Education

• An interview in the Dallas Morning News ^[1] (Similar questionairre answered by Thomas Edwards)
  • QUESTION: If Congress doesn’t renew the No Child Left Behind Act, how would you guarantee schools have demanding standards? How would you make sure children are doing math and reading at grade level?
  • ANSWER: "I would like to see the standards set by the states. The philosophy being that educational decisions should be made as close to the local level as possible. Just having "demanding standards" set by Washington will not guarantee the desired results. Congress needs to find a way to encourage more parental involvement which is the best way to improve student scores. Any time demanding standards are set...without a concurrent desire on the part of the student to succeed...you run the danger of schools teaching to the test to improve their statistical numbers. The bottom line is that students have to want to learn..no one can force them. The job of government is to make sure that schools have the basic tools to provide a quality education and learning environment."

Energy

• Nothing posted to date

Environment

• An interview in the Dallas Morning News ^[2] (Similar questionairre answered by Thomas Edwards)
  • QUESTION: How should Congress deal with climate change? For example, should it pursue a cap-and-trade system to control emissions?^[3]
  • ANSWER: "Congress should understand that this is a very complicated phenomena which is still not completely understood. I certainly think its a good idea to encourage clean environmental policies, but there should not be a panicked rush to "just do something". It's critical that we be judicious in our policies so that we don't harm our industries which keep America's economy on a sound footing. I would support measured approaches to continue to reduce our negative effects on our climate. Unfortunately some of the worst pollution on the planet is coming out of places like China, where Congress has no control. America has actually done a pretty good job of cleaning up its own act. However, we and anyone else on Earth can do nothing about global warming if the main culprit is the Sun. Our recent monitoring of temperatures on Mars is showing global warming there...which of course cannot be attributed to man."

Climate Change

• Nothing posted to date

Health

• An interview in the Dallas Morning News^[4] (Similar questionairre answered by Thomas Edwards)
  • QUESTION: Who should take the lead in expanding access to health care: Washington or the states? If Washington, should the federal government require employers to provide insurance for workers? Or should Washington require individuals to buy it for themselves? In return for everyone buying insurance, must insurers offer coverage to all people regardless of preexisting conditions?
  • ANSWER:“I would prefer to see power devolve to the states, thus letting states decide what levels of care/imsurance they wish to provide or mandate and they could pay for it according to their own taxing policies. Any decisions made at the state level are by their very nature...closer to the will of the people. And what is the definition of access to health care? America has the best health care industry in the world. Every American has access to health care, although quality of care may vary according to means. However, no American should go without basic health care and by law, hospitals are required to accept emergency patients no matter what their ability to pay. If Washington takes the lead in this program, then whatever mandates are passed on...whether to business or individuals...need to be offest with tax rebates or reductions. There should also be an opt-out provision for individuals who wish to handle their own medical/insurance needs. If universal coverage is mandated, then obviously all Americans would need to be covered regardless of pre-existing conditions.”

• • QUESTION: Do you think Medicare and Social Security need reforming? If so, please be specific about which reforms you favor. For example, do you favor changing any benefit levels? Which program deserves attention first?
  • ANSWER: "According to all reliable estimates...Social Security and Medicare will eventually consume virtually the entire budget at the current rate of expansion. So it's obvious that reforms will need to be enacted. The critical aspect will be to make sure we don't break our compact with those citizens who worked all their lives and are now in a position of needing those benefits to live a basic life in their retirement years. At some point we will have to look at a way to adjust the current outlays, but we must do it with the least amount of pain and in the fairest manner to all."

Innovation

• Nothing posted to date

Research and Research Management

• Nothing posted to date

Endnotes

1. ↑ http://www.thevoterguide.org/a-dallas/race-detail.do;jsessionid=3E16A3965E6604D2D9EB3AF7E1836164?id=10003196
2. ↑ http://www.thevoterguide.org/a-dallas/race-detail.do;jsessionid=3E16A3965E6604D2D9EB3AF7E1836164?id=10003196
3. ↑ http://www.thevoterguide.org/a-dallas/race-detail.do;jsessionid=3E16A3965E6604D2D9EB3AF7E1836164?id=10003196
4. ↑ http://www.thevoterguide.org/a-dallas/race-detail.do;jsessionid=3E16A3965E6604D2D9EB3AF7E1836164?id=10003196