John Salazar

A member of the Agriculture Committee during his first two terms, Salazar has been one of the top House recipients of contributions from agribusiness and the sugar industry. He helped craft the 2008 farm bill that ensured the continuation of federal farm subsidies and he worked to provide disaster insurance for farmers.

One of the defining causes of Salazar's congressional tenure has been his opposition to the Army's plans to add more than 400,000 acres of mostly agricultural land to the Pion Canyon Maneuver Site, located within Salazar's district. In 2007, Salazar got the House to prohibit the Army from spending any money on this project.

Salazar has sided with Republicans on a number of high-profile environmental votes. In 2005, he was one of 36 Democrats to vote for a bill that revised the Endangered Species Act by expanding the right of property owners whose development plans clash with measures to protect species.

In 2009, he joined 43 Democrats in opposing the Waxman-Markey bill, which sought to curb greenhouse gas emissions by establishing a cap-and-trade system; he cited the measure's high cost and the "disproportionate burden" placed on Coloradoans.

Health-Care Reform

Salazar was accused of hiding from the debate in summer 2009 for not holding any townhall meetings on the health-reform debate.

He told a local reporter in August 2009 that he would "support a public option if that's what we could do," Salazar said. "My sense being a realist is that we are probably going to be looking toward a cooperative." But he insisted any reform be "deficit neutral."

The Economy

During his first congressional campaign, Salazar advocated the repeal of President Bush's tax cuts for those making more than $200,000 a year. Yet he also voiced his opposition to the estate tax - a position to which he stayed true in 2006, when he was one of only 43 Democrats to support that tax's permenant repeal.

In the summer of 2009, Salazar joined efforts to move the health-care bill drafted by House Democrats to the right; he signed a letter asking his party's leadership not to establish a robust public plan based on Medicare rates. Earlier in his tenure, he introduced legislation to prevent Social Security contributions from being diverted towards private saving accounts.

In the fall of 2008, Salazar voted against both versions of the financial bailout plan. He criticized the legislation's "irresponsible" spending, objected to the excessive discretionary authority provided to the Treasury secretary and regretted that the funds were not distributed in monthly $50 billion increments.

Salazar's voting record is relatively favorable to free trade. While he joined all but 15 Demcrats in opposing the Central American Free Trade Agreement back in 2005, he backed the Peru Free Trade Agreement two years later when the Democratic Caucus split almost evenly.

Social issues

While he voted to impose stricter parental notification laws, Salazar generally supports abortion rights and he voted to expand stem-cell research. He supports civil unions and opposes a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. "The gay community does not threaten my manhood," Salazar said in 2004, arguing that the Constitution should not be "utilized to take people's rights away."

Salazar is an ardent opponent of gun control, a stance he often used during his 2004 campaign to differentiate himself from Kerry. Salazar has repeatedly received "A" ratings from the National Rifle Association.; In 2007, he sided with a large minority of Democrats in supporting a constitutional amendment prohibiting the burning of the American flag.

National Security

During his first congressional campaign, Salazar criticized President George W. Bush's decision to launch the Iraq war but he also indicated that he would have "probably" voted in favor of the 2002 resolution authorizing the use of force had he been in the House. Later, the Democrat opposed calls for a U.S. troop withdrawal long after most Democrats - including his brother Ken - were voicing them.

In 2005, Salazar voted against the renewal of the USA Patriot Act, though many Blue Dog Democrats supported it. Three years later, he sided with a large minority of his party in supporting an expansion of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that extended the government's surveillance powers.

Immigration

"I basically support what the president wants to do," Salazar explained when President George W. Bush's comprehensive immigration reform came up for debate in 2006. In particular, Salazar voiced his strong support for a guest-worker program to meet the agricultural sector's needs in his state.

Yet the bill considered in the House was far tougher than the one debated in the Senate. Sponsored by conservative lawmaker Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), it required the construction of a 700-mile fence along the Mexican border, toughened enforcement mechanisms and contained no path to citizenship. While Salazar opposed the amendment that authorized the fence, he supported the full package - including the fence provision - along with only 35 other Democrats. (The House bill was never reconciled with the Senate's version.)

Salazar's support was not a surprise considering his vote in favor of the 2005 Real ID Act, which imposed stricter identification requirements to obtain a drivers' license and tightened asylum policies.

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