About the Survey
Every election year, the Maryland Catholic Conference surveys the state’s candidates for U.S. Senate and House of Representatives about their positions on issues of interest to Catholics. The responses of the Democratic and Republican primary candidates are below.
The candidates were asked to either “Agree” or “Disagree” with a list of issue statements. A blank response to a statement means the candidate did not choose a position on that issue.
Candidates also were given the opportunity to provide 75 words at the end of the survey on why Maryland Catholics should vote for them. Those comments are available on the Maryland Catholic Conference website: www.mdcatholic.org/elections.
Only candidates who responded to the survey are included. For a complete list of candidates, visit www.mdcatholic.org/elections. Each candidate received the survey by email. Non-responding candidates received three additional emails and were contacted at least once by phone.
The Maryland Catholic Conference does not endorse or oppose any candidate, under any circumstance, and no inference of endorsement or opposition should be concluded as a result of the information provided here.
Responses from all of the candidates can also be found on the Maryland Catholic Conference’s website at www.mdcatholic.org. The candidates who did not respond are listed below the survey grid.
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Vote
Vote April 26, 2016 in the primary election. Early voting centers will be open starting Thursday, April 14 through Thursday, April 21. Visit http://www.elections.state.md.us/voting/early_voting.html for more information and for locations.
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How to Find Your State and Federal Congressional Districts
To identify your Congressional districts, go to the Maryland Catholic Conference website www.mdcatholic.org/FindYourLegislator.
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Answer Key
A=Agree
D=Disagree
Blank=No response
D=Democrat
R=Republican
S=United States Senate
H=House of Representatives
Survey Questions of Candidates
- ASSISTED SUICIDE. Congress should not pass legislation to allow physicians to legally prescribe a dose of lethal medication at the request of patients with a terminal illness.
- CONSCIENCE PROTECTIONS. Congress should pass legislation forbidding governmental bodies to discriminate against individual and institutional health care providers that do not perform, refer for or pay for abortions, such as the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act.
- EDUCATION. Congress should enact legislation that supports the ability of low-income families to choose the education best suited to their children’s needs, such as tax credits for business donations to organizations providing scholarships for K-12 students to attend nonpublic schools or the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program.
- IMMIGRATION. Congress should pass comprehensive, bipartisan immigration reform providing a path to citizenship for undocumented persons in the U.S., while preserving family unity and restoring due process protections to enforcement policies.
- JUSTICE REFORM. Congress should enact measures that decrease incarceration rates and recidivism by reducing mandatory minimums and investing in increased rehabilitative services and re-entry programs for offenders, such as the Sentencing Reform Act of 2105.
