This is a series of articles which gives voting record information about 2012 presidential candidates. Most of the references given are from thomas.loc.gov, an official government website which is part of the Library of Congress. Hopefully, this information will help you to make a decision about who you are going to vote for. Also included is a brief biography and information about endorsements made by the candidate. Today's candidate is Rick Santorum. Click here to read part 1.
Rick Santorum served in the U.S. House from 1990-1994 and Senate from 1994-2006. He was a Republican Deputy Whip. Santorum is Catholic.
Abortion
Santorum voted for the partial birth abortion ban. [1]
He voted for the Hyde Amendment to prevent most abortions from being federally funded. [2] But he voted [3-5] for at least three Department of Health and Human Services appropriations bills which allowed taxpayer money to be used to pay for some abortions (for example, in cases of rape and incest). These bills contained no provision that abortion providers (such as Planned Parenthood) could not also obtain these funds also for other purposes. [6-8]
Santorum did not cosponsor the Right to Life to Act [9-10] or the Life at Conception Act [11] or any other bill protecting or recognizing the personhood of the unborn from conception.
[6] http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c103:hr4606: (Title V., section 509--click on “Operating Expenses” and scroll down to section 509.) Similarly find the same in the other two bills under the same title and section.
Economy and Jobs
He has consistently declined to support the National Right to Work Act which would prevent workers from being forced to join a union. [1-4]
Santorum voted [5-6] to give China
Education
Santorum voted to prohibit foreign students on F-1 visas from obtaining free public elementary or secondary education. [1] He voted to establish a pilot program to collect information relating to nonimmigrant foreign students. [2]
But Santorum voted for the blatantly unconstitutional No Child Left Behind Act, which increased federal funding and control over the public school system. [3]
He voted for the Goals 2000: Educate America Act (more unconstitutional federal meddling in the education system), “A bill to improve learning and teaching by providing a national framework for education reform; to promote the research, consensus building, and systemic changes needed to ensure equitable educational opportunities and high levels of educational achievement for all American students; to provide a framework for reauthorization of all Federal education programs; to promote the development and adoption of a voluntary national system of skill standards and certifications, and for other purposes.” [4]
Gun Rights
He voted [1] no on the Brady handgun law [2]. But he voted yes on imposing instant background checks [3] and yes [4] to ban the manufacture or importation of armor-piercing bullets [5] (a clear violation of both the 2nd and 10th amendments).
(see also Taxes, Spending, and Budget Issues)
Healthcare
Santorum voted [1-2] for the unconstitutional prescription drug benefit, Medicare part D [3].
(see also Social Security)
Illegal Immigration and Border Control
Santorum voted [1] for Secure Fence Act of 2006. [2] He voted to prohibit illegal and undocumented aliens from receiving benefits under the FEMA's emergency food and shelter programs except when there is a presidentially declared disaster.
Judicial Appointments
Santorum voted to confirm John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.
Marriage and Gay Rights
Santorum voted [1-2] in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act [3] and the Federal Marriage Amendment. [4]
He voted yes on the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy regarding homosexuals in the military [5].
Miscellaneous
Santorum voted [1-2] to convict President Clinton on the impeachment counts against him (perjury, corrupting witnesses, and obstruction of justice). [3]
Monetary Policy
Santorum voted [1] for the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 [2] which was an unconstitutional and dismal failure to regulate public accounting firms.
National Sovereignty
Santorum voted against NAFTA.
Religious Freedom and Freedom of Speech
Santorum did not cosponsor the Veterans' Memorials, Boy Scouts, Public Seals, and Other Public Expressions of Religion Protection Act of 2006, which would have prevented the ACLU and other similar groups from receiving lawyer’s fees from the taxpayers when they win cases having to do with supposed violations of the “Separation of Church and State”.
Social Security
Santorum voted “no” on the Off-budget Lockbox Amendment to protect Social Security and Medicare funds from being raided for other purposes.
Taxes, Spending, and Budget Issues
He voted [1-2] for the Bush tax cuts [3-4].
Santorum voted at least four times [5-8] to fund the unconstitutional and very wasteful and intrusive Department of Housing and Urban Development. He voted against [9] transferring $20 million from the HUD Office of Policy Development and Research account to the Selective Service System account [10].
Santorum voted [11] for foreign giveaways: over $1.2 billion for “Acquisition and Maintenance of Buildings Abroad”, $60 million for “Payment to the American Institute in Taiwan”, $14 million for “The Asia Foundation”, $2.8 billion for “Migration and Refugee Assistance”, over $3 billion for the U.N., $1.3 billion for “Contributions for International Peacekeeping Activities”, $600 million for “Fulbright Academic Exchange Programs”, other educational and cultural exchange programs, nearly $1.3 billion for “International Broadcasting Activities”, $38 million for “Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange between East and West” and $22.7 million to carry out the Arms Control and Disarmament Act [12].
War on Terrorism
Santorum voted [1] for the Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF) in Afghanistan Iraq
Santorum’s (Worst) Endorsements
Rick Santorum endorsed and campaigned for Arlen Specter [1], one of the most God-hating Senators we have ever had. Pro-abortion [2], pro-gay rights [3] Specter spearheaded the effort to kill the nomination of strict constructionist Robert Bork to the Supreme Court when Reagan was President. [1] “He's with us on the issues that matter," said Santorum. [4] Specter has always been openly in favor of abortion funding (for example, he voted “no” on restricting UN funding for population control policies [2]). After Specter switched parties, he voted for Obamacare. [5]
Santorum has also endorsed and campaigned for partial birth abortion supporter Christie Todd Whitman. [6]
Santorum was also a campaign volunteer for Senator John Heinz. [7] Heinz was a liberal. He supported normalizing relations with Cuba Soviet Union . He was also a supporter of many socialist programs in education, human welfare, health care and housing. He got caught accepting $6,000 in illegal corporate campaign money from Gulf Oil during his successful campaign for the U.S. Senate. [8] After Senator Heinz died, his wife Teresa, heiress of the H.J. Heinz (the catsup company) fortune married the Senator from Massachusetts
