2015-16 Think Tank congressional voting recommendations


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OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Abortion     Sierra Club: State role to fund Planned Parenthood after Title X cuts.     ACLU: Funding abortion avoids discrimination against poor women.     Heritage Foundation: No federal funding of abortion via ObamaCare health plans.     Cato Institute: Ban abortion after 20 weeks, except for maternal life.     Cato Institute: No taxpayer funding of abortions via ObamaCare.

Budget & Economy     Sierra Club: NEA and NEH are vital for education.     Heritage Foundation: Freedom Caucus fights establishment irresponsible spending.     Heritage Foundation: NEA is welfare for artists and the cultured upper-class.

Civil Rights     Heritage Foundation: Don't elevate gender identity as a protected class.     ACLU: Religious objections to GLBT services same as 1960s racism.     ACLU: First Amendment doesn't include right to turn away LGBT.     Cato Institute: Balance freedom of association against discrimination.

Corporations     Heritage Foundation: Arbitration limits trial lawyers and helps consumers.

Crime     Sierra Club: Black Lives Matter: equal protection under the law.     ACLU: Black Lives Matter and police don't need special protection.     Cato Institute: Trusting police requires access to police disciplinary files.

Drugs     ACLU: Drug prohibition means corruption, not an end to drug use.     ACLU: A "drug free America" is not realistic; repeal prohibition.     Cato Institute: Evidence that opioids are not that dangerous, despite hype.     Cato Institute: Legalize marijuana banking until we legalize marijuana.     ACLU: Drug testing for welfare is ineffective and unconstitutional.

Education     Heritage Foundation: Online & Voc-Ed programs, instead of free community college.     Cato Institute: Vouchers break link of low-income and low-quality schools.     Heritage Foundation: Voucher schools are more successful than public schools.     Heritage Foundation: A-PLUS lets states escape No Child Left Behind.     Cato Institute: Only 19% finish community college & new jobs don't need it.     ACLU: Oppose private and religious school voucher programs.

Energy & Oil     Heritage Foundation: Drill for oil & gas in offshore OCS & Eastern Gulf of Mexico.     Heritage Foundation: Eliminate $100M for Diesel Emission Reduction program.     Cato Institute: Opportunity cost and risk cost of nuclear overwhelm savings.     Cato Institute: Internalizing greenhouse gas cost means $2/ton carbon tax.     Sierra Club: Nuclear power is last in being clean, quick, safe, and cheap.     Cato Institute: Oil and gas production isn't damaging, even OCS and ANWR.

Environment     Sierra Club: Not sound science to ban predators on wildlife refuges.     Cato Institute: Minimal GMO labeling advances science & consumers.     Heritage Foundation: No federal labeling requirement for GMO products.     Sierra Club: Publicize grant opportunities for diesel emission reduction.     Sierra Club: Mandatory labeling for GMO products, then long-term testing.     Cato Institute: End federal grants to reduce diesel emissions.     Sierra Club: Strict regulation & restrictions for offshore oil drilling.

Families & Children     Heritage Foundation: Eliminate VAWA grants to save $428 million.

Foreign Policy     Heritage Foundation: Focus on humanitarian assistance in South Sudan.

Free Trade     Heritage Foundation: Ex-Im Bank is a slush fund for corporate welfare.     Sierra Club: Reauthorize Ex-im bank and keep ban on coal financing.     Cato Institute: Ex-im bank replaces market risk with bureaucrats' decisions.     Sierra Club: Let India export solar panels to the U.S.     Cato Institute: Countervailing duties mean higher prices on solar panels.

Government Reform     Cato Institute: Term limits of 6 years in House and 12 years in Senate.     Heritage Foundation: Only incumbents and special interests oppose term limits.     Cato Institute: Congress can decide which "emoluments" are acceptable.     ACLU: Congressional term limits are unconstitutional.     Sierra Club: Expand term limit for Assembly from 6 years to 12.     Cato Institute: Term limits oppose professionalization of legislators.

Health Care     Cato Institute: Offer credible market-based alternatives to ObamaCare.     Heritage Foundation: Fully repealing ObamaCare is important, but not sufficient.     Robert Reich: GOP can't beat ObamaCare, so they pretend it's a "disaster".     Robert Reich: ObamaCare fixed three big problems of private insurance.

Homeland Security     Heritage Foundation: Trump's hiring freeze just shifts resources to DVA and DoD.     Cato Institute: Bar the government from indiscriminate bulk surveillance.     ACLU: USA Freedom Act should be first small step of more reforms.

Immigration     Cato Institute: Give LEGAL child immigrants DACA benefits too.     Cato Institute: Congress decides immigration policy, not President Trump.     Heritage Foundation: Ban DREAMer immigrants from military service.     Paul Gosar: Don't let illegals launder amnesty via military service.     ACLU: No-Fly list against Muslims is unconstitutional.     ACLU: Let DREAMers join military, whether legal or not.

Principles & Values     ACLU: FOIA request for Trump's Emoluments conflicts of interest.

Tax Reform     Heritage Foundation: Lower taxes on businesses unleashes higher wages.     Sierra Club: Lower taxes on businesses is deeply regressive.     Robert Reich: Raise tax on inherited wealth for the very rich.     Robert Reich: Raising estate tax to 1990s level means $448B in new revenue.     Heritage Foundation: Death Tax is a pernicious double tax.     Cato Institute: Estate tax won't hit billionaires--only regular millionaires.

Technology     ACLU: Access to broadband services for lower income families.     Heritage Foundation: Cut Lifeline low-income broadband subsidies.

War & Peace     ACLU: Unconstitutional for Trump to bomb Syria.     Heritage Foundation: Hold Assad accountable for his war crimes.     Cato Institute: Alternative to Iran nuke deal is ever-heightening tensions.     Heritage Foundation: Obama deal will marginally slow, but not halt, Iranian nukes.

Click for quotations from other sources by: ACLU Cato Institute Heritage Foundation Paul Gosar Republican U.S. Rep Arizona-4 Robert Reich Massachusetts Former Dem. Challenger 2002, and Cabinet Sec'y Sierra Club