James Webb in PBS News Hour
On Budget & Economy:
Cut budget by bottom-up review of all programs
Webb told the Des Moines Register editorial board in June that he would cut the federal budget by calling for "bottom-up program reviews" in all federal agencies. In a December 2014 press conference, the Democrat told reporters that as president he would
work across party lines to try and reduce the national debt. As a senator, Webb voted against a balanced budget amendment. As Secretary of the Navy, Webb resigned from office in protest over proposed budget cutbacks at the Pentagon.
Source: PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series
Jul 2, 2015
On Energy & Oil:
Energy expansion: Keystone XL and off-coast drilling
While in the U.S. Senate, Webb voted for an amendment to at least temporarily block the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions, arguing that the nation's energy concerns were pressing and Congress needed to
have more input in regulation. He has strongly advocated energy expansion, including construction of the Keystone XL pipeline and drilling off the coast of Virginia.
Source: PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series
Jul 2, 2015
On Gun Control:
Access to guns is a critical self-defense right
An advocate for less restrictive access to guns, Webb sees the issue as a critical self-defense right. The former senator himself has held a permit to carry a weapon in Virginia and defended his ownership when an aide brought one of his loaded pistols to
Capitol Hill, violating Washington, D.C., law at the time. Webb has voted to allow firearms in checked baggage on Amtrak trains and co-sponsored a bill to repeal some of D.C.'s restrictions and requirements on gun ownership.
Source: PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series
Jul 2, 2015
On Health Care:
ObamaCare should have been more narrowly focused
On ObamaCare: President Obama mishandled the process. The law could have been narrower.A critical yes vote for the Affordable Care Act in 2009,
Webb has since criticized the way President Obama handled the debate, saying it should have been more focused. The former Virginia senator has said that the health care law could have been smaller in scope.
Source: PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series
Jul 2, 2015
On Immigration:
Supports DREAM Act: legal status for undocumented children
Webb supports a possible path to citizenship for immigrants in the country illegally after the border is secure. In the U.S. Senate, he voted against the 2007 McCain-Kennedy immigration reform bill.
A year later he supported a bill to expand and reinforce fencing along the United States' southwest border.
In 2010, Webb voted for the DREAM Act, which would have given legal status to undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.
Webb called President Obama's executive actions to waive deportation for some undocumented workers "legal" but also stated that he is "not a believer in executive orders."
Source: PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series
Jul 2, 2015
On Tax Reform:
Raise taxes on capital gains but not on regular pay
Taxes: Cut corporate taxes. Raise taxes on investments.Speaking in Richmond at the end of 2014, Webb outlined a tax reform plan: He would cut corporate taxes at the same time as raising taxes on
capital gains and eliminating loopholes. He generally opposes any tax increases on regular pay and voiced a clear "no" to President Obama's 2012 plan to raise taxes on the wealthy.
Source: PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series
Jul 2, 2015
Page last updated: Dec 07, 2018