Ken Buck
Bio | Ken Buck is a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the state of Colorado, serving since 2015. He holds a law degree from the University of Wyoming and worked as an attorney before entering politics. |
Status and Position | Current US House of Representatives of Colorado |
Political Party and Jurisdiction | Republican, Colorado |
Elections | Election Jurisdiction | Started Campaign | Campaign Status | Poll Rankings (of the vote) |
| 2020 House of Representatives Election CO-04 | CO-04 | Yes | Running | N/A |
Campaign Financing | Buck was against the For the People Act. The bill addressed campaign finacing reform and aimed to decrease the influence of big money in electoral campaigns. Buck tweeted that the bill destroys the First Amendment and uses taxpayer money to fund campaigns. (Souce: https://www.cpr.org/2021/03/02/a-voting-rights-and-election-reform-bill-splits-colorados-representatives-down-the-aisle/) |
Voting Rights | Buck oppossed the For the People Act which aimed to increase voter registraiton and voting accesss. He posted a Tweet saying that the act would throw out state voter ID laws. (Source: https://www.cpr.org/2021/03/02/a-voting-rights-and-election-reform-bill-splits-colorados-representatives-down-the-aisle/) |
Opinions on Issues
Issues | Stance | Summary |
| Universal Healthcare | Against | Buck signed the Contract from America which is against government-run healthcare. The 2010 Contract from America had ten agenda items. One of these items was defunding, repealing, and replacing government-run healthcare. (Sources: https://medium.com/wtfcolorado/the-deficit-dodge-c21788c897f7 and https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/tea-party-activists-unveil-contract-america/story?id=10376437) |
| Socialized Healthcare | Against | Buck signed the 2010 Contract from America which had ten agenda items. One of these items was defunding, repealing, and replacing government-run healthcare. (Sources: https://medium.com/wtfcolorado/the-deficit-dodge-c21788c897f7 and https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/tea-party-activists-unveil-contract-america/story?id=10376437) |
| Private Healthcare | Nuance | In 2010, Buck stated that veterans' healthcare should be privatized but his campaign stated that he didn't believe it should be completely privatized. (Sources: https://archive.thinkprogress.org/tea-party-candidate-ken-buck-called-for-privatizing-veterans-health-care-cdc245060e35/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Buck) |
| LGBT Rights | Against | Buck believes homosexuality is a choice and is against the Equality Act. In 2010, Buck stated that homosexuality was a choice and compared it to alcoholism. In a 2019 House Judiciary Commitee meeting regarding the Equality Act, Buck asked if requiring Christian doctors to treat homosexual patients compared to forcing Jewish doctors to treat Nazis. During the same meeting, he questioned whether homosexual people should even have equal access to health care. (Sources: https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/hrc-to-ken-buck-youre-a-dangerous-extremist-who-needs-to-get-his-facts-righ and https://archive.thinkprogress.org/republicans-outrageous-arguments-against-equality-act-including-mention-of-nazis-2d5a2f1396ce/) |
| Taxes | Against | Buck signed the Contract from America which supported lower taxes. Buck signed the Contract from America which called for all tax hikes to be stopped. Those who signed the contract backed the movement to permanently repeal all tax hikes, including the hikes placed on income, capital gains, and death taxes. (Sources: https://medium.com/wtfcolorado/the-deficit-dodge-c21788c897f7 and https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/tea-party-activists-unveil-contract-america/story?id=10376437) |
| Flat Tax Rate | Nuance | In March of 2016, Buck told a group of Douglas County Republicans that he liked the idea of a flat tax and the idea of a fair tax. However, in May of 2016, he stated that he never backed a flat tax rate. (Source: https://www.denverpost.com/2010/10/06/gop-senate-candidate-buck-backs-off-stance-on-consumption-tax/) Buck signed the Contract from America which called for all tax hikes to be stopped. Those who signed the contract backed the movement to permanently repeal all tax hikes, including the hikes placed on income, capital gains, and death taxes. (Sources: https://medium.com/wtfcolorado/the-deficit-dodge-c21788c897f7 and https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/tea-party-activists-unveil-contract-america/story?id=10376437) |
| Abortion | Against | Buck is a staunch pro-life advocate with one exception. Buck has explicitly stated that he is against abortions, even in cases of rape and incest. He believes the only exception is if the life of the mother is threatened. (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh0iWCqAkps) |
| Gun Control | Against | Buck is against gun control. Buck has been endorsed by Gun Owners of America. He has stated that he would oppose federal legistlation that further prohibits the freedoms given to Americans under the Second Amendment. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Buck#Guns) |
| Assisted Suicide | Unknown | Buck has not taken a stance on assisted suicide. Buck has been endorsed by Gun Owners of America. He has stated that he would oppose federal legistlation that further prohibits the freedoms given to Americans under the Second Amendment. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Buck#Guns) |
| Government Interference | Against | Buck signed the 2010 Contract from America. The contract stated that the signatories wanted to restore a constitutionally limited government. (Sources: https://medium.com/wtfcolorado/the-deficit-dodge-c21788c897f7 and https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/tea-party-activists-unveil-contract-america/story?id=10376437) |
| Planned Parenthood | Against | Buck voted in favor of H.R. 3762 which would restrict the availability of federal funding to Planned Parenthood for a year. (Source: https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/201653) |
| Welfare | For | Buck has co-sponsored a few social welfare bills. Buck co-sponsored the Younger Onset Alzheimer's Act which would allow individuals with younger-onset Alzheimer's disease to be eligible for certian grants and programs that only support older adults. He also co-sponsored the Jobs and Oppurtunity with Benefits and Services for Success Act. This bill aimed to rename the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program and reauthorize it through FY2024. (Source: https://www.congress.gov/member/ken-buck/B001297?q=%7B%22subject%22%3A%22Social+Welfare%22%7D) |
| Welfare | Against | Before July 14, 2010, Buck's campaign website stated that Congress shouldn't support federal funding of embryonic stem cell sresearch. While this statement was removed, his spokesperson explained that Buck stood by his position. (Source: https://www.denverpost.com/2010/09/07/buck-moderating-positions-on-website-bennet-claims/) |
| Death Penalty | For | Buck supports the federal death penalty when it comes to crimes against police officers and first responders. In 2017, Buck voted in favor of the Thin Blue Line Act. This bill aimed to add killing or attempted killing of law enforcement or first responders as an aggravating factor in federal death penalty cases. (Source: https://buck.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/ken-buck-releases-statement-national-police-week) |
| Mandatory Prison Sentence | For | In 2020, Buck introduced the Blocking Rioters and Insurrectionists from Our Cities to Keep Us Safe Act. This piece of legistlation aimed to increase the sentencing penalty from five to ten years for those convicted of inciting, organizing, aiding, abetting, or funding rioting. (Source: https://www.westword.com/news/congressman-ken-buck-introduces-bill-to-increase-sentences-for-rioting-offenses-11849661) |
| Military Spending | Against | Buck believes there needs to be a bipartisan effort to limit defense spending. He stated that until then, the prosperity of America's future generations will be tied to the growing deficit. (Source: https://buck.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/ken-buck-stands-against-out-control-spending) |
| War on Terrorism | For | In 2010, Buck made it clear that he supported the war on terrorism in Afghanistan. He said that America needs to make sure the Middle Eastern country isn't a terroist safe haven. (Source: https://archive.thinkprogress.org/senate-candidate-ken-buck-the-first-goal-in-afghanistan-is-to-make-it-as-safe-as-terrorist-safe-2ab726103e2d/) |
| Foreign Policy International Interaction | For | Buck is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and is extremely involved in foreign policy. |
| United Nations power | Unknown | Buck has not taken a stance on the United Nations. |
| Nationalism | Against | Buck criticized the America First Caucus and its policy platform. He even took to Twitter to say that he condemned the caucus. (Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-rep-ken-buck-slams-hatefulness-ignorance-america-first-caucus-platform) |
| Free Markets | For | Buck is founding member of the Freedom from Big Tech Caucus which advocates for a free market. In a statement, Buck said that he was excited to lead the Freedom from Big Tech Caucus. He explained that Big Tech has abused its market power and tha Congress must hold the technology companies accountable and preserve the free market. (Source: https://buck.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/ranking-member-ken-buck-and-rep-lance-gooden-form-freedom-big-tech) |
| Brexit | For | Buck supported Brexit on Twitter in 2016. He said that the United States alliance with the United Kingdom should be stronger than ever and that America should fight for a more secure world with them. He then ended the tweet with "#Brexit". (Source: https://twitter.com/RepKenBuck/status/746389303878516736) |
| Affirmative Action | Unknown | Buck has not taken a stance on affirmative action. |
| Government Spending | Against | Buck has voted against several legistlative bills that required the government to spend money during Covid-19. He believes that there needs to be a bipartisan effort to limit spending. (Sources: https://buck.house.gov/issues/spending-cuts-and-debt and https://buck.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/ken-buck-stands-against-out-control-spending) |
| Charter Schools | For | In a 2019 Facebook post, Buck said that charter schools are important because they offer opportunity and choice to millions of American families. (Source: https://www.facebook.com/repkenbuck/posts/3293058857386229?comment_id=3296262257065889) |
| Common Core | Against | Buck has stated that he feels Common Core is fundamentally wrong. Buck explained that Colorado didn't need a Washington D.C. "bureacrat" deciding what kids learn. He expressed that he was agaisnt standardized curriculums in America. (Source: https://buck.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/buck-informs-community) |
| Clean Energy | Against | Buck found the green energy agenda to be radical. In 2016, Buck introduced an amendment to the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2016. His amendment aimed to prohibit the Department of Energy's regulations on mandated energy efficeny standards for everyday products. He stated he found the agenda to be radical and that choice needed to be returned to consumers. (Source: https://buck.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/ken-buck-s-amendment-returns-choice-consumers ) |
| Religious Freedom | For | Buck's social media posts suggets he supports religious freedom. In 2018, Buck took to Facebook to speak about Religous Freedom Day. He said that religious freedom is a liberty that people can easily take for granted but it must be cherished. In 2020, Buck retweeted a Tweet that revealed SCOTUS, in a 7-2 ruling, decided that the Little Sisters were exempt from the contraceptive mandate. Buck commented in his Tweet that SCOTUS once again reaffirmed the right to religious freedom under the First Amendment. (Sources: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2274687575890034 and https://twitter.com/repkenbuck/status/1280875286918246401?lang=en) |
| Separation of Church and State | Against | In 2009, Buck stated that he strongly disagreed with the idea of separation of church and state. (Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ken-buck-opposes-separation-of-church-and-state/) |
| Slavery Reparations | Unknown | Buck has not taken a stance on slavery reparations. |
| Border Control | For | Buck supports border control and legal immigration. On his 2010 Senate campaign website, Buck stated that the American immigration system was broken. He called for the borders to be secured in order to stop illegal immigration. He also called for the establishment of a program that would aid in making legal immigration a feasible option. (Source: https://www.fairus.org/sites/default/files/2017-11/2010_midterms_finalv1.pdf) |
| Passenger Profiling | Unknown | Buck has not taken a stance on passenger profiling. |
| DACA | Against | Buck praisec Trump's decision to rescind DACA. He stated that the program was unconstitutional. (Source: https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/politics/daca-rescinded-colorados-elected-officials-react-to-trumps-immigration-decision) |
| Sanctuary Cities | Against | In January 2021, Buck reintroduced a bill to combat green-light sanctuary city laws. He stated that Colorado's own green-light sanctuary city laws led to the death of a man named Sean Buchanan. (Source: https://buck.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-ken-buck-reintroduces-effort-stop-green-light-sanctuary-city-laws) |
| Legalizing Marijuana | Against | Buck believed that there would be quite a few repurcussions caused by legalizing marijuana, including expulsion and an increase in dropout rates in the K-12 system. (Source https://www.westword.com/news/marijuana-ken-buck-says-amendment-64-backers-care-more-about-profit-than-people-5905342) |