Carnahan was an outspoken co-sponsor of a 2006 bill vetoed by President George W. Bush that sought to provide federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research. Funding was later permitted by an executive order by President Obama.

As a candidate in 2004, Carnahan said he supported universal access to health care, seeking it either the private or public means.

Foreign Policy

Both Carnahan and his wife Debra have advocated for an international family-planning policy that prevents people in the developing world from getting sexually-transmitted diseases or unwanted pregnancies.

In 2007, Carnahan introduced the Ensuring Access to Contraceptives Act, seeking to double the amount of foreign aid for distributing contraceptives to foreign countries to $150 million-a-year. During the George W. Bush administration, Carnahan advocated lifting the "global gag rule," an executive order limiting access to contraceptives and assistance to international aid groups that perform abortions. The executive order was lifted in January 2009, after President Obama took office.

In 2007, Carnahan and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), both on committees related to the Iraq war, were targets of anti-war protestors as a part of The Occupation Project. Though both legislators were critical of the war, they didn't want to cut off funding and harm U.S. troops in Iraq.

After a July 2008 visit to Afghanistan, Carnahan said the focus of that war should be on eliminating sanctuaries in Pakistan, improving anti-terrorism operations on both sides of the border and curtailing the narcotics trade. Carnahan is a member of the Foreign Affairs subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia.

Green Construction

The co-founder and co-chairman of the Congressional High-Performance Buildings Caucus, Carnahan has sponsored green building conferences and has supported retrofitting and constructing buildings to create jobs and promote more efficient energy use.

In June 2009, Carnahan introduced the National Transportation Objectives Act of 2009 with Reps. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Rush Holt (D-N.J.) that seeks to set benchmarks for reduced vehicle use, transportation-related emissions and infrastructure improvements within 20 years.

The Economy

Carnahan supported the $700 billion financial bailout plan in fall 2008, claiming it provided strong oversight and transparency, while limiting CEO compensation and golden parachutes.

The Missouri Democrat was also supportive of Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus plan in February 2009, telling a crowd of his constituents that the package would be monitored and "be much stricter and much smarter" than the financial bailout bill with many felt was responsible for a deeper recession.

In July 2009, his vote for the cap-and-trade" climate change bill drew the ire of the St. Louis-area McArthur's Bakery, which posted an angry message on one of its electronic signs saying, "Russ Carnahan voted to close us and other small business." Carnahan met with the bakery's owner David McArthur, who said the legislation aimed at curbing pollution amounted to a "tax increase." McArthur said if the idea plays out as he fears, he'd stump for anyone who opposed Carnahan in the 2010 election.

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