Chuck Hagel

Senate voting record

According to David Boaz, during the Bush administration, Hagel maintained a "traditionally Republican" voting record, receiving "a lifetime rating of 84 percent from the American Conservative Union and consistent A and B grades from the National Taxpayers Union."[19] On the Issues describes Hagel as a "libertarian-leaning conservative".[20] According to Boaz, among his most notable votes, Hagel:

Voted for the Patriot Act [21]
Voted for the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts [22][23]
Voted against No Child Left Behind [24]
Voted against Bush’s Medicare prescription drug bill [25]
Voted against McCain-Feingold[26]

[edit]Foreign policy
On October 11, 2002 Senator Hagel, along with 76 other Senators, voted in favor of the Iraq Resolution.[27] Hagel, a later critic of the war, commented on his vote authorizing the use of force against Iraq saying, “How many of us really know and understand much about Iraq, the country, the history, the people, the role in the Arab world? I approach the issue of post-Saddam Iraq and the future of democracy and stability in the Middle East with more caution, realism, and a bit more humility.” [28] In July 2007, Hagel was one of three Republican Senators who supported Democratic-proposed legislation requiring a troop withdrawal from Iraq to begin within 120 days. He told Robert D. Novak "This thing is really coming undone quickly, and [Prime Minister] Maliki's government is weaker by the day. The police are corrupt, top to bottom. The oil problem is a huge problem. They still can't get anything through the parliament—no hydrocarbon law, no de-Baathification law, no provincial elections".[29] In 2008 along with then Senator (and presumptive democratic nominee for president) Barack Obama, and Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Hagel visited Iraq in a congressional delegation trip, meeting with U.S. service members, General David Petraeus, and the Prime Minister of Iraq Nouri al-Maliki.[30] While talking to reporters in Iraq, Hagel said “Each one of us who has a responsibility of helping lead this country needs to reflect on what we think is in the interests of our country, not the interest of our party or our president.” [31]

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Hagel voted in favor of Senate Joint Resolution 23, authorizing “necessary and appropriate U.S. Military force” in Afghanistan against those who planned or aided the September 11th attacks.[32] During the his tenure in the Senate, Hagel continued his support for NATO involvement, and funding in the War in Afghanistan.[33] In a 2009 Washington Post op-ed after being nominated as Chairman of President Obama’s Intelligence advisory board, Hagel said that “We cannot view U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan through a lens that sees only ‘winning’ or ‘losing,’ Iraq and Afghanistan are not America's to win or lose.” And that “We can help them buy time or develop, but we cannot control their fates.” [34] In 2011, after he left office, Hagel stated that President Obama needs to start “looking for the exit in Afghanistan” and that “We need to start winding this down.” [35]
Hagel co-sponsored the failed Kosovo Resolution, authorizing President Bill Clinton the use of U.S. military force against the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.[36]