Harry Reid - Political Positions

Political Positions

Reid has scored a lifetime conservative rating of 19% from the American Conservative Union (ACU), and a 2008 liberal rating of 70% from the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA). Other independent ratings include a 29% rating in 2003 from NARAL, the abortion pro-choice group, and a 57% rating from Planned Parenthood in 2006.

Reid has spearheaded several initiatives while in Congress. In 2006, Reid co-sponsored the "Prevention First Amendment" with Hillary Clinton, which would fund abortion prevention efforts, such as giving women broader access to contraception; however the bill faced Republican opposition and failed. In January 2007, Reid brought a Senate ethics reform bill to a vote to bar congressional members from accepting gifts, meals, and trips from lobbyists and organizations employing them, as well as barring Senators from borrowing corporate jets for travel and compelling them to disclose the names of sponsors, or authors, of bills and specific projects. The bill passed 96–2. In the 111th Congress, Reid shepherded the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act through the Senate.

Regarding specific issues, Reid believes that Roe vs. Wade should be overturned and in 1999, he voted against an amendment that explicitly expressed support for Roe v. Wade. He has stated that he believes in a restricted right to abortion, stating that "abortions should be legal only when the pregnancy resulted from incest, rape, or when the life of the woman is endangered." He has also voted several times to ban the "intact dilation and evacuation" or "partial-birth abortion" procedure. Reid has supported embryonic stem cell research.

Regarding same-sex marriage, Reid had stated before that he believed "...marriage should be between a man and a woman." However he came out in favor of same sex marriage in 2012. He voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act but against the Federal Marriage Amendment.

In regard to local issues, Reid has firmly opposed the proposed Yucca Mountain federal nuclear waste repository in Nevada. Reid has opposed the legalization of online poker in the past, but has more recently changed his position, a move that some have argued was influenced by "the hundreds of thousands of dollars Las Vegas casinos contributed to his re-election campaign".

Reid called immigration reform one of his top priorities for the 110th Congress. He supports the DREAM Act the (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act), which would allow certain U.S. high school grads who had arrived in the U.S. illegally as children, conditional legal status so they could attend college or enlist in the military. They could then obtain permanent legal residency after completing two years of military service or two years of college. In June 2009, Reid announced his intention to enact a new guest worker program as part of a comprehensive immigration reform bill.

Reid has supported the use of force in the Middle East but in September 2007 he called for a drastic change in strategy. In January 1991 he voted to authorize the first Gulf War. quoting John F. Kennedy's 1963 State of the Union speech on the Senate floor, saying "the mere absence of war is not Peace." He also voted in support of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In March 2007 he voted in favor of "redeploying U.S. troops out of Iraq by March 2008", and later that year, he said, "As long as we follow path in Iraq, the war is lost."

Reid has also advocated the outlawing of prostitution in Nevada