Where Tennessee's Senate candidates stand on the key issues

The Tennessean

Show Caption Hide Caption The U.S. Senate debate between Marsha Blackburn and Phil Bredesen in 3 minutes The U.S. Senate debate between Marsha Blackburn and Phil Bredesen in 3 minutes

What should Congress do to rein in the nation’s ballooning debt and deficit? What programs would you vote to cut?

U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn: "Tennesseans are tired of Washington wastefully spending their money. They want a federal balanced budget. We must increase economic growth and couple it with spending cuts, stabilize trust funds, block granting Medicaid to the states and cut bureaucracy. My across-the-board spending cuts are a start."

Former Gov. Phil Bredesen: "Congress should start by paying for needed corporate tax cuts by closing loopholes, as they originally promised, rather than taking the easy way out by adding $1.5 trillion of debt. I worked with both parties as governor to pass eight balanced budgets, and I’m ready to do it again."

Do you support the renewal of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program?

Blackburn: "DACA is an Obama-era executive action program, which is both anti-democratic and creates an unsustainable immigration system with unenforceable mandates. We should deal with the children compassionately, but we must implement a solution that begins with securing our border."

Bredesen: "Yes. We have a moral obligation to these youngsters. They were brought here as children, and in many cases have known no other home. Exiling them to a country that is completely foreign to them is morally bankrupt. We are better than that."

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What role should the federal government play regarding net neutrality?

Blackburn: "Tennesseans do not want government-controlled internet. We should have 21st-century rules for a 21st-century internet and one set of privacy rules for the entire internet ecosystem. Congress should pass the Open Internet Preservation Act — legislation I introduced to achieve these goals."

Bredesen: "Internet access has now become an essential utility in the same way that electrical service did a century ago. Fair and equal access to it — net neutrality — is vital to small businesses, entrepreneurship, and to our civic and personal lives. We should guarantee equal access for everyone."

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What more can Congress do to tackle human trafficking?

Blackburn: "Human trafficking is modern-day slavery, and we must stop it, which includes securing the border. I led the fight to shut down backpage.com, a major sex trafficking website, and I’ll continue to work on legislation to block online traffickers and train our first responders."

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Bredesen: "Congress should help local, state and federal agencies improve coordination. When I was mayor, our police worked with their counterparts. When I was governor, our Highway Patrol and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation did the same. With the right leadership and interstate coordination, we can crack down on human trafficking."

Do you support allocating federal funding toward building President Donald Trump’s proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border?

Blackburn: "Yes, we need to implement a comprehensive solution to immigration that includes ending chain migration, ending the visa lottery and stopping sanctuary cities. The insecure border is a threat to our national security that allows drug trafficking, human trafficking and gang activity to come through the southern border."

Bredesen: "I fully support the right of the United States to control our borders. As governor, I deployed National Guard troops to Arizona to help with this control. But the border wall is more political theater than practical policy; modern technology gives us much better and cheaper ways to do this."

Do you support a full or partial repeal of the Affordable Care Act?

Blackburn: "Obamacare made health insurance and health care too expensive to afford. We need to fully repeal it and should expand health savings accounts, promote Association Health Plans and encourage across state line purchase to allow Tennesseans more flexibility when it comes to their health insurance."

Bredesen: "I criticized the ACA when it was proposed; I don’t think it’s the right long-term solution. But many Tennesseans now depend on it, and they are becoming collateral damage to Washington’s cynical political gamesmanship. Senator Alexander’s bipartisan plan to stabilize insurance markets is a good start toward fixing it."

How should Congress continue to combat the ongoing opioid crisis?

Blackburn: "As a mother and a friend, my heart breaks for those affected by the opioid epidemic. I introduced the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act 2.0 to strengthen our response, by increasing civil and criminal penalties for bad actors and authorizing vital funding, and we continue to work toward a systemic solution."

Bredesen: "The first step to recovery is for Congress to admit it has an opioid problem. Two years ago, Congress passed a bill — one Big Pharma wanted — defanging the DEA’s authority to intercept big opioid shipments. My opponent championed that bill. Congress could begin recovery by fixing this immediately."

Should the president have to get approval from Congress before taking any and all military action?

Blackburn: "Sustained military effort should have congressional approval, but in many instances the commander-in-chief and the military must make rapid decisions. The approval process depends on the depth and the scope of military action, and we must always thoughtfully consider the risks before sending our men and women in uniform into harm’s way."

Bredesen: "Our Constitution specifically gives Congress, and not the president, the power to make war. In my lifetime, Congress has abdicated that responsibility. Targeted responses to provocations such as President Trump’s action against Syria in April are fine. But Congress needs to assume its constitutional responsibility for the rest."

Do you support Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum from U.S. trading partners, and what do you think the impact will be?

Blackburn: "Tariffs are intended to punish bad actors, not harm American consumers and manufacturers. I’m increasingly concerned these tariffs are a bad deal for Tennesseans. I’m continuing to talk with those who would be affected and take those concerns to Commerce Secretary Ross, the Trade Office and other members of the administration."

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Bredesen: "No. These tariffs are the same as a new tax on Tennesseans. They address a problem that needs a scalpel by taking an ax to it. The tariffs will raise prices, damage our automotive industry, and the inevitable retaliatory tariffs will badly hurt agriculture and our many other export businesses."

Do you support strengthening federal background checks for gun buyers? Why or why not?

Blackburn: "Keeping our schools and public spaces safe, while safeguarding our Second Amendment rights, is a top priority for me. We need to ensure our background check system works properly and that appropriate red flags are recorded and are shared."

Bredesen: "Background checks should be expanded to close the gun show loophole. The FBI should be properly funded so that it can process those checks quickly and accurately. There should be a judicially protected process to deny firearms to those who have demonstrated mental problems that make them a danger to others."

Do you support raising the federal minimum wage? Why or why not?

Blackburn: "A minimum-wage job should be a steppingstone for a higher-paying job, and we should build an economy where Tennessee workers have those higher-paying opportunities. A growing and competitive economy — not Washington mandates — will create an environment where companies compete for better workers through better wages."

Bredesen: "Yes. My first job was at minimum wage, and I believe it should be increased to at least keep pace with inflation. Doing this at the federal level is far more effective, as it avoids driving jobs from one community or state to another."

Do you believe that businesses should be allowed to withhold their services to same-sex couples? Why or why not?

Blackburn: "People of faith should be free to practice their beliefs as guaranteed by our Constitution. They should never be punished for their beliefs based on conscience and their understanding of Scripture. In the Senate, I will continue to work to ensure our religious beliefs are protected."

Bredesen: "No, and I think most business owners feel the same. I agree with Justice Kennedy — a Reagan appointee — that “disputes must be resolved with tolerance, without undue disrespect to sincere religious beliefs, and without subjecting gay persons to indignities when they seek goods and services in an open market.”

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