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Amy Klobuchar's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)

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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.

Amy Klobuchar did not provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2024 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 2024.

  • "I bet every woman remembers exactly where they were when they found out about the Dobbs decision. We couldn’t believe that our rights had been stripped away, and now, two years later, we're seeing the devastating consequences. As I told @maddow, we must codify Roe into law." (x.com)
  • Rated 0% by National Right to Life Committee (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Rated 100% by Planned Parenthood Action Fund (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Voted in Favor of H.R. 3755 "Women’s Health Protection Act of 2021" (votesmart.org)
  • "Senator Klobuchar supports raising income tax rates on the wealthiest Americans who make over $200,000 a year. She supports expanding support for programs like Social Security and Medicare and believes that these programs must remain solvent for generations to come." (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Rated 100% by Alliance for Retired Americans (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Rated 100% by National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Rated 100% by Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Rated 8% by FreedomWorks (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • "Middle class families are seeing their tax refunds shrink, while big corporations and the very wealthy are still enjoying a huge tax cut. This was just one of the many tricks of the Republican tax bill and why I didn’t vote for it." (x.com)
  • Rated 6% by National Tax Limitation Committee (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Voted against HR 1 - "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" (votesmart.org)
  • "Senator Klobuchar supports raising income tax rates on the wealthiest Americans who make over $200,000 a year. She supports expanding support for programs like Social Security and Medicare and believes that these programs must remain solvent for generations to come." (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Rated 6% by National Tax Limitation Committee (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Rated 8% by FreedomWorks (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? "Yes" (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Rated 100% by Common Cause (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Rated 100% by End Citizens United (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Signed a letter stating: "We believe the SEC should require companies to disclose to their shareholders how they use corporate resources for political activities. [...] The lack of proper disclosure undermines the very campaign finance system envisioned by the Court." (votesmart.org)
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • "Senator Klobuchar will focus on making the right investments in our nation's defense and she will make sure we are responding to the threats our country actually faces today, including cyber-attacks." (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Do you support increasing defense spending? "No" (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Rated 100% by Council for a Liveable World (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Voted in favor of S. 1605 "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022" (votesmart.org)
  • "Senators Klobuchar and Smith announced the Dept. of Housing & Urban Development awarded Minnesota over $25 million in funding to help low-income families and Minnesota’s most vulnerable citizens, with a focus on households facing a higher risk of eviction." (x.com)
  • "The housing shortage has hit small towns and rural areas particularly hard. I worked with Senator @JerryMoran and @SenatorShaheen on bipartisan legislation to support the construction of more housing in rural communities to improve affordability in these areas." (x.com)
  • "Heading to the floor to cast a YES vote for the Inflation Reduction Act. Climate, lowering drug prices, taking on the deficit. Yes, yes, yes." (x.com)
  • Voted in favor of H.R. 4521 "America COMPETES Act of 2022" (votesmart.org)
  • Voted in favor of H.R. 5376 "Build Back Better Act (Inflation Reduction Act of 2022)" (votesmart.org)
  • "I continue to support measures to make college more affordable. I worked to pass the College Cost Reduction Act, which created the income-based repayment plan and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. PSLF has helped more than 660,000 public servants, nonprofit workers, and military service members have their student loans forgiven since 2021." (www.klobuchar.senate.gov)
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? "Yes" (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • "We need universal health care, and I support the many ways that would help us reach that goal, including creating a public insurance option, expanding the Affordable Care Act health insurance exchanges, and the expansion of Medicare and Medicaid." (www.klobuchar.senate.gov)
  • "I am also a strong supporter of providing paid sick days and paid family leave at the federal level and believe that early, quality child care and education is one of the most important public investments we can make as a country." (www.klobuchar.senate.gov)
  • Voted in favor of H.R. 6201 "Families First Coronavirus Response Act" (votesmart.org)
  • "Giving Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices won’t just lower costs for seniors – it will have a ripple effect, saving taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars." (x.com)
  • "In 2022, we finally passed the bill I led to allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices for seniors, but we aren’t stopping there. We should allow Medicare to negotiate even more drugs faster, and in the State of the Union, the President supported doing just that." (x.com)
  • "When a family member gets sick, the family’s focus should be on getting their loved one well, not on being able to pay for treatment or medicine. Yet prescription drug prices have been an increasing burden to families across Minnesota and our country. Americans pay the highest prices in the world for the same brand-name prescription drugs. In August 2022, provisions based on legislation I led for years were signed into law, lifting the 20-year ban that stopped Medicare from negotiating prices with drug companies on behalf of 50 million seniors. As a result of this new law, Medicare has started the negotiation process for ten of the most costly drugs to Medicare, and people could see negotiated consumer prices for these life-saving drugs by 2026. Medicare will continue to lower prescription drug costs for seniors by negotiating the price of additional prescription drugs every year." (www.klobuchar.senate.gov)
  • "Years ago, Big Pharma got a provision written into law that Medicare can’t negotiate drug costs for our nation’s seniors. Now, more than 40 million seniors are literally paying the price. I’m fighting to change this. Big Pharma may think it owns Washington, but it doesn’t own me." (x.com)
  • "A MN sheriff confiscated enough fentanyl to kill the ENTIRE county. These deadly drugs have to be stopped at our border and the Senate's bipartisan border security bill is the action we need. Republicans should stop blocking the bill. We need solutions, not chaos." (x.com)
  • Voted against S Amdt 1959 "Secure and Succeed Act (Grassley Amendment)" (votesmart.org)
  • "Our DREAMers are living, working and succeeding in America. They are Americans. Let's protect them and get comprehensive immigration reform done." (x.com)
  • "At hearing and police officer Mitchell Soto-Rodriquez is testifying. She is a police officer and a Dreamer, having been brought to our country at age 9. As she said "this is my home." If DACA was rescinded she couldn’t be a police officer any more. This is why we must pass the Dream Act while also passing our bill for presidential emergency powers at the border. We can strengthen border security and allow dreamers to keep legally working." (x.com)
  • "Putin’s invasion of a free democracy has begun. The warnings from our Intel sources were right. There must now be swift sanctions and consequences worldwide. It is the time for our country and our world to unite. We stand with the brave people of Ukraine 🇺🇦 ." (x.com)
  • Rated 100% by Council for a Liveable World (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Rated 13% by Center for Security Policy (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Voted in favor of S. 1 "Strengthening America's Security in the Middle East Act of 2019" (votesmart.org)
  • "I went to Ukraine with Senator Portman to meet with President Zelenskyy and discuss the status of the war and American aid. Ukraine’s resistance to Putin’s barbarism has inspired the world. I’m more committed than ever to supporting their fight for democracy and sovereignty." (x.com)
  • "Today I joined members of the Ukrainian community in St Paul to mark the two year anniversary of Putin's barbaric invasion. This is a fight for not just Ukraine, but a fight for democracy around the world. We must stand with Ukraine." (x.com)
  • Voted in favor of HR 6833 - Continuing Appropriations and Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act (votesmart.org)
  • Voted in favor of H.R. 7691 "Making emergency supplemental appropriations for assistance for the situation in Ukraine for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022, and for other purposes." (votesmart.org)
  • "Canada passed a law requiring Big Tech platforms to compensate news publishers for using their content. It's already working. Now we need to pass my bill to give local news a seat at the negotiating table to get the revenue they deserve here in the US." (x.com)
  • "For too long tech companies have said ‘Trust us, we’ve got this,’ while repeatedly putting profits over people with algorithms that get our kids addicted. That's why I will keep fighting in Congress for reform and why I'm glad to see these states, including MN, taking action." (x.com)
  • "So many of our kids use Youtube, TikTok, and Snapchat, but not enough is being done to protect them from harmful content. It’s time we do something about it." (x.com)
  • "Over the past year, it has become so clear: we desperately need updated rules of the road for Big Tech. These trillion dollar companies can no longer say "just trust us" and expect everyone to go along. Next year, let’s get it done." (x.com)
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.
Pro-choice Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
Senator Klobuchar has fought for and will continue to support legislation that protects a woman's right to make her own health care decisions.
Yes In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket?
Yes Do you support expanding federal funding to support entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare?
Senator Klobuchar supports raising income tax rates on the wealthiest Americans who make over $200,000 a year. She supports expanding support for programs like Social Security and Medicare and believes that these programs must remain solvent for generations to come.
Yes Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions?
Senator Klobuchar believes it is time to pass a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and get dark money out of our politics, as well as establish a campaign finance system that increases the power of small donors through a matching system for small donations.
No Do you support increasing defense spending?
Senator Klobuchar will focus on making the right investments in our nation's defense and she will make sure we are responding to the threats our country actually faces today, including cyber-attacks.
Yes Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
No Do you support lowering corporate taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
Senator Klobuchar supports investing in our nation's infrastructure. To pay for this infrastructure investment, she supports repealing the regressive portions of the 2017 Republican tax bill.
Yes Do you support requiring states to adopt federal education standards?
Senator Klobuchar supported and advocated for the Every Student Succeeds Act, which corrected some of the shortcomings of No Child Left Behind by giving states and local school districts more flexibility to make decisions about how best to meet students' needs. She supported restoring responsibility to the states to determine how best to use federally required tests for accountability purposes.
Yes Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)?
Yes Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions?
On day one of Senator Klobuchar's presidency she will get us back into the International Climate Change Agreement. On day two and day three, she will bring back the clean power rules and gas mileage standards that the Obama Administration put into place. And she will put forward sweeping legislation that includes carbon pricing, provides a landmark investment in clean-energy jobs and infrastructure, provides incentives for tougher building codes, promotes rural renewable energy and development, and promotes buy clean policies.
Yes Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
Senator Klobuchar believes that gun violence prevention policies are long overdue. She supports a package of gun violence policies including instituting universal background checks by closing the gun show loophole and banning bump stocks, high capacity ammunition feeding devices and assault weapons. She is also the author of a proposal that would close what is commonly referred to as the boyfriend loophole by preventing people who have abused dating partners from buying or owning firearms.
No Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")?
Senator Klobuchar supports universal health care for all Americans and she believes the quickest way to get there is through a public option that expands Medicare or Medicaid. She supports changes to the Affordable Care Act to help bring down costs to consumers, including providing cost-sharing reductions, making it easier for states to put reinsurance in place, and continuing to implement delivery system reform. And she's been fighting her whole life to bring down the cost of prescription drugs.
No Do you support the construction of a wall along the Mexican border?
No Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship?
Senator Klobuchar supports comprehensive immigration reform that includes the DREAM Act, border security and a path to earned citizenship.
Yes Should the United States use military force to prevent governments hostile to the U.S. from possessing a weapon of mass destruction (for example: nuclear, biological, chemical)?
Yes Do you support reducing military intervention in Middle East conflicts?
Senator Klobuchar believes that the military option should always remain on the table. She supports reducing the troop presence in Afghanistan.
Yes Do you generally support removing barriers to international trade (for example: tariffs, quotas, etc.)?
Senator Klobuchar supports fair trade agreements that include strong labor and environmental standards and she will continue her work to strengthen trade enforcement.
Senator Klobuchar's top priorities are ensuring shared economic prosperity, which includes reducing health care costs, bringing down prescription drug prices, and making a major infrastructure investment paid for by corporate tax reform and changes to the international tax code. She is also committed to passing comprehensive immigration reform, which is crucial to moving our economy and our country forward. And Senator Klobuchar will take immediate action to tackle the climate crisis, because climate change isn't happening in 100 years, it is happening now.

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