Voting Record: Joe Sestak

Voting Record: Joe Sestak

Overview

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Over the course of his career as a legislator, Joe Sestak voted on a variety of major issues as follows:


ABORTION & THE RIGHTS OF THE UNBORN

NO on H Amdt 509, Prohibiting Federally Funded Abortion Services (2009), an amendment to prohibit funds from being used to pay for abortions or to cover any part of the costs of a health plan that includes abortion coverage, unless the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest, or the woman’s life is in danger because of the pregnancy.

CIVIL LIBERTIES & CIVIL RIGHTS

YES on H Amdt 197, the Guantanamo Transfer Plan (2007), an amendment requiring the Secretary of Defense to submit a report to the Congress detailing a plan for the transfer of prisoners out of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE ISSUES

YES on HR 1913 – Hate Crimes Expansion (2009), a bill to expand the definition of a hate crime to include felonies motivated by prejudice based on national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity of the victim.

EDUCATION

YES on HR 1429, the Head Start Act of 2007, a bill that authorized five years of funding increases for Head Start, a federal early education program meant to help low-income families; it also allowed Head Start programs to increase the number of their participants by 35 percent, by including children whose families’ incomes were between 100 and 130 percent of the poverty level. (For details about Head Start, click here.)


EMPLOYMENT & WAGES

YES on S 181, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, a bill that sought to count each paycheck as an offense if a woman’s salary was determined to be unjustly low, and to allow the recovery of back pay for up to two years prior to the complaint in addition to existing penalties.

ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

YES on HR 2454, Energy and Environmental Law Amendments (2009)(a.k.a. “Cap and Trade”) (Click here for details about Cap and Trade.)

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

YES on HR 1400, the Iran Counter-Proliferation Act of 2007, a bill to increase economic sanctions on Iran and to allow the President to determine if the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps should be considered a foreign terrorist organization.

HEALTH CARE ISSUES

YES on HR 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010(Obamacare)

YES on HR 2, the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization and Expansion (2009), a bill to expand the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

YES on HR 3162, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), a 2007 bill to expand the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

IMMIGRATION, NATIONALITY, & ENGLISH LANGUAGE ISSUES

YES on HR 5281, the DREAM Act (2010), a bill offering permanent legal status to illegal immigrants up to age 35 who arrived in the United States before age 16, provided they complete two years of college (for which they can receive in-state-resident tuition discounts).

YES on H Amdt 1045, Undocumented Immigrants’ Ineligibility for Certain Financial Assistance (2008), an amendment to prevent illegal immigrants from receiving financial assistance under HR 5818, a bill allowing states to obtain loans from the federal government to acquire foreclosed houses and provide housing assistance.

TAXATION AND ECONOMIC ISSUES

YES on HR 4853, Temporary Extension of Tax Relief (2010), a bill to: amend and extend provisions of the “Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001”; extend the period of time in which the allowable credit for the Child Tax Credit can be increased; extend the reduced marriage penalty of $5,000, and the increased credit percentage of 45 percent for taxpayers with 3 or more qualifying children; increase the Alternative Minimum Tax exemption amount for taxpayers other than corporations; and reduce estate taxes.

TERRORISM & HOMELAND SECURITY

NO on H Amdt 1114, Allowing the Use of Certain Terms in Within the Intelligence Community (2008), an amendment to prohibit the use of funds to discourage the use of the phrases “jihadist,” “jihad,” “Islamo-facism,” “caliphate,” “Islamist,” or “Islamic terrorist” within the intelligence community or federal government.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For a more comprehensive look at Joe Sestak’s voting record, visit VoteSmart.orgOnTheIssues.org, and GovTrack.us.

 

NOTE: Voting records and legislation descriptions, courtesy of VoteSmart.org.

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