The Environment

Given his membership on the House Natural Resources subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands, Boren has been the target of intense ire from environmental groups, who allege his votes do more harm than good. He was attacked by the League of Conservation Voters in 2006 as being one of Congress' "Dirty Dozen" members, listing those lawmakers with the worst environmental records. With a 15 percent rating, Boren was the lowest-rated Democratic lawmaker.

Boren is opposed to policies that force more fuel-efficient technology and voted against the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act, providing tax incentives for renewable energy; he also voted for the Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act, which environmentalists charged would weaken the current Endangered Species Act by de-authorizing "critical habitat" for endangered species.

Energy

Boren's stances on energy tend to emphasize production rather than conservation or sustainability; he supports increasing tax breaks for oil companies to encourage increased supply. A member of the House Resources Energy and Mineral Resources subcommittee, Boren supported the Energy Act of 2005, which provided subsidies to oil and nuclear power providers. In 2009, he also introduced a bill to expand the use of natural gas.

Iraq

A supporter of the Iraq war from the beginning, Boren has consistently resisted Democratic efforts to impose a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops. Although he opposed the 2007 troop "surge," Boren, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, has regularly supported increases in resources for the war and fought any efforts to cut funding that would affect troops.

Gun Control

Unusually for a Democratic lawmaker, Boren sits on the board of directors of the National Rifle Association, an organization of which he has been a lifetime member. Boren has forcefully opposed any gun control efforts throughout his legislative career.

Abortion Rights

Although Boren supports the right to have an abortion, he is against late-term or "partial-birth" abortions and believes minors seeking abortions should be required to acquire parental consent.

Privacy

Boren has infuriated fellow House Democrats by defending many aspects of the USA Patriot Act, which strengthens the federal government's ability to examine electronic communications of U.S. citizens.. Boren was the sole House Democrat to approve of a Patriot Act provision to allow prosecutors to review individuals' library records.

Health Care

Boren has joined with his House Democratic colleagues in pushing for importation and development of generic drugs as a way to hold down costs of prescription drugs, having expressed his belief that medicines from Canada are "safe" and should be allowed to enter the U.S. market.

EFCA

Boren has been opposed by organized labor in each of his congressional elections, and continues to be an object of union scorn. As one of the few Democrats to oppose the Employee Free Choice Act, which opponents say would make it harder for Democrats to unionize, Boren was targeted in his home district in 2009 by a negative political campaign coordinated by national labor groups.

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