Political positions of Mitt Romney

The political positions of Mitt Romney have been recorded from his 1994 U.S. senatorial campaign in Massachusetts, the 2002 gubernatorial election, during his 2003–2007 governorship, during his 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, in his 2010 book '' No Apology: The Case for American Greatness'', during his 2012 U.S. presidential campaign, and during his 2018 senatorial campaign in Utah. Some of these political positions have changed, while others have remained unchanged.

In 1994, during his campaign for US Senate in Massachusetts, "Romney has cast himself as a moderate Republican, socially liberal and fiscally conservative" and ''The New York Times'' likened his views to those of Governor William F. Weld. During his gubernatorial campaign in 2002, Romney described himself as a centrist saying of himself: "I'm someone who is moderate, and ... my views are progressive." ''The Boston Globe'', reporting on the 2004 Republican National Convention list of speakers, wrote that "Massachusetts Republicans with moderate positions on most social issues, Romney and t. Gov. KerryHealey also fit into the moderate tone that the Bush campaign wants to project for its 004convention." In 2005, Romney described his views as being "moderate on the national scene." However, in 2007, Romney launched his first presidential campaign and referred to himself as consistently conservative. In 2011, again running a presidential campaign, he described himself as being "'in sync' with the conservative Tea Party." In 2012, speaking at CPAC, a conservative political action committee, Romney described his tenure as a 'severely conservative' Governor of Massachusetts. Since 2019, while serving as a United States Senator from Utah, Romney was considered to be among the Senate's moderate Republicans.

In 2012, Gallup surveyed Americans about their perceptions of presidential candidates and 45% perceived Mitt Romney as conservative, 29% as moderate, and 12% as liberal with 14% having no opinion about his ideology. In 2016, Romney considered endorsing and voting for the Libertarian Party's presidential ticket. Romney announced that he did not plan to make an endorsement for president in 2020. He was one of three Republican Senators, the others being Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, who refused to co-sponsor a resolution opposing the impeachment inquiry into President Trump. He was one of two Republicans voting with Democrats to allow witnesses during the impeachment trial, being disinvited from CPAC as a result. In February 2020, he became the sole Republican to vote in favor of convicting President Trump under the first article of impeachment. In the U.S. Senate, as of January 2021, Romney had voted with President Trump on legislative issues about 75% of the time. As of October, 2022, he has voted with President Biden's legislative positions about 56.4% of the time.

Economic policy

Agriculture

In his 1994 Senate campaign, Romney called for the "virtual elimination" of the federal Department of Agriculture and for reductions in farm subsidies. In 2007, when questioned about these views, a Romney for President Iowa campaign spokesman responded: "Governor Romney believes that investing in agriculture is key to our economy and families."

During the 2012 presidential election campaign, Romney took positions on agricultural subsidies that some media reports characterized as vague and somewhat contradictory. In May 2011, just days after rival Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty had declared that federal subsidies for the production of ethanol fuel should be phased out, Romney said that he was a supporter of ethanol subsidies. Five months later, while speaking on agricultural subsidies at a roundtable discussion with Iowa farmers and business leaders, Romney said, "I'm not running for office based on making promises of handing out money. ... We're going to have to live within our means." He also said that while he had supported ethanol subsidies in the past in order to help the ethanol fuel industry become established, and that he continued to believe that ethanol should play a role in meeting the nation's energy needs, he agreed with the discontinuation of the tax credit for production of ethanol from corn that was scheduled to occur two months later. On the subject of agricultural subsidies more generally, Romney wrote in response to a 2012 questionnaire from the American Farm Bureau Federation that "other nations subsidize their farmers, so we must be careful not to unilaterally change our policies in a way that would disadvantage agriculture here in our country." He made similar remarks on the campaign trail in August 2012, without explicitly referring to subsidies: "We don't want to find ourselves with regards to our food supply in the same kind of position we are in with our energy supply, so it's important for us to make sure that our farmers are able to stay on the farm and raise the crops that we need to have a secure source of food. So I believe in supports that will allow us to do that."

Romney's position on federal mandates that require gasoline producers to include ethanol in gasoline blends has been less clear. The Romney campaign responded to a survey question asking for Romney's position on ethanol use mandates by saying the ethanol industry "has made important strides in reducing America's dependence on foreign oil" and ethanol "should continue to have prospects for growing its share in transportation fuels." Romney wrote to the American Farm Bureau Federation, "The increased production of biofuels plays an important part in my plan to achieve energy independence. In order to support increased market penetration and competition among energy sources, I am in favor of maintaining the Renewable Fuel Standard."

Romney declined to respond to survey questions from the Iowa Corn Growers Association requesting his positions on crop insurance and conservation during the presidential primary campaign. He responded to an American Farm Bureau Federation questionnaire in 2012 by saying, "my immediate priority s presidentshould be given to enacting disaster relief for those not traditionally covered by crop insurance as this year's drought has worsened."

Automotive industry

During the 2008 presidential primary campaign, Romney had distinguished his prescription for the automotive industry from rival candidate John McCain's by calling for a five-fold increase, to $20 billion per year over five years, in federal funding for research and development in energy, fuel technology, materials science, and automotive technology. In a January 14 speech, he stated, "I'm not willing to sit back and say, ' ... Too bad for the people who've lost their jobs. They're gone forever.'"David A. Graham
"A Short History of Mitt Romney's Views on the Detroit Bailout"
''The Atlantic'' (April 30, 2012). As the automotive industry crisis of 2008 arose amidst the near collapse of the private-sector credit market and banking industry in late 2008, Romney argued against a bailout with direct government loans of the auto industry. He proposed that struggling auto manufacturers should undergo managed bankruptcy, after which they should seek loans from the private-sector credit market with government-backed loan guarantees. Writing in an op-ed article published in ''The New York Times'' in November 2008 (his original title had been "The Way Forward for the Auto Industry" but the editors published the article under the title "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt"),Ashley Parke
“Having Opposed Auto Bailout, Romney Now Takes Credit for Rebound”
Politics and Government Blog, ''The New York Times'' (March 8, 2012): "In fact, that headline was written by
the paper, not Mr. Romney, who originally submitted the piece as, 'The Way Forward for the Auto Industry.'" Romney said, "If General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye." In referring to his proposal for managed bankruptcy, he said " would permit the companies to shed excess labor, pension and real estate costs." The Obama Administration ultimately implemented managed bankruptcy reorganizations of the General Motors and Chrysler corporations in combination with the direct government financing that Romney had opposed, after which Romney said that he deserved credit for the auto industry's recovery.

During the 2012 presidential campaign, Romney criticized the Obama Administration for holding General Motors stock for longer than he thought prudent. He said that the government should sell its General Motors stock holdings quickly and should seek alternatives to what he called excessive automotive industry regulation.Kreindler, Derek (June 6, 2012
Romney Would Sell GM Stock, LookFor CAFE Alternatives
''The Truth About Cars''. He also said that fuel economy standards should be determined by market forces rather than by government mandates, and he called electric vehicles "a technology that people aren't interested in." GM and Chrysler have denied that their post-bailout returns to the Chinese market are attempts to outsource American jobs, as Romney claimed from a since corrected report by Bloomberg News.

Budget

In March 2012, Romney endorsed the House Budget Committee proposed budget for the fiscal year 2013, a newer version of Paul Ryan's ''The Path to Prosperity''. In 2019, as a US Senator, Romney voted for both Republican and Democratic bills to end a government shutdown. He was one of six Republicans breaking with their party to vote for the Democratic bill. In 2021, Romney joined all Senate and House Republicans in voting against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021; however, on September 30, 2021, he was among 15 Republicans in the Senate who joined all Democrats, and both Independents, to pass a temporary spending bill to continue government funding and avoid a government shutdown.

In August 2021, Romney was among the 19 US Republican Senators who voted with the Democratic caucus to pass a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. The bill passed the House of Representatives, with 13 Republicans joining the Democrats, in November 2021 after being delayed due to negotiations among political factions of the House. In December 2021, he was one of 14 Republicans in the US Senate to vote with all members of the Democratic caucus in favor of allowing the Democratic leadership to raise the debt ceiling on a party-line vote.

Campaign finance

In his 1994 Senate campaign, Romney advocated spending limits on congressional campaigns and suggested abolishing political action committees.
In his 2002 gubernatorial campaign, Romney proposed taxing private political contributions in order to finance publicly funded campaigns.
In 2007 Romney began criticizing the McCain-Feingold Law, saying "We step into dangerous territory when politicians start eviscerating our fundamental freedoms in the name of amorphous principles, like campaign finance reform."
He wrote in 2007: "The original intent of McCain-Feingold was to reduce the role of money and special interests in our political system. But on this too it has been a failure. Political spending has been driven into secret corners and more power and influence has been handed to hidden special interests. What is really needed is greater transparency, and disclosure, of campaign contributions – not more restrictions on political speech."

In November 2011, Romney said that the Supreme Court had made the right decision in its 2010 ''Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission'' ruling, but that he did not like some of the consequences of it: "I'm not wild about the idea of corporations making political contributions as a concept. I think their decision was a correct decision. I support their decision. I wish we could find a way to get money out of politics. I haven't found a way to do that." In January 2012, in the midst of the Republican Party presidential nomination primaries battle, Romney criticized the existence of Super PACs that were playing a large role in the campaign, saying, "I'll tell you, there have been some—there have been some attacks on me that have just been outrageous and completely inaccurate and have been shown to be inaccurate. That's the nature of the process. I hope it ends. ... We all would like to have super PACs disappear, to tell you the truth ... I think this has to change." A Romney spokesman added at the time that Romney viewed laws limiting regular donations to candidates' campaigns as too restrictive, which resulted in money going to Super PACs instead, and that it would be better if candidates' campaigns could receive those monies directly and take responsibility for ads made with them.

Defense spending levels

During the 2012 presidential campaign, Romney proposed to increase the size of the military by at least 100,000 troops. He called for spending priorities that include an expanded Naval armada estimated at $40 billion. But he did not specify how he would pay for this spending under the current tight Federal budget. John Lehman, a top adviser, said that the shipbuilding funds would come from cuts in the Pentagon. Romney said he would extend Obama administration's current plans of building two attack submarines a year to three submarines a year, and would split the current co-production of submarines into two independent operations.

Romney singled out the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey as a program that would require "very careful inspection", however he pledged to ramp up production of jet fighters.

According to Suzy Khimm, writing in ''The Washington Post'' in mid-2012, the Obama administration's 2013 budget would have had defense spending go from about 4.5% of GDP in 2012 to about 3% of GDP in 2013. Romney, by contrast, called for setting a defense spending floor at 4% of GDP. In September 2012, Romney said that he would like to maintain the current level of defense spending relative to GDP.

Deficit

Romney (like several other Republican candidates) signed the "cut, cap and balance" pledge, under which an increase in the federal debt ceiling would be contingent on major cuts in spending, caps on spending, and a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution.

Romney opposed the Budget Control Act of 2011 that was passed to resolve the United States debt-ceiling crisis as part of a deal struck between President Obama and congressional leaders, including his future running mate, Paul Ryan. Romney later criticized Obama for failing to specify the true impact of the resulting sequestration, as required by law.

Energy and the environment

During Massachusetts governorship

Romney's positions on energy policy and environmental protection regulations shifted from his time as governor of Massachusetts to his campaign for the presidency in the 2012 election.

As a candidate for governor of Massachusetts in 2002, and later as governor, Romney prioritized policies that would promote energy conservation and reduce environmental pollution. He said that he was "absolutely committed" to renewable energy and that "I think the global warming debate is now pretty much over and people recognize the need associated with providing sources which do not generate the heat currently provided by fossil fuels."

Campaigning for the governorship, he argued in support of measures such as imposing higher taxes on SUVs to help reduce auto emissions and conserve energy; revitalizing urban neighborhoods using fees charged to developers for cutting down trees in suburban areas; and doubling the rate of cleanup of brownfield lands.

In his first 100 days in office as governor, he proposed expansion of the beverage container deposit law (bottle bill), a switch by state government agencies to the use of environmentally friendly cleansers, and clean up of the state's "Filthy Five" power plants. He appointed a prominent environmentalist, Douglas Foy, to oversee energy development, transportation, housing, and environmental affairs. Foy helped develop an energy and environment plan that included 72 public and private initiatives, with a goal of deriving 15 percent of the state's electricity from renewable sources such as wind, solar, and nonpolluting fuel cells by 2020, and of reducing greenhouse gas emissions of state agencies by 25 percent. The plan also proposed to impose strict emissions standards on older power plants and sought to substantially reduce soot emissions from diesel buses, trucks, and heavy construction equipment.

Arguing for environmental protection regulations in 2003, Romney said that "if the choice is between dirty power plants or protecting the health of the people of Massachusetts, I will always come down on the side of public health." He insisted that a coal power plant not delay in meeting tough emissions standards even at the cost of losing jobs: "I will not create jobs or hold jobs that kill people. ... And that plant, that plant kills people."

As governor, he also argued for limits on oil and gas drilling in order to protect the environment. In his state of the Commonwealth address in January 2005, Romney said, "I'm concerned about the preservation of our natural resources. I will file legislation to protect our oceans from off shore drilling and commercial development. The oceans should not be up for grabs like some Wild West land rush." He signed into law a bill to protect against oil spills and to increase penalties for polluters.

He pursued policies to make greater use of carpooling and public transit, and sought tax credits to stimulate purchases of hybrid and other more fuel-efficient vehicles.Alec MacGillis: When Romney Liked High Gas Prices , The New Republic
/ref>

Romney argued that tax policy should be used to promote energy conservation. When his lieutenant governor supported a temporary suspension of the state gasoline tax to provide consumers some relief during a period of especially high gasoline prices in 2006, Romney rejected the proposal, arguing that maintaining the tax would help encourage energy conservation: "I don't think that now is the time, and I'm not sure there will be the right time, for us to encourage the use of more gasoline. ... I am very much in favor of people recognizing that these high gasoline prices are probably here to stay and that the appropriate action for us to take is to find ways to find fuel conservation."

He highlighted support for government investment in developing sources of renewable energy, such as wind and solar, early in his administration, although he opposed a proposal that would have sited a wind farm in Nantucket Sound off Cape Cod, where he said the visual impact would be detrimental to the state's tourist economy.

Romney initially supported a regional greenhouse gas cap-and-trade initiative for New England and eastern Canada, but he ultimately withdrew his support when he was unable to ensure establishment of certain limits on the penalty fees businesses would be charged for exceeding emissions allowances. A week later, his administration issued a rule allowing companies to pay a fine instead of having to clean up emissions of toxins like mercury. Both decisions were made as Romney announced he would not run for a second term as governor and began to focus on entering the 2008 presidential campaign. Some former Romney policy advisors later told ''The New York Times'' that his political team had been afraid that, with industry being opposed to the cap-and-trade proposal, Romney's having included Massachusetts in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative would have made Romney's chance of winning a presidential campaign very unlikely.

During 2012 presidential campaign

Early in the 2012 presidential campaign, in June 2011, Romney said, "I don't speak for the scientific community, of course, but I believe the world's getting warmer. I can't prove that, but I believe based on what I read that the world is getting warmer. And number two, I believe that humans contribute to that. I don't know how much our contribution is to that, because I know that there have been periods of greater heat and warmth in the past but I believe we contribute to that. And so I think it's important for us to reduce our emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases that may well be significant contributors to the climate change and the global warming that you're seeing." Four months later, in October 2011, he said, "My view is that we don't know what's causing climate change on this planet. And the idea of spending trillions and trillions of dollars to try to reduce CO2 emissions is not the right course for us." He expressed his opposition to cap and trade plans and to regulation of carbon emissions. In June 2012, Romney's domestic policy advisor Oren Cass told the ''Los Angeles Times'', "He's a supporter of renewable energy, as long as it's anything that would be economically competitive. He doesn't know the extent to which climate change is occurring or that human activity is causing it. ... What you won't see are mandates or taxes or regulations that interfere with economic activity."

In August 2012, during a week of heavy fundraising from oil company executives, Romney put forward what he called a comprehensive energy plan that he said would allow North America to become independent of foreign oil imports within a decade.

Romney's energy proposal called for aggressively expanding drilling for fossil fuels, such as oil and natural gas, by easing federal regulations. The plan would seek to increase offshore drilling along the coasts of states like Virginia and the Carolinas, as well as in previously restricted areas of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and would give states more control over energy development on federal lands within their borders (Romney noted that oil companies currently wait an average 307 days for drilling permits from the federal government, while the state of North Dakota takes only 10 days to issue permits to drill on state-owned land). Additionally, the plan called for expansion of coal mining and nuclear energy production.

Romney reiterated in the proposal that as president he would approve the Keystone XL pipeline, to carry oil sands crude from western Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast for refining. (During the campaign, Romney had promised that he would approve the pipeline project by executive order on his first day in office as president.)

Romney's written energy policy proposal made no mention of climate change, and made little mention of plans to improve energy conservation. During the campaign Romney opposed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) requirement that the average fuel efficiency of cars be doubled by 2025. "Governor Romney opposes the extreme standards that President Obama has imposed, which will limit the choices available to American families," said Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul.

Romney had previously expressed opposition to federal aid for renewable energy development, and his August 2012 energy policy plan proposed eliminating government support in the form of loan guarantees and subsidies for development of renewable types of energy, sources of energy that Romney had said the Obama administration has been over-reliant on.

Romney's energy plan that was unveiled in August 2012 would maintain subsidies for oil companies, which Romney's rival for the presidency, Obama, would eliminate. During the 2008 presidential campaign, in November 2007 when all of the Democratic presidential candidates were calling for eliminating billions of dollars of tax breaks for oil companies, Romney told ''The New York Times'', "Now is not the right time to raise taxes on our oil companies." Throughout most of the 2012 presidential campaign, Romney himself made almost no public statements directly commenting on tax breaks for oil and gas companies; and the Romney campaign declined to respond to repeated requests from the ''Tampa Bay Times Politifact and ''The Washington Post's'' Fact Checker to clarify his position. However, he did tell a town hall gathering in April 2012 that, in contrast to Obama, he did not want to raise taxes on oil companies. Romney's chief energy advisor also testified before Congress twice during the campaign on behalf of the oil and gas industry that Congress should maintain tax benefits for oil and gas producers. During the first presidential debate between Romney and Obama, in October 2012, Romney hinted for the first time that as president he might consider eliminating $2.8 billion in tax breaks for oil and gas producers if Congress would agree to cut the tax rate for all corporations by 30%.

Disaster relief

As governor of Massachusetts, Romney requested federal disaster assistance to help with cleaning up after storms.

During the 2012 presidential primary campaign, when asked what the federal government's role should be in responding to natural disasters, Romney suggested that responsibility for handling disasters should be taken from FEMA, the federal agency dedicated to disaster relief, and given to the states, or outsourced to the private sector: "Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that's the right direction. And if you can go even further, and send it back to the private sector, that's even better. Instead of thinking in the federal budget, what we should cut -- we should ask ourselves the opposite question. What should we keep? We should take all of what we're doing at the federal level and say, what are the things we're doing that we don't have to do? And those things we've got to stop doing, because we're borrowing $1.6 trillion more this year than we're taking in." Asked whether by that he specifically meant disaster relief, he replied, "we cannot afford to do those things without jeopardizing the future for our kids. It is simply immoral, in my view, for us to continue to rack up larger and larger debts and pass them on to our kids, knowing full well that we'll all be dead and gone before it's paid off. It makes no sense at all."

The Romney campaign told reporters in October 2012, as the nation's East coast braced for Hurricane Sandy, that "Gov. Romney believes that states should be in charge of emergency management in responding to storms and other natural disasters in their jurisdictions. ... As the first responders, states are in the best position to aid affected individuals and communities and to direct resources and assistance to where they are needed most. This includes help from the federal government and FEMA." The Romney campaign released a statement following the storm stating, "I believe that FEMA plays a key role in working with states and localities to prepare for and respond to natural disasters. As president, I will ensure FEMA has the funding it needs to fulfill its mission, while directing maximum resources to the first responders who work tirelessly to help those in need, because states and localities are in the best position to get aid to the individuals and communities affected by natural disasters."

Finance

Romney says a major contributor to America's faltering economy has been what he views as excessive regulation. He has promised to repeal the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The Act implemented Wall Street reform with goals that included "improving accountability and transparency in the financial system" and protecting consumers. Romney criticized the Act as being "overwhelming" in length, but he said that one provision, distinguishing between home mortgages and high-risk securities in terms of the capital requirements, "does make sense", and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which was enacted to prevent accounting scandals such had occurred with the Enron corporation, with plans to eventually replace them with more streamlined regulations. He also proposes instituting measures that would make it more difficult for federal agencies to impose new regulations.

Regarding the Occupy Wall Street protests, Romney has stated he favors growing the middle class but said blaming Wall Street bankers is the wrong way to go.

Healthcare

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)

During his 1994 run for the United States Senate, Romney indicated he would support a bill that included a federal health insurance mandate, saying that he was "willing to vote for things that e wasnot wild with".

As governor of Massachusetts in 2006, Romney proposed and signed into law a private, market-based reform that ensures every Massachusetts citizen will have health insurance, without a government takeover and without raising taxes. The law secured near-universal health care coverage. The legislation requires health insurance for all state residents, provided a plan is available to the individual that deemed affordable according to state standards. Employers with eleven or more employees are mandated to offer approved insurance plans for employees. Romney vetoed eight sections of the legislation, including a $295 per person fee on businesses with eleven employees or more that do not provide health insurance. Romney also vetoed provisions providing dental and eyeglass benefits to low income residents on the Medicaid program, and providing health coverage to senior and disabled legal immigrants not eligible for federal Medicaid. State legislature overrode all of the vetoes.

In August 2007, at the Florida Medical Association, Romney unveiled his proposed national health care plan, which departed significantly from the universal health care measure that he helped forge as governor of Massachusetts. It differed from the Massachusetts plan in that it involved no individual mandate on a national basis but instead offered tax deductions for those buying insurance on their own, and allowing the states to choose their own health care plans.

During 2009, as Congress debated proposals for health insurance reform, Romney said that he was in favor of increased health insurance portability, coverage of pre-existing medical conditions, a cap on malpractice lawsuits, the implementation of a streamlined electronic medical records system, an emphasis on preventive care, loosening restrictions on importation of prescription drugs, and tax benefits aimed at making health insurance more affordable for the uninsured and targeted to promote universal access. He said he opposed efforts to provide non-emergency health coverage to undocumented immigrants and he supported the Hyde Amendment prohibiting government funding for elective abortion. Romney opposed a federal single-payer system, but supported state efforts to reduce the uninsured population. The Massachusetts health care law was used as an early model for Democratic health insurance reforms in 2009.

Romney opposed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare) that was ultimately passed by Congress and signed by President Obama in 2010. Immediately following its passage, Romney attacked the landmark legislation as "an unconscionable abuse of power". He said, "The act should be repealed. That campaign begins today." Romney acknowledged that his own plan for near-universal healthcare access in Massachusetts was not perfect and was still a work in progress, but he did not dissociate himself from the Massachusetts plan. Instead, he focused on its having successfully passed the state legislature with bipartisan support while the Obama plan had received no Republican support at all in Congress. He also complained that President Obama had not sought out his expertise in crafting the national plan that became the Affordable Care Act.

In June 2012, Romney pledged to enact a system to replace the Affordable Care Act, but did not release details of how it would be paid for. Romney's plan includes expanding health savings accounts to pay for premiums, increased competition and consumer choice, and lawsuit reform. Romney has also praised the cost controls of the mandated universal health care coverage of Israel.

In August 2012, Romney indicated that he might retain parts of Obamacare such as coverage for pre-existing conditions, but this was quickly clarified as only ensuring insurance coverage for people who already had insurance coverage. In September 2012, Romney highlighted his success in providing government subsidizes to ensure medical coverage for all the children of Massachusetts. And in October the Romney campaign questioned the assumptions behind a Commonwealth Fund report that Romney's policies would provide health care insurance for 45 million fewer Americans than Obama's policies.

In his 2018 Senate campaign in Utah, Romney stood by his position that the healthcare law he signed in Massachusetts was right at the time. Kennedy had criticized the Massachusetts law, which some conservatives have compared to 'universal healthcare,' but Romney defended it arguing that he believes in state-based plans.

Medicare

While campaigning for the governorship of Massachusetts in 2002, Romney argued that the federal government should pay for medicines for seniors: "It is outrageous that some senior citizens are forced to choose between paying for their prescription drugs and their groceries. The federal government needs to step in with a plan for our senior citizens, and I will lobby officials on the federal level to provide a Medicare drug benefit." (The U.S. Congress would pass legislation providing for Medicare prescription drug coverage - Medicare Part D - the following year.)

In February 2012, in an address to the Detroit Economic Club during which he discussed his recently unveiled economic plan and federal budget proposal, Romney said that to help control government healthcare expenditures, as president he would seek to gradually raise the minimum age for Medicare eligibility. The change in eligibility would affect future Medicare beneficiaries who at the time of enactment of the rule change would be 54 years of age or younger; the eligibility age would be raised by one month per year, then eventually tied to life-expectancy.

Romney named Representative Paul Ryan as his vice-presidential running mate in August 2012. A year earlier, in June 2011, the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives had passed a Republican alternative budget proposed by Ryan, with no Democrats voting for it. One controversial aspect of the proposal concerned Medicare; for those under age 55 as of its enactment, it would replace the existing Medicare system in which the government pays doctors, hospitals, and other medical providers fees for services rendered with a system in which the government would instead pay vouchers (also referred to as premium-support subsidies) to Medicare beneficiaries, who could then use their vouchers to either buy private medical insurance or to obtain coverage in a plan similar to traditional Medicare. Romney said that as president he would sign such a plan if it reached his desk, but he added that he would be putting forward his own plan before debating Obama.

During an interview in August 2012, several days after choosing Ryan as his running mate, Romney said, "Paul Ryan and my plan for Medicare, I think, is the same, if not identical -- it's probably close to identical."

A 2012 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation said, in October 2012, that a hypothetical Medicare plan along the lines of Romney would raise premiums for nearly 6 out of 10 seniors. The Romney campaign noted that the study did not specifically model any proposal from either campaign.

Chronic Lyme disease

In September 2012, a mailer from the Romney and Ryan campaign indicated they favored a law regarding " chronic Lyme disease", a controversial and unrecognized diagnosis, that will provide "physicians with protection from lawsuits to ensure they can treat the disease with the aggressive antibiotics that are required."

Housing

Asked "How will you help with the housing and foreclosure problems in the U.S.?", Romney responded that it would be best not to try and stop the foreclosure process, to let it run its course and hit the bottom, and that he might be open to some government action to encourage refinancing. He also referred to the Obama administration as having "slow walked the foreclosure processes that have long existed, and as a result we still have a foreclosure overhang", and that the credit that was given to first-time home buyers was inadequate to turn around the housing market. He nevertheless is open to some government interventionPolitiFact , An ad claims Mitt Romney's housing

policy is to">let foreclosures "hit the bottom."
/ref> but demands that it make sense from a business standpoint. Should the foreclosure process run its course, Romney sees recovery for the market as investors are allowed to salvage property values and move people back into their homes as renters, with the possibility to buy when they are fiscally prepared.

Jobs

Romney argued during the 2012 presidential election campaign that his proposals to reduce government regulation of business activity and to revise the federal tax code and federal trade and energy policies would foster an environment that would lead businesses to create 12 million jobs within his first four years in office.

Glenn Kessler of ''The Washington Post'' fact-checked the claim and identified numerous problems with it, citing '' Moody's Analytics'' and the sources provided by Romney's own campaign staffers.

Labor unions

Romney has been critical of former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) and the United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union. During a campaign speech in Michigan on June 9, 2011, he was quoted as saying "They're out there working very hard for their friend, Barack Obama," he added. "I think the union folks basically bought and paid for his last campaign, so he's taking care of them and they're taking care of him."

Romney opposes the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that would add penalties for labor violations and would allow union recognition based on signed requests from a majority of the workers. He has called for "cutting off funding" for the National Labor Relations Board.

Minimum wage

As governor of Massachusetts and as a candidate for president, Romney has called for tying raises in the national minimum wage to indicators of growth in the economy, such as increases in the inflation rate. He has said that increases in the minimum wage should be moderate and predictable. Commenting in March 2012 on a proposal put forward by some Democratic legislators to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10 per hour, Romney said that an increase in the minimum wage was probably not necessary at that time.

However, Romney has recently criticized his party's stance on minimum wage, stating in 2016 that he now believes it is time to increase the federal minimum wage.

Space exploration

The U.S. Space Shuttle program was officially retired shortly before the 2012 presidential primary campaign began in earnest. During the primary campaign, rival Republican candidate Newt Gingrich promised that if elected he would work to reinvigorate the nation's space program with a goal of establishing a permanent colony on the moon within a decade and seeking to have humans travel to Mars in the near future. Commenting on Gingrich's proposals, Romney said that before committing to any particular space program, he would take advice from experts in the field. He expressed doubt that a moonbase would be a practical goal if the costs were on the order of $550 billion.

Stimulus

As governor of Massachusetts, Romney favored the use of economic stimulus measures, using both federal funding and state funding to help lift the state's sluggish economy. Just months into his tenure as governor, in April 2003, while he shied away from any public endorsement of the tax cuts proposed by the Bush Administration, he argued for federal funds to stimulate the local economy: "I very much support an economic stimulus. ... An economic stimulus is a good thing for Massachusetts." That same year, he proposed his own economic stimulus package of tax credits and grants to promote the state's high technology industry, ultimately totaling $100 million when agreed to by the legislature. Two years later, in February 2005, he proposed a much larger stimulus package, totaling $600 million, that he said would create 20,000 jobs over 5 years. The most controversial provision would have devoted $37 million to stimulate job creation by paying businesses $30,000 for each new employee hired.

In early January 2009, Romney supported the $750 billion federal economic stimulus package proposed by the incoming president, Barack Obama, who had not yet taken office. Romney said at the time:

I frankly wish that the last Congress would have dealt with the stimulus issue and that the president utgoing President George W. Bushcould assign that before leaving office. I think there is need for economic stimulus. Americans have lost about $11 trillion in net worth. That translates into about $400 billion a year less spending that they'll be doing, and that's net of additional government programs like Medicaid and unemployment insurance. And government can help make that up in a very difficult time. ... I'd move quickly. These are unusual times. But it has to be something which relieves pressure on middle-income families. I think a tax cut is necessary for them as well as for businesses that are growing. We'll be investing in infrastructure and in energy technologies.

However, as a candidate for president in May 2012, Romney said that the economic stimulus package that had been enacted in February 2009 (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) had been a waste of money that did little to jump-start the economy, and that the federal government had inflated the numbers of jobs that had been created or preserved by the various projects funded through the stimulus program.

Soon after the Republican victory in the 2012 Wisconsin gubernatorial recall election, Romney criticized Obama's stimulus policy, saying that Obama "wants another stimulus, he wants to hire more government workers. He says we need more fireman, more policeman, more teachers. Did he not get the message of Wisconsin? The American people did. It's time for us to cut back on government and help the American people."

Taxation

As the new Governor of Massachusetts in 2003, Romney declined to publicly support the federal tax cuts proposed by the Bush Administration. (Romney reportedly told members of the state's congressional delegation that he would not "be a cheerleader" for proposals he did not agree with but that he felt he needed to "keep a solid relationship with the White House.") Romney also said he was open to increases in the federal gasoline tax, to support transportation construction projects. In 2006, Romney was given a 50% rating by the CATO Institute which favors lower taxes. In 2007, after leaving the governor's office and deciding to seek the party' presidential nomination, Romney said that he had supported the Bush tax cuts overall. In that same year, Romney signed the anti-tax pledge put forth by Americans for Tax Reform, pledging no new taxes or increases of existing taxes.

Romney opposed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, the compromise tax package between President Obama and the Republicans Congressional leadership that centered around a two-year extension of the Bush tax cuts. He said, "because the extension is only temporary, a large portion of the investment and job growth that characteristically accompanies low taxes will be lost. ndIt will also add to the deficit."

During his 2012 presidential campaign, Romney said he would seek income tax law reforms that he said would help lower federal deficits and would stimulate economic growth. Among the series of tax changes he proposed were: reducing individual income tax rates across the board by 20 percent, maintaining the Bush administration-era tax rate of 15 percent on investment income from dividends and capital gains (and eliminating this tax entirely for those with annual incomes less than $200,000), cutting the top tax rate on corporations from 35 percent to 25 percent, and eliminating the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax. He promised that the loss of government revenue from these tax cuts would be offset by closing loopholes and reining in tax deductions and credits available to taxpayers with the highest incomes, so that his tax plan would not raise federal deficits. Non-partisan analyses of Romney's tax plan estimated that it could have added more than $3 trillion to the federal deficit, and would have favored the highest-earning Americans, possibly raising annual taxes on middle-class earners by as much as $2,000. Romney and supporters of his tax plan said that such analyses were unreliable because they were based on assumptions about specific measures that were not detailed in the plan and because they had not adequately accounted for the positive effects on economic growth that Romney said his plan would generate. And that lower tax rates would lower rates of Tax evasion.

Also in 2012, Romney supported the extension of the Bush tax cuts. Romney said that the tax deductions his plan might limit could include charitable contributions, home mortgage interest payments, or health-care expenses. And that he might limit all deductions to $17,000 per taxpayer.

Technology

Romney has said the government should invest more in technologies that will help the United States, such as power generation, fuel cells, nanotechnology, and materials science. During his 2012 presidential campaign, his website included a statement he had made while commenting on the importance of investing in technology research and development during a 2006 interview:

In technology, we as a country already invest an enormous amount--for instance, in defense technology, space technology, health--but we also need to invest in some of the emerging technologies that are important at a basic science level such as fuel cell technology, power generation, materials science, automotive technology. We have to recognize that where we invest as a nation, both from a government standpoint but also from a private standpoint, those are the areas we've been most successful.

In his 2010 book, '' No Apology: The Case for American Greatness'', Romney wrote that one of government's useful roles is in fostering innovation.

Trade

Romney supports free trade, including agreements such as NAFTA and CAFTA, and has said that his business experience has given him an edge on trade policy. He also has said that nations adopting protectionist tariffs and policies eventually crumble. During the 2012 presidential campaign, he said that, if elected, he would seek "fast track" Trade Promotion Authority to more rapidly negotiate trade agreements, finalize the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and work to create a "Reagan Economic Zone" that would codify the principles of free trade at the international level and provide a way to punish countries that violate free trade policies.

Romney has favored getting tougher with China on trade issues and has pushed to renegotiate trade deals with China to help eliminate the Trade Deficit. He opposes currency manipulation and intellectual property theft by China and has said that he would be willing to impose tariffs when necessary. Romney opposed what he viewed as protectionist sanctions on Chinese tires.

Unemployment insurance

In 2010, Romney said that

Romney instead offered two possible replacement systems, one involving individual unemployment savings accounts that employees would withdraw from when they lose their jobs, the other keyed on instituting financial incentives for businesses and other employers to hire and train those who had been unemployed for a long time.

Foreign policy

China

Romney has accused China of "cheating" and "stealing American jobs". He warned China that if he is elected to the White House, there will be consequences for unfair trade, saying: "Unless China changes its ways, on day one of my presidency I will designate it a currency manipulator and take appropriate counteraction." and "A trade war with China is the last thing I want, but I cannot tolerate our current trade surrender."

At the press conference, Romney was asked whether the China's abuses of human rights troubled him. "I am not an expert on the practices of other countries, and don't consider myself sufficiently qualified to characterize the practices of any one country," Romney said. In July 2012, Romney said, "We face another challenge in a rising China. China is attentive to the interests of its government, but it too often disregards the rights of its people. It's selective in the freedoms it allows."

Cuba

Romney favors keeping the United States embargo against Cuba in place. He said: "The Cuban people still live in constant fear of a brutal totalitarian regime that has demonstrated time and again its utter disregard for basic human dignity."

Romney accused President Obama of a policy of "appeasement" toward Cuba. "This president has decided to give a gift, to Castro, to allow remittances to come from the United States to go into Cuba and help the economy of Cuba. He's allowed more traveling into Cuba", Romney said.

European allies

In 2012, Romney's presidential campaign told ''The Daily Telegraph'' that Romney supported the "Anglo-Saxon heritage" and the "shared history" between the people of the United States and the United Kingdom prior to his visit to the country that year. These remarks were considered a racist attack on Obama; Romney's press secretary, Andrea Saul, later denied they represented his views.

In his speech, Romney said of Poland, "On behalf of our countrymen, I express deep appreciation for your willingness to fight with us, to stand with us, and to be our friends in times of crisis and military conflict." He added: "In a turbulent world, Poland stands as an example and defender of freedom."

Romney accused President Obama of abandoning Poland and the Czech Republic.

European debt crisis

In November 2011, when Italy was at the forefront of the European debt crisis, Romney said that Congress and the Federal Reserve should not consider plans to bail out Italy in the event its debt crisis deteriorate.

In December 2011, Romney stated: "I kind of like America. I'm not looking for it to be fundamentally transformed into something else. I don't want it to become like Europe."Republicans Bash Europe in Search of Votes
. ''Der Spiegel''. January 9, 2012. In January 2012, Romney said: "We want to ensure that we remain a free and prosperous land of opportunity. This president takes his inspiration from the capitals of Europe; we look to the cities and small towns of America." Romney accused President Obama of wanting to "turn America into a European-style entitlement society."

France

An internal Romney campaign document released in 2007 by the media suggested that Romney criticize France and attempt to convey the message "Hillary=France." Governor Romney has said he "loves" France, where he served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for two years. When a New Hampshire voter asked Romney why he kept "bashing" France on the campaign trail, Romney announced, "My kids are on vacation there right now. I love France. I speak French, lived in France. I have nothing but respect for the French people."
Romney has said that the next president must re-engage France, and called French president Nicolas Sarkozy a potential "blood brother."

In his February 7, 2008 appearance at the Conservative Political Action Committee, during which he withdrew from the Presidential race, Romney mentioned France in less flattering terms. " less America changes course," he said, "we will become the France of the 21st century—still a great nation, but no longer the leader of the world, no longer the superpower."

Iran

In a June 2007 Republican debate, Romney was asked about "the use of tactical nuclear weapons" to stop Iran from developing a nuclear bomb and responded that "You don't take options off the table, but what you do is stand back and say, 'What's going on here?' You see what's happening in Sudan and Afghanistan, in Iraq and Iran." In 2007 he also stated he would use "blockade, bombardment and surgical military strikes" against Iran if necessary.Scott Baldauf
Bomb Iran? Where Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum stand
''Christian Science Monitor'', January 4, 2012. In September of that year he protested Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking at the 62nd session of the United Nations General Assembly, stating that the invitation should be revoked and he should instead be greeted with an indictment under the Genocide Convention for threats against Israel. He stated that failure to act should lead the United States to reconsider its level of support and funding for the United Nations.

In 2011, Romney advocated both overt and covert means to get Iran to stop its nuclear weapons development program. He said that "Ultimately, regime change is what's going to be necessary." In 2012 he called on President Obama "to impose crippling economic sanctions on the Iranian regime, support the Iranian dissidents, and convey through actions – not just words – that the military option is very real and very credible."

In June 2012, Romney said "I can assure you, if I'm President, the Iranians will have no question but that I would be willing to take military action if necessary to prevent them from becoming a nuclear threat to the world." In his July 2012 trip to Israel he said that preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear "capability" should be America's "highest national security priority." Romney has said of using military force against Iran, "I don't believe at this stage, therefore, if I'm President, that we need to have war powers approval or a special authorization for military force." He has refused to state if he would be open to using direct diplomacy to settle the issue with the Iranians.

Iraq

Romney supported the invasion of Iraq and the "troop surge". He criticized mismanagement of Iraq post-invasion, stating that both diplomatic and military efforts should be used to achieve success in the region.

In his 2007 speech announcing that he would run for president in 2008, Romney said, "so long as there is a reasonable prospect of success, our wisest course is to seek stability in Iraq, with additional troops endeavoring to secure the civilian population." He stated that instability in Iraq could lead to civil war and that "Iraq's Sunni region could become a base for al-Qaeda; that its Shia region could be seized by Iran; that Kurd tension could destabilize Turkey" and that the broader Middle East and the United States could be drawn into conflict.

In a 2007 Republican presidential debate, Romney mistakenly said that the Iraq war could have been avoided if Saddam Hussein had allowed IAEA inspectors into the country. CNN contributor Paul Begala criticized this remark and called it " huge mistake, a gaffe that -- that's, if this were a general election debate, would be a disqualifier," pointing out that inspectors had been allowed into Iraq.

In October 2011, Romney criticized the Obama administration's announcement that all American combat troops had been withdrawn from Iraq calling the withdrawal either "naked political calculation or simply sheer ineptitude."

Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict

In October 2011, during his 2012 presidential campaign, Romney said, "I believe our relationship with Israel, a nation which shares our values and is our best friend in the Middle East, should be of support and confidence rather than criticism and blame."Boaz Bismuth
"Romney: Obama threw Israel under the bus"
''Israel HaYom'', October 28, 2011. In December 2011, he said, "I will travel to Israel on my first foreign trip s president I will reaffirm as a vital national interest Israel's existence as a Jewish state. I want the world to know that the bonds between Israel and the United States are unshakable."Rebecca Anna Stoil
"Republicans talk tough on Iran, vie for Jewish vote"
''The Jerusalem Post'', December 7, 2011.

On the question of whether the U.S. Embassy in Israel in Tel Aviv should be moved to Jerusalem, Romney said in October 2011, "The actions that I will take will be actions recommended and supported by Israeli leaders. I don't seek to take actions independent of what our allies think is best, and if Israel's leaders thought that a move of that nature would be helpful to their efforts, then that's something I'll be inclined to do. ... I don't think America should play the role of the leader of the peace process, instead we should stand by our ally." During a trip to Israel in July 2012, he reiterated that if elected president he would seek to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which he called the capital of Israel (and which he has said the U.S. should formally recognize as the capital of Israel, although Palestinians and other Arabs also claim Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state), if the government of Israel desired such a move.

Regarding the Arab–Israeli conflict, in a January 2012 Republican debate, Romney said, "Well, the reason that there's not peace between the Palestinians and Israel is because there is — in the leadership of the Palestinian people are Hamas and others who think like Hamas, who have as their intent the elimination of Israel. And whether it's in school books that teach how to kill Jews, or whether it's in the political discourse that is spoken either from Fatah or from Hamas, there is a belief that the Jewish people do not have a right to have a Jewish state." Romney added, "There are some people who say should we have a two state solution, and the Israelis would be happy to have a two state solution. It's the Palestinians who don't want a two state solution, they want to eliminate the state of Israel. And I believe America must say the best way to have peace in the Middle East is not for us to vacillate and appease, but it is to say we stand with our friend Israel. We are committed to a Jewish state in Israel. We will not have an inch of difference between ourselves and our ally Israel." Despite his pessimism about a two-state solution being achieved in the short term, Romney has defended the two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict as an ideal that ought to be included in the Republican Party platform.

In candid remarks to high-value donors at a secretly recorded May 2012 private fundraiser, Romney said of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, "I look at the Palestinians not wanting to see peace anyway, for political purposes, committed to the destruction and elimination of Israel, and these thorny issues, and I say, 'There's just no way.' And so what you do is you say, 'You move things along the best way you can.' You hope for some degree of stability, but you recognize that this is going to remain an unsolved problem. We live with that in China and Taiwan. All right, we have a potentially volatile situation but we sort of live with it, and we kick the ball down the field and hope that ultimately, somehow, something will happen and resolve it." He also noted that he had recently received a call from a former U.S. Secretary of State who had suggested that there might be a prospect for accord after the Palestinian elections. Romney made clear in his remarks at the fundraiser that he was opposed to the U.S. exerting any pressure on Israel to help reach a compromise: "The idea of pushing on the Israelis to give something up to get the Palestinians to act is the worst idea in the world."

In response to President Obama's pledge to maintain Israel's "Qualitative Military Edge" over the other countries in the region, Romney has said he would do "the opposite from Obama".

Romney supported an international campaign to hold one minute of silence at the 2012 London Olympics to remember the Israeli athletes killed in the 1972 Munich Massacre at the Olympics by the Palestinian terrorist organization Black September.

Libya

Concerning the involvement of the American military in the 2011 Libyan civil war, Romney initially said in March that Obama had waited too long before becoming involved, and he also criticized Obama for ruling out the use of United States ground forces. The next month, he said that he supported the "specific, limited mission" of enforcing a no-fly zone, but that Obama's support for the ouster of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi constituted "mission creep and mission muddle." In October, after Gaddafi's death, Romney said, "I think people across the world recognize that the world is a better place without Muammar Gaddafi."

Pakistan

On July 7, 2007, Romney said, "In places like Pakistan, America needs to work not just on a military front." He said he would send in his proposed "Special Partnership Force", a team of Central Intelligence Agency agents and Army special forces that would work with the local population to aid in military support, gun supplies, and "to help make sure that they have the rule of law, water projects, bridges built."

In 2007, Romney criticized then-candidate Barack Obama for stating that, as president, he would launch military strikes against "high-value terrorist targets" in Pakistan, even without the Pakistani government's approval. In 2011, after such a strike resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden, Romney said that, if he had been president, he would have done "exactly the same thing."

Russia

During the 2012 presidential campaign, Romney said that Russia is "without question, our number one geopolitical foe. They - they fight every cause for the world's worst actors." He called President Vladimir Putin "a real threat to the stability and peace of the world."

Romney has opposed ratification of New START, a bilateral nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States and the Russian Federation, in part because he wishes to deploy defensive missiles on submarines. He has written that the idea of the abolition of nuclear weapons put forward by Ronald Reagan may not be realistic.

In 2019, as a US Senator, Romney argued that Russia attempted to influence US elections but that Ukraine did not, and he disagreed with the Trump administration's claim that Ukraine attempted to interfere in the US elections.

In May 2022, Romney suggested that the West confront China and other Russia-friendly countries with an ultimatum: "You are either with us, or you are with Russia — you cannot be with both."

Syria

Romney released the following statement concerning Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, in August 2011:

It has taken President Obama far too long to speak out forcefully against Assad and his vicious crackdown in Syria. In the early stages of this crisis, the Obama Administration referred to Assad as a "reformer," which had the effect of emboldening Assad and discouraging the dissidents. America must show leadership on the world stage and work to move these developing nations toward modernity. This means using the bullhorn of the presidency and not remaining silent for too long while voices of freedom and dissent are under attack.

Romney would overturn the existing policy against sending arms to moderate elements of the Syrian opposition, rejecting the idea that they would pass the weapons on to Al-Qaeda.

U.S. place in the world

Romney's 2010 book, '' No Apology: The Case for American Greatness'', expresses Romney's belief in American exceptionalism

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