul received a 60/100 score by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a business interest group, in 2006 (http://capwiz.com/chamber/scorecard/?chamber=H&session=1092&x=14&y=12). He received an 83/100 from the National Federation of Independent Business in 2005-2006 (http://capwiz.com/nfib/scorecard/?chamber=H&session=109&x=7&y=8). |
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Consumption Tax against Paul is against nearly all current forms of taxation. However, he has been quoted as saying "Many conservatives have touted the Fair Tax proposal as an issue in the upcoming election. A pure consumption tax like the Fair Tax would be better than the current system only if we truly did away with the income tax by repealing the 16th amendment. Otherwise, we could end up with both the income tax and a national sales tax." |
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Marriage Tax strongly against Does not believe marriage should be a federal issue in the first place and is highly opposed to any taxes. |
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Flat Tax strongly against Does not support direct taxation on someone's income. |
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Estate Tax strongly against |
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Bush Tax Cuts strongly supports Paul supports all tax cuts, for all classes and income levels. He voted to make Bush's tax plan permanent. |
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School Vouchers against Wants to abolish the department of Education and privatize all education. |
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Public Preschool strongly against Wants to abolish the department of Education and privatize all education. |
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Energy Independence strongly against Paul believes this matter should be controlled by the free market. |
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Fuel Efficiency Regulation strongly against Paul believes this matter should be controlled by the free market. |
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Welfare Programs strongly against Paul is opposed to any and all forms of welfare. |
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Social Security Reform strongly supports Paul would eliminate social security. |
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Darfur Intervention Diplomacy only Paul supports private aid. |
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Legalization of Drugs supports Paul does not support federal regulation on this issue and believes it should be left to be determined by states. |
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State Children's Health Insurance Program strongly against Paul voted against SCHIP bill in 2007 and opposes all forms of government sponsored health care (http://www.house.gov/paul/tst/tst2007/tst121607.htm). |
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Guantanamo strongly against Wants to restore Habeas Corpus and is horrified by the very idea of secret torture prisons. |
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Militarization of Space strongly supports Supports a missile defense system. |
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Military Draft strongly against Wants to abolish the selective service and views the draft as slavery. |
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Iraq War Withdrawal strongly supports "We marched right in, and we can march right out" |
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Iraq Troop Surge strongly against Supports an immediate withdrawal. |
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Gays in the Military against Paul supports the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, saying he currently thinks it's a "decent policy" (http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0706/05/se.01.html). In an interview at Google, he stated that he would not discharge troops for being homosexual if their behavior was not disruptive (Candidates@Google, 13 July 2007, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCM_wQy4YVg). |
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Public Campaign Financing strongly against |
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Two Party System against Once ran as a libertarian candidate and has strong ties to the libertarian party, though he is a registered Republican. He has not proposed any banning of the system. |
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Electoral College Reform strongly supports |
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Lobbyist Gifts to Congress undecided |
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Line-Item Veto against |
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Net Neutrality strongly against Paul has expressed opposition to government regulation of the internet. "Net neutrality legislation will hamper the development of new Internet services and harm consumers in the long run. The best way to address the concerns of proponents of Net neutrality is to remove government-imposed barriers to entry into the Internet provider market" (http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6224161.html). |
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Manned Mission to Mars strongly against Paul supports private exploration. |
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Lunar Base Construction against Paul supports private exploration. |
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The Separation of Church and State supports Paul Believes that the Federal Government cannot make laws regarding religion however, he does not believe that government officials and states should not be able to acknowledge God or that all references of God must remain out of the public square. |
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Abolishing the Federal Reserve strongly supports Paul is a strong advocate of the Gold Standard. |
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Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) strongly supports The FISA prescribes procedures for the physical and electronic surveillance and collection of "foreign intelligence information" between "foreign powers and its agents", this may include American citizens and permanent residents engaged in espionage. Sponsor: To restore the Constitution's checks and balances and protections against government abuses as envisioned by the Founding Fathers. Latest Major Action:11/2/2007 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties. |
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Defense of Marriage Act strongly supports The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) provides that no State shall be required to give effect to a law of any other State with respect to a same-sex "marriage." Also, it defines the words "marriage" and "spouse" for purposes of Federal law. Co-sponsor: To amend title 28, United States Code, to limit Federal court jurisdiction over questions under the Defense of Marriage Act. Latest Major Action: 3/1/2007 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties. |
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National Security Letter strongly supports A National Security Letter (NSL) is a form of administrative subpoena used by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and reportedly by other U.S. Government Agencies including the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Defense. Co-sponsor: To establish reasonable procedural protections for the use of national security letters, and for other purposes. Latest Major Action: 6/24/2008 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by the Yeas and Nays: 7 - 3. |
