Editing Eric Cantor (section)

==Political positions==
For much of his career in the House, Cantor was the only Jewish Republican in the United States Congress.<ref name="Cantorelected"/><ref name=Barone2008/><ref name="Roig-Franzia2008"/> He supports strong [[United States–Israel relations]].<ref name= Bacalis2002/><ref name=Barone2008/> He [[sponsor (legislative)|cosponsored]] legislation to cut off all U.S. taxpayer aid to the [[Palestinian Authority]] and another bill calling for an end to taxpayer aid to the Palestinians until they stop unauthorized excavations on the [[Temple Mount]] in [[Jerusalem]].<ref name= "jweekly cantor">{{cite news|url=http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/18804/jewish-minyan-grows-in-senate-jew-elected-to-house/|title=Jewish minyan grows in Senate; Jew elected to House|last= Samber|first= Sharon| date=November 8, 2002|work= JWeekly| access-date=April 13, 2010}}</ref> Responding to a claim by the State Department that the United States provides no direct aid to the Palestinian Authority, Cantor claimed that United States sends about US$75&nbsp;million in aid annually to the Palestinian Authority, which is administered by the [[U.S. Agency for International Development]]. He opposed a Congressionally approved three-year package of US$400&nbsp;million in aid for the Palestinian Authority in 2000 and has also introduced legislation to end aid to the Palestinian territories.<ref name="bush plo">{{cite news| url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/04/17/bush.plo.waiver/index.html |title=Bush waives law forbidding U.S. aid to PLO |last=Garrett |first=Major |date=April 17, 2002 |work=Inside Politics |publisher=CNN |access-date=April 13, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201080028/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/04/17/bush.plo.waiver/index.html |archive-date=December 1, 2008  }}</ref>

In May 2008, Cantor said that the Israeli–Palestinian conflict is not a "constant sore" but rather "a constant reminder of the greatness of America",<ref name="suntimes blog">{{cite news|url=http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2008/05/gop_hits_obama_over_israel.html |title=GOP hits Obama over Israel |last=Sweet |first=Lynn |date=May 12, 2008 |work=Chicago Sun-Times |access-date=April 13, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100105232202/http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2008/05/gop_hits_obama_over_israel.html |archive-date= January 5, 2010  }}</ref> and following [[Barack Obama]]'s election as President in November 2008, Cantor stated that a "stronger U.S.–Israel relationship" remains a top priority for him and that he would be "very outspoken" if Obama "did anything to undermine those ties."<ref name="Cantorelected"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ejpress.org/article/47031|title=Eric Cantor, the only Jewish Republican in Congress, to become majority leader|work=European Jewish Press|date=November 3, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101109012253/http://www.ejpress.org/article/47031|archive-date=November 9, 2010}}</ref> Shortly after the 2010 midterm elections, Cantor met privately with Israeli prime minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]], just before Netanyahu was to meet with US secretary of state [[Hillary Clinton]]. According to Cantor's office, he "stressed that the new Republican majority will serve as a check on the Administration" and "made clear that the Republican majority understands the special relationship between Israel and the United States."<ref>{{cite news| last = Rozen | first = Laura| title = Before Clinton meeting, Cantor's one-on-one with Bibi| newspaper = [[Politico (newspaper)|Politico]]| date = November 11, 2010 | url = http://www.politico.com/blogs/laurarozen/1110/Before_Clinton_meeting_Cantors_oneonone_with_Bibi_.html?showall| access-date = November 15, 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101114144815/http://www.politico.com/blogs/laurarozen/1110/Before_Clinton_meeting_Cantors_oneonone_with_Bibi_.html?showall| archive-date=November 14, 2010| url-status=live}}</ref> Cantor was criticized for engaging in foreign policy;<ref>{{cite news| last = Benen | first = Steve | author-link = Steve Benen| title = When the 'Water's Edge' Standard Disappears| newspaper = [[The Washington Monthly]]| date = November 13, 2010 | url = http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026624.php| access-date = November 15, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101114122655/http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026624.php | archive-date = November 14, 2010 | url-status = dead}}</ref> one basis for the criticism was that in 2007, after [[Nancy Pelosi]] met with the president of [[Syria]], Cantor himself had raised the possibility "that her recent diplomatic overtures ran afoul of the [[Logan Act]], which makes it a felony for any American 'without authority of the United States' to communicate with a foreign government to influence that government's behavior on any disputes with the United States."<ref>{{cite news | last = Cantor| first = Eric| title = Assad's Speaker| newspaper = [[National Review Online]]| date = April 10, 2007| url = http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/220559/assads-speaker/eric-cantor# | access-date = November 15, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101114065439/http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/220559/assads-speaker/eric-cantor | archive-date = November 14, 2010 | url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Social issues===
Cantor opposed public funding of [[embryonic stem cell]] research and opposed elective abortion. He was rated 100% by the [[National Right to Life Committee]] (NRLC) and 0% by [[NARAL Pro-Choice America]], indicating a [[pro-life]] voting record.{{cn|date=September 2023}} He was opposed to [[same-sex marriage]] as of the mid-2000s, voting to Constitutionally define marriage as between a male and a female in 2006.{{cn|date=September 2023}} In November 2007 he voted against prohibiting job discrimination based on [[sexual orientation]].{{cn|date=September 2023}} He also supported making [[flag burning]] illegal. The [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]] (NAACP) rated him 19% in 2006, indicating an anti-[[affirmative action]] voting record.{{cn|date=September 2023}} He was opposed to [[gun control]], voting to ban product misuse lawsuits on gun manufacturers in 2005, and he voted not to require gun registration and trigger-lock laws in the [[District of Columbia]]. He had a rating of "A" from the [[NRA Political Victory Fund]] (NRA-PVF).<ref>{{cite web |title=NRA-PVF Endorses Eric Cantor for U.S. House of Representatives in Virginia's 7th Congressional District |url=https://www.nrapvf.org/articles/20101001/nra-pvf-endorses-eric-cantor-for-us-house-of-representatives-in-virginia-s-7th-congressional-district |website=nrapvf.org |publisher=NRA-PVF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812200028/https://www.nrapvf.org/articles/20101001/nra-pvf-endorses-eric-cantor-for-us-house-of-representatives-in-virginia-s-7th-congressional-district |archive-date=August 12, 2014 |language=en-US |date=October 1, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="on the issues">{{cite web|url=http://www.ontheissues.org/va/eric_cantor.htm| title=Eric Cantor on the Issues|publisher=On the Issues|access-date=April 13, 2010}}</ref> On November 2, 2010, Cantor told Wolf Blitzer of CNN that he would try to trim the federal deficit by reducing welfare.

===Economy, budgeting, and trade===
Cantor was a supporter of [[free trade]], voting to promote trade with [[Peru]], [[Chile]], Singapore, and Australia. He also voted for the [[Central America Free Trade Agreement]] (CAFTA). He voted against raising the [[minimum wage]] to US$7.25 in 2007. The [[American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations]] (AFL–CIO), the largest federation of trade unions in the United States, rates Cantor 0%, indicating an anti-Union voting record.

In October 2008, Cantor advocated and voted for the [[Troubled Asset Relief Program|TARP]] program which aided distressed banks.<ref>{{cite web
  |url=http://www.thepoliticalguide.com/roll_call.php?chamber=house&year=2008&roll=681
  |access-date=May 9, 2012
  |title=Roll Call Number 681. Description: Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 – Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) Question: On Motion to Concur in Senate Amendments Bill Number: H R 1424 Date: 3 October 2008
  |website=PoliGu.com The Political Guide
  |archive-date=October 9, 2011
  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111009002629/http://www.thepoliticalguide.com/roll_call.php?chamber=house&year=2008&roll=681
  |url-status=usurped
  }}</ref>

On September 29, 2008, Cantor blamed Pelosi for what he felt was the failure of the [[Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008|$700&nbsp;billion economic bailout bill]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/09/29/house-republicans-blame-pelosis-speech/|title= House Republicans Blame Pelosi's Speech |work=Wall Street Journal – Washington Wire|date= September 29, 2008|access-date=October 1, 2015}}</ref> He noted that 94 Democrats voted against the measure, as well as 133 Republicans. Though supporting the Federal bailout of the nation's largest private banks, he referred to Pelosi's proposal to appoint a [[Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry|Car czar]] to run the [[Automotive industry crisis of 2008–2010|US Automobile Industry Bailout]] as a "bureaucratic" imposition on private business.<ref name=Rogers2008>
 {{cite web|url=http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=270246C3-18FE-70B2-A8B3E54DBD153865 |title=Bailout backers try to make a deal |access-date=December 14, 2008 | first=David |last=Rogers |date=December 11, 2008 |work= Politico.com |quote=Yet in the House debate across the Capitol, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) derided the czar as an unneeded "bureaucratic" imposition on private business. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081214170055/http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=270246C3-18FE-70B2-A8B3E54DBD153865 |archive-date=December 14, 2008 }}</ref>

The following February, Cantor led Republicans in the House of Representatives in voting against the [[American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009]]<ref name= "thecaucus">{{cite news|url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/the-sunday-word-sifting-through-the-stimulus/?scp=4&sq=eric%20cantor&st=cse|title=The Sunday Word: Sifting Through the Stimulus|last=Falcone|first=Michael|date=February 15, 2009|work=The Caucus|access-date=April 13, 2010}}</ref> and was a prominent spokesman in voicing the many issues he and his fellow Republicans had with the legislation. Cantor voted in favor of a 90% marginal tax rate increase on taxpayer financed bonuses,<ref>{{cite news | url= https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/20/business/20bailout.html?pagewanted=2 | title=House Approves 90% Tax on Bonuses After Bailouts | work=The New York Times | date=March 19, 2009 | access-date=March 22, 2009 | first1=Carl | last1=Hulse | first2=David M. | last2=Herszenhorn}}</ref> despite receiving campaign contributions from [[Troubled Assets Relief Program|TARP]] recipient [[Citigroup]].<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.newsweek.com/id/190363 | title= Follow the Bailout Cash | work= [[Newsweek]] | date=March 21, 2009 | access-date=March 22, 2009}}</ref>

In his book ''Young Guns'', Cantor summarized [[Keynesian economics]] with the following opinion, "The idea is that the government can be counted on to spend more wisely than the people."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cantor| first1=Eric|last2 =Ryan| first2=Paul| last3= McCarthy| first3= Kevin| title=Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781451607345|url-access=registration| publisher=Threshold Editions| year= 2010 | page= [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781451607345/page/46 46]| isbn=9781451607345}}</ref>

As majority leader, Cantor steered the [[STOCK Act]] through the House, which requires congressmen to disclose their stock investments more regularly and in a more transparent manner.<ref>{{cite web|last= Schroeder |first=Peter |url=http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/1007-other/217659-lawmakers-hit-bipartisan-note-following-stock-act-passage |title=Lawmakers hit bipartisan note following STOCK Act passage – The Hill's on the Money |website=TheHill.com |date=March 22, 2012 |access-date=August 13, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327013019/http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/1007-other/217659-lawmakers-hit-bipartisan-note-following-stock-act-passage |archive-date= March 27, 2012  }}</ref> The legislation passed the House in a 417–2 bipartisan vote on February 9, 2012.  It was ultimately signed by President Obama on April 4, 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2012/roll047.xml|title= FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 47| website= house.gov}}</ref> In July 2012, CNN reported that changes made by the House version of the legislation excluded reporting requirements by spouses and dependent children.  Initially, Cantor's office insisted it did nothing to change the intent of the STOCK Act; however, when presented with new information from CNN, the majority leader's office recognized that changes had unintentionally been made and offered technical corrections to fulfill the original intent of the legislation.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/19/politics/stock-act-loophole/index.html | title= Congressional insider trading ban might not apply to families | publisher=CNN | date=July 19, 2012}}</ref> These corrections were passed by Congress on August 3, 2012.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/08/03/Congress-closes-STOCK-Act-loophole/UPI-38821344006071/ | title=Congress closes STOCK Act loophole | work=United Press International | date= August 3, 2012}}</ref>

As majority leader, Cantor shepherded the JOBS Act through the House, which combined bipartisan ideas for economic growth – like crowdfunding for startups – into one piece of legislation.  Ultimately, President Obama, Eric Cantor, Steve Case and other leaders joined together at the signing ceremony.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-congress/2012/04/eric-cantor-to-attend-jobs-act-signing-119290.html | title=Eric Cantor to make rare appearance with Obama for JOBS Act signing | work=Politico | date=April 1, 2012}}</ref>

Cantor proposed initiatives which he purported would help small businesses grow, including
a 20 percent tax cut for businesses that employ fewer than 500 people.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/72301.html | title= Republican agenda: Small business tax cut | publisher=Politico | date=February 1, 2012 | first1=Jake | last1=Sherman | access-date= February 1, 2012}}</ref>

===Other foreign affairs===
In an article he wrote for the ''[[National Review]]'' in 2007, he condemned [[Nancy Pelosi]]'s diplomatic visit to [[Syria]], and her subsequent meeting with President [[Bashar al-Assad]], whom he referred to as a "dictator and terror-sponsor"; saying that if "Speaker Pelosi's diplomatic foray into Syria weren't so harmful to U.S. interests in the Middle East, it would have been laughable."<ref name="nr syria">{{cite news|url=http://article.nationalreview.com/311228/assads-speaker/eric-cantor |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130129183255/http://article.nationalreview.com/311228/assads-speaker/eric-cantor |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 29, 2013 |title=Assad's Speaker |last=Cantor |first=Eric |date=April 10, 2007 |work=The National Review |access-date= April 13, 2010 }}</ref>

In 2014, Cantor criticized what he referred to as "the isolationist sentiment" and said that it was a mistake to withdraw from [[Iraq]] and had called for troops to remain in [[Afghanistan]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/eric-cantor-isolationist-sentiment-103595|title=Cantor blasts 'isolationist sentiment'|first=Austin|last=Wright|website=POLITICO|date=February 17, 2014 }}</ref>

During the 2016 presidential election Cantor, a supporter of [[Israel]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/us-elections/donald-trump/trump-must-stand-with-israel-like-he-stands-against-isis-cantor-says-464065|title=Trump must stand with Israel like he stands against ISIS, Cantor says|website=The Jerusalem Post &#124; JPost.com|date=August 14, 2016 }}</ref> called on [[Donald Trump]] to be more consistent with his support for Israel.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/donald-trump|title=Donald Trump|website=Washington Examiner|date=February 21, 2024 }}</ref>