Truthout.org political website: on Homeland Security

Amy Klobuchar: Voted for 95% of military spending bills in Congress

She has voted for all but one, or 95 percent, of the military spending bills since 2013.
She has only voted as requested by Peace Action 69 percent of the time, the lowest among senators running for president.
In January 2019, Klobuchar was the only presidential candidate who voted for S.1, a bill to reauthorize U.S. military aid to Israel that also included an anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions provision.

Source: Truthout.org, "War and Peace," on 2020 presidential hopefuls Mar 27, 2019

Andrew Yang: Too much military spending focuses in decades-old threats

Yang promises to "bring our military spending under control," to "make it harder for the U.S. to get involved in foreign engagements with no clear goal," and to "reinvest in diplomacy."

He believes that much of the military budget "is focused on defending against threats from decades ago as opposed to the threats of 2020."

Source: Truthout.org, "War and Peace," on 2020 presidential hopefuls Mar 27, 2019

Barack Obama: OpEd: Did not prosecute official acts of torture

During the Obama administration, the politics of hope quickly became a politics without hope, functioning to legitimate and accelerate a flight from social responsibility that provided a blank check for Obama's refusal to prosecute government officials who engaged in egregious acts of torture, to conduct immoral drone attacks, to expand the nuclear arsenal and to display a cold indifference to the criminal environment of Wall Street. All of this adds up to a notion of politics partly driven by a culture of ignorance and lying that has surpassed previous historical eras Source: Truthout "News Analysis" by Henry A. Giroux Jun 7, 2016

Beto O`Rourke: Supported 11th aircraft carrier; opposed 1% military cut

Beto O'Rourke voted for 20 out of 29 military spending bills (69%) since 2013.
Had an 84% Peace Action voting record. Most of the votes Peace Action counted against him were votes opposing specific cuts in the military budget.
He voted for an 11th aircraft carrier in 2015, and against an overall 1% cut in the military budget in 2016.
He voted against reducing the number of U.S. troops in Europe in 2013 and he twice voted against placing limits on a Navy slush fund.

Source: Truthout.org, "War and Peace," on 2020 presidential hopefuls Mar 27, 2019

Cory Booker: Supports military spending on Foreign Affairs Committee

Sen. Cory Booker has voted for 16 out of 19 military spending bills in the Senate.
Despite serving on the Foreign Affairs Committee, he has not taken a public position for ending U.S. wars or cutting its military spending. His record of voting for 84 percent of military spending bills suggests he would not make major cuts.
He also describes himself as a "staunch advocate for a strengthened relationship with Israel."

Source: Truthout.org, "War and Peace," on 2020 presidential hopefuls Mar 27, 2019

Elizabeth Warren: End stranglehold of defense contractors on military policy

Her campaign website says that she supports "cutting our bloated defense budget and ending the stranglehold of defense contractors on our military policy." But she has voted to approve over 2/3 of the military spending bills that have come before her in the Senate.

Her website also says, "It's time to bring the troops home," and that she supports "reinvesting in diplomacy." She has come out in favor of the U.S. rejoining the Iran nuclear agreement and has also proposed legislation that would prevent the United States from using nuclear weapons as a first-strike option, saying she wants to "reduce the chances of a nuclear miscalculation." Source: Truthout.org, "War and Peace," on 2020 presidential hopefuls Mar 27, 2019

Jill Stein: Patriot Act ends the right to judicial review

Q: Do you support repealing the Patriot Act?

A: Yes. The Bill of Rights is on life support. The Patriot Act symbolizes the death of the 4th Amendment and the right to judicial review, and the right to a trial has just been sabotaged by Obama. It is as if a coup has occurred. Any one of these alone is bad enough, but when you add them all up, we are on some pretty thin ice right now as a free society. Our freedom is hanging in thin air right now. There is now a legal basis for curtailing that freedom.

Source: Interview with Steve Horn of Truthout.org Jan 29, 2012

Jill Stein: Bloated military budget enables knee-jerk military solutions

Q: Most Americans do not know how many military bases we have around the world, although people around the world definitely know when they have an American military base in their backyard.

A: Well, the bloated military budget is first of all, not good for our safety, and neither is the militarization of our foreign policy. Neither is a good thing and I think they enable a knee-jerk military solution to all problems and it is not a good thing for us to have this ready default to engage militarily. It's extremely expensive and we can't sustain it, and again, the more we create renewable, secure energy sources domestically, the less we need to do what we're doing internationally. Our program is to downsize our military by at least 50%, if not more.

Q: And you say use it more for defense, rather than offense?

A: Yes, and not make it the crux of our international relations and use international law and working through international governmental bodies to resolve conflicts.

Source: Interview with Steve Horn of Truthout.org Jan 29, 2012

John Delaney: Voted for 25 out of 28 military spending bills

Former Rep. John Delaney voted for 25 out of 28 military spending bills since 2013, earning a 53 percent Peace Action voting record. Source: Truthout.org, "War and Peace," on 2020 presidential hopefuls Mar 27, 2019

Tulsi Gabbard: Don't cut military budget; fund weapons systems & ABMs

She voted for 19 of 29 military spending bills in the past six years, and she has only a 51 percent Peace Action voting record. Many of the votes that Peace Action counted against her were votes to fully fund controversial new weapons systems, including nuclear-tipped cruise missiles (in 2014, 2015 and 2016); an 11th U.S. aircraft-carrier (in 2013 and 2015); and various parts of Obama's anti-ballistic missile program, which fueled the New Cold War and arms race she now decries.
In 2016, she voted against an amendment to cut the military budget by just 1 percent.
She is still in the military herself and embraces what she calls a "military mindset." She ended her CNN Town Hall by saying that being commander-in-chief is the most important part of being president.
Gabbard still believes in a militarized approach to counterterrorism.

Source: Truthout.org, "War and Peace," on 2020 presidential hopefuls Mar 27, 2019

The above quotations are from Truth-out.org political website. Click here for definitions & background information on Homeland Security. Click here for other issues (main summary page).
*2016 Presidential contenders on Homeland Security:*
	*Republicans:* ~~Gov.Jeb Bush~~(FL) ~~Dr.Ben Carson~~(MD) ~~Gov.Chris Christie~~(NJ) Sen.Ted Cruz(TX) Carly Fiorina(CA) ~~Gov.Jim Gilmore~~(VA) ~~Sen.Lindsey Graham~~(SC) ~~Gov.Mike Huckabee~~(AR) ~~Gov.Bobby Jindal~~(LA) Gov.John Kasich(OH) ~~Gov.Sarah Palin~~(AK) ~~Gov.George Pataki~~(NY) ~~Sen.Rand Paul~~(KY) ~~Gov.Rick Perry~~(TX) ~~Sen.Rob Portman~~(OH) Sen.Marco Rubio(FL) ~~Sen.Rick Santorum~~(PA) Donald Trump(NY) ~~Gov.Scott Walker~~(WI)	*Democrats:* ~~Gov.Lincoln Chafee~~(RI) Secy.Hillary Clinton(NY) ~~V.P.Joe Biden~~(DE) ~~Gov.Martin O`Malley~~(MD) Sen.Bernie Sanders(VT) ~~Sen.Elizabeth Warren~~(MA) ~~Sen.Jim Webb~~(VA) *2016 Third Party Candidates:* ~~Gov.Gary Johnson~~(L-NM) Roseanne Barr(PF-HI) Robert Steele(L-NY) Dr.Jill Stein(G,MA)
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