Scientists & Engineers for America

Clifford Stearns


Clifford Stearns
R-6-FL


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Biography

STEARNS, Clifford Bundy, a Representative from Florida; born in Washington, D.C., April 16, 1941; attended Hearst Elementary School, 1946-1952; graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School, Washington, D.C., 1959; B.S., George Washington University, Washington, D.C., 1963; attended the University of California, Los Angeles, Calif., 1965; United States Air Force, 1963-1967; businessman; elected as a Republican to the One Hundred First and to the eight succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1989-present).

Election Update

Rep. Stearns was re-elected in 2008 and will continue to serve in the 111th Congress.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY QUESTIONNAIRE

SEA and eighteen other science organizations came together to ask the 2008 congressional candidates and winners seven questions on science and technology policy. See what Clifford Stearns said:

Innovation

Science and technology have been responsible for half of the growth of the American economy since World War II. But several recent reports question America’s continued leadership in these vital areas. What policies would you support to ensure that America remains the world leader in innovation?
It is vitally important that the U.S. remain the world leader in innovation. We need to be weary of over regulation and burdensome government mandates, which stifle innovation. Congress needs to ensure that it creates a free and fair market where risk and innovation are rewarded. In addition, we need to find new ways to encourage young people to enter into careers in science and technology. Only this way will we be able to maintain our leadership in innovation.

Climate Change

The Earth’s climate is changing and there is concern about the potentially adverse effects of these changes on life on the planet. What is your position on the following measures that have been proposed to address global climate change—a cap-and-trade system, a carbon tax, increased fuel-economy standards, and research? Are there other policies you would support?
While the effects of global warming on the environment have been a much-debated topic over the last several years, I do believe that global warming is occurring and support reducing the amount of greenhouse gases being produced. However, more research is needed to better understand how greenhouse gases affect the atmosphere and what long-term impact, if any, they have on the environment. In many instances, some of the current solutions to global warming are far worse than the problem itself, will harm the U.S. economy and not at all address the underlying problem of climate change. Congress should examine the scientific facts and better understand the issue before moving forward on any course of action that could potentially decimate the US economy.

Energy

Many scientists and policymakers say energy security and sustainability are major problems facing the United States this century. What policies would you support to meet the demand for energy while ensuring an economically and environmentally sustainable future?
According to the Energy Information Agency, energy demand in the United States is projected to increase 16 percent between now and 2030. To meet this growing demand, Congress should open ANWR to environmentally sensitive production, increase offshore drilling, reduce the barriers to more nuclear power plants, and utilize our vast resources of coal and shale oil. We must also develop renewable and alternative fuels. As a member of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus, I am working to increase the use of new fuels and technologies, including renewable energy sources, along with promoting more efficiency.

Education

A comparison of 15-year-olds in 30 wealthy nations found that average science scores among U.S. students ranked 17th, while average U.S. math scores ranked 24th. What role do you think the federal government should play in preparing K-12 students for the science and technology driven 21st Century?
Numerous articles and statistics increasingly show that American students are scoring lower than their peers in other nations on education assessment exams, particularly in the areas of math and science. This is an alarming trend, and one that certainly warrants our immediate attention. The federal government should play a constructive role in encouraging public school administrators and teachers to focus more on math and science by providing schools with adequate and steady funding and encouraging performance-based incentives for both schools and teachers. However, the federal government’s role should not usurp the role of states, local school districts, and parents when it comes to making important decisions about K-12 education programs and teaching curricula. Likewise, a government mandated, one-size-fits-all approach to education is not going to help our students become successful competitors in the important arenas of math and science. Instead, states should be granted more leeway in evaluating and determining which programs and teaching methods are most effective in not only producing higher math and science scores, but in preparing and inspiring our students to successfully compete in a rapidly changing, knowledge-based world.

Water

Thirty-nine states expect some level of water shortage over the next decade, and scientific studies suggest that a majority of our water resources are at risk. What policies would you support to meet demand for water resources?
Managing the supply and availability of water is one of the most critical natural resource issues facing the United States and the world. With water use in the United States increasing every year, many regions are already starting to feel the pressure of water shortages. In the last five years, nearly every region of the country has experienced water shortages. We must work to conserve and protect this critical resource.

Research

For many years, Congress has recognized the importance of science and engineering research to realizing our national goals. Given that the next Congress will likely face spending constraints, what priority would you give to investment in basic research in upcoming budgets?
Congress needs to continue to support and extend the Research and Development Tax Credit (R&D). Innovation is a vital force in ensuring long-term economic growth, and research and development capital is essential in fostering innovation. In 2005, I voted to expand the R&D tax credit equal to 20% of all payments for energy research performed under contract by qualified research consortia, colleges and universities, federal laboratories, and eligible small firms. I voted to extend the credit again in 2006 and feel it should be made a permanent part of the federal tax code.

Health

Americans are increasingly concerned with the cost, quality, and availability of health care. How do you see science, research, and technology contributing to improved health and quality of life?
Safer medications, innovative vaccines, more efficient Internet communication technologies, are only a few of many advances that are already making an impact on the delivery, quality, and efficiency of health care in the United States. Congress must encourage U.S. industry to continue to increase their American based research and development operations through worthwhile tax incentives and prohibiting overreaching government interference.

CLIFFORD STEARNS' RECORD ON SCIENCE

Contents

[edit] Education

[edit] Energy

Speaking against the $32 billion natural resources budget bill that funds Environmental Protection Agency, Mr. Stearns said, "I know you are going to scream and holler … but with the economy contracting and unemployment rising, it would be simply irresopnsible to increase the EPA by almost 40 percent" [1]

  • Energy Policy
    • Introduced on 5/15/2009 by Rep. Waxman and cosponsored by Rep. Markey, the American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454) aims to create jobs, protect the environment, and increase American energy independence through new regulation of utilities and industry, as well as investment in an array of new technologies. Key provisions of this bill include: mandating that, by 2020, utilities meet 20% of their electricity demand through increased efficiency and/or renewable sources, implement new energy efficiency regulations for buildings and appliances, reduce carbon emissions from large US by more than 80% by 2050, as well as investing in new clean energy technologies and improving the energy efficiency of existing technology.

      Representative Stearns voted against this bill.
  • Fuel Economy Standards
    • See discussion of CLEAN Energy Act under Renewable Energy section.
  • Nuclear Power
  • Renewable Energy
    • See stimulus discussion under Innovation section.
    • In January of 2007, the House of Representatives passed the CLEAN Energy Act of 2007 (H.R. 6). This legislation is intended to address a royalties oversight that occurred when the Department of the Interior issued leases for off-shore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from 1998 to 1999. The bill would also deny income tax deductions for oil and gas companies. Revenues generated from these provisions would be used for the development of alternative fuels and renewable energy sources. Opponents of the bill claimed that the legislation would raise costs for the domestic production of oil and could increase foreign oil imports. Representative Stearns voted against this legislation, which passed with a vote of 264-163.

      During consideration of H.R. 6 in June of 2007, the Senate changed the focus of the legislation into developing a more comprehensive energy bill that focused on the development of renewable fuels, energy conservation, and increased Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. In the face of a veto threat from President Bush, the House passed the Senate version of H.R. 6 with amendments by a vote of 235-181 on December 6, 2007. Representative Stearns voted against this bill. The final Senate rendering of the bill, which passed with a vote of 86-8, still included language raising CAFE standards to 35 mpg by 2020. The final version of the bill passed in the House with a vote of 314-100 and was signed into law by President Bush on December 19, 2007.
    • In August 2007, Representative Stearns voted against the final passage of the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2007 (H.R. 3221). The legislation would provide tax incentives to promote the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency, including guaranteeing up to $1 billion in loans for the development of biorefineries and biofuel production facilities. The measure also would repeal tax deductions to income attributed to the domestic production of oil and natural gas. It passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 241-172 and was sent to the Senate.

      A controversial amendment to the bill was H. Amdt. 748 sponsored by Representative Udall. This amendment would require retail electric suppliers to provide 15% of their electricity through a renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS) by 2020. Representative Stearns voted against the amendment, which was adopted with a vote of 220 to 190.
  • Off Shore Drilling

[edit] Environment

  • On June 27, 2009, Rep. Cliff Stearns opposed the natural resources budget bill that would fund the Environmental Protection Agency. "I know you are going to scream and holler," Mr. Stearns said. "...but with the economy contracting and unemployment rising, it would be simply irresponsible to increase the EPA by almost 40 percent." Eventually, the bill cleared the House of Representatives.[2]
  • After the House failed to pass S. 22 under suspension of the rules (which requires 2/3 to vote for a provision, but does not allow any amendments), the Senate called an unrelated bill, (HR 146), to carry the omnibus land bill. The bill is a combination of over 150 public land bills and will designate over 2 million acres of land as wilderness, improve the management of currently protected land, establish new water projects, and more. Swapping the original legislation in HR 146 for the land bill was designed to make finalizing the bill in the House easy.

    When HR 146 was brought to the Senate, Sen. Coburn (R-OK) introduced several amendments, though only one passed:
    • Amendment 682: to make it less likely that casual stone collectors would run afoul of the criminal restrictions on taking paleontological fossils from federal land (passed)
    • Amendment 675: to stop federal officials from using the power of eminent domain to take land from citizens. Critics say this amendment was unnecessary as eminent domain would not be used in any lands included in the bill.
    • Amendment 677: to require an annual report on the total size and cost of federal property.
    • Amendment 679: to strike provisions that would block renewable-energy development on public land
    • Amendment 680: to bar new construction in national parks until the Interior secretary certifies that current sites are up to date, and
    • Amendment 683: to eliminate what Coburn considers to be "frivolous" projects
The bill passed the Senate on March 19, 2009. It passed the House by a vote of 285-140 on March 25, 2009. Representative Stearns voted against this bill. It was then signed into law by President Obama on March 30, 2009.

[edit] Climate Change

  • Nothing posted to date

[edit] Health

  • Template:Vote-HHRAndEducationAndAppropriations2010
  • Introduced on March 3, 2009 by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (H.R. 1256) aims to increase the authority of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in regulating tobacco in America. The legislation would empower the FDA to require larger warning labels on cigarette packaging, control nicotine levels, and regulate the advertising and marketing of cigarettes. During the 110th Congress, an identical bill had passed in the House in July of 2008 but was never considered in the Senate. The current bill passed in the House on April 2, 2009 by a vote of 298-112. Representative Stearns voted against this bill. The Obama administration has released a statement in support of the bill and Senator Edward Kennedy stated that “the Senate will approve it expeditiously.”
  • See stimulus discussion under Innovation section.
  • Healthcare
    • After being vetoed twice by President Bush in 2007, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) (H.R. 2) bill was reintroduced in the 111th Congress on January 13, 2009. SCHIP provides a subsidy for children’s insurance for families that cannot afford private insurance yet earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. The cost of the program is funded by an increase in cigarette taxes of 62 cents per pack. The House of Representatives voted 289-139 to pass the bill on January 14, 2009. Representative Stearns voted against this bill. The Senate also passed SCHIP, and it was signed into law by President Obama on February 4, 2009.
    • On January 23, 2008, the House once again failed with a vote of 260-152 to pass H.R. 3963 to override President Bush’s veto of SCHIP. Representative Stearns voted against this legislation.
    • On October 3, 2007, President Bush vetoed H.R. 976, citing that the bill moved too many children towards federally funded healthcare. The House attempted to override the President’s veto, but the measure failed to pass with a vote count of 273-156. Representative Stearns voted against the veto override. On December 29, 2007, President Bush signed the Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (S. 2499) which extends funding for SCHIP through March of 2009, but does not significantly increase the program.
    • On September 25, 2007, the House passed the final version of the “Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act” (H.R. 976) with a vote of 265-169. This bill would have increased funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) by $50 billion dollars over five years. Opponents saw the bill as too costly and were critical of the funding methods for the program, including a cigarette tax increase (read the floor debate). Representative Stearns voted against this legislation.
    • In April of 2007, the House of Representatives passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2007 (H.R. 493) with a vote of 420-3. Representative Stearns voted for this bill. If enacted, GINA will prevent health insurance companies from adjusting premiums on the basis of genetic information and forbid requiring individuals to undergo genetic tests. The bill will also prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of genetic information. This legislation was passed by the Senate in a vote of 95-0. The House passed the Senate amended version of the bill on May 1, 2008, by a vote of 415-1. Rep Ron Paul was the only representative to vote against the bill. President Bush signed GINA into law on May 21, 2008.
    • On July 15, 2008, both Houses of Congress voted to override President Bush’s veto of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (H.R. 6331), a bill to put off an almost 11% cut of payments to doctors who care for Medicare patients. The legislation offset putting off the payment cuts for doctors by reducing reimbursements to insurance companies that include Medicare patients in their managed-care programs.[1] The House voted 383 to 41 in favor of a veto override. Representative Stearns voted for this legislation.
  • Embryonic Stem Cell Research
  • Non-Embryonic Stem Cell Research
    • In December 2005, Congress passed the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005 (H.R. 2520), which President Bush signed on December 20, 2005. The law "creates a new Federal program to collect and store cord blood, and expands the current bone marrow registry program to also include cord blood." Representative Stearns voted for this bill. The legislation passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 431-1 and passed the Senate by unanimous consent.
  • Food

[edit] Innovation

  • Stimulus
    • On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (H.R. 1). This stimulus bill contains over $30 billion for energy initiatives including the Smart Grid Investment Program and advanced battery systems; $20 billion in tax incentives for renewable energy for both businesses and homes; over $8 billion for augmenting energy efficiency in federal buildings and housing programs; and $7 billion to extend broadband service to underserved communities. The Act also gives the National Science Foundation $3 billion for research; the National Institutes of Health over $10 billion for research and renovations; NASA $1 billion, a portion of which to employ more scientists; and the Department Of Energy’s Office of Science $1.6 billion for energy research. Finally, it provides $19 billion for a modernized Health Information Technology (HIT) system; $87 billion to help fund Medicaid programs; $1 billion for health prevention programs; subsidies for temporary insurance; and $19 billion for clean water and environmental restoration programs. For a more complete listing of the bill’s provisions, click here.

      It passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 246-183 on February 13th and passed the Senate on February 13th. Representative Stearns voted against this bill.
  • COMPETES Act

[edit] Research and Research Management

  • Funding
    • See stimulus discussion under Innovation section.
    • In May of 2007, Representative Stearns voted for the final passage of the National Science Foundation Funding Authorization Act of 2007 (H.R. 1867), which authorizes appropriations for the National Science Foundation for the fiscal years 2008, 2009 and 2010. The final vote count was 399 to 17.

      During debate on this legislation, H. Amdt. 128 was offered by Rep. Honda that will allow the NSF to support the creation of K-12 curriculum focused on global warming, climate change, and actions people can take to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Rep. Sullivan of Oklahoma offered a secondary amendment, H. Amdt. 129, that would have required the education materials referenced in Rep. Honda’s amendment to "reflect the diversity of scientific opinion, including the diversity of opinion regarding the impact of human activities on climate change." Congressional Democrats criticized the Sullivan amendment as seeming "to suggest that there is an equal weight of evidence against that perspective [that humans are causing climate change] as there is in favor of it" (read the full debate). The Sullivan amendment failed by a vote of 166 to 250. The Honda Amendment passed by a vote of 252 to 165.

      Representative Stearns voted for the Sullivan amendment and voted against the Honda Amendment.

[edit] Technology

  • On March 4, 2010, a claim was made that the stimulus spending was wasted on building broadband in areas with existing networks and thus, failed to meet mandate. During the oversight hearing at the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, Stearns claimed that $33.5 million was granted to an area in northern Georgia where "extensive broadband service[3]" is already in place in almost 90% of homes. Stearns goes on to state[4]:
    "Supporters of the stimulus promised that it would create millions of new jobs and that all Americans would have access to fast and affordable broadband,yet here we are, over a year later, and the early reviews do not appear very positive."
  • On March 18, 2009, Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN) introduced the Electronic Waste Research and Development Act (HR 1580) which works to reduce the waste caused by dumping unwanted electronics and to boost awareness of how to recycle such products. The bill would fund increased research on how to separate out hazardous material from waste as well as fund grants to universities to create curriculums to help in the reduction of this waste. HR 1580 passed in the House by voice vote on April 22, 2009. Representative Stearns voted for this legislation.
  • See stimulus discussion under Innovation section.
  • Digital TV Transition

In a February 11, 2009 OpEd, Rep. Stearns sharply criticized the delay of the transition to digital TV. The transition was originally scheduled for February 17, 2009, but Congress voted to delay it until June, 2009 over concerns that the public was not ready. The delay means more time until first responders can begin using part of the spectrum freed by the transition.

  • In the summer of 2008, the House met to consider the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (H.R. 6304), which would give retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that wiretapped customers’ phones for the Bush administration shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The legislation also allows the warrantless wiretapping of American citizens for up to 7 days before obtaining court approval. The House passed the bill with a vote of 293 to 129, and the legislation was signed by President Bush on July 7, 2008. Representative Stearns voted for this legislation.
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