Steve Cox (Candidate)

Steve Cox
Candidate D-15-IL

Campaign Email
Campaign Website
Campaign Contributors

(217) 384.1934
507 W. Main St.
Urbana, IL 61801

Biography

COX, Steve; born June 25, 1945 in Memphis, Tennessee; received an AA from Spartenburg Methodist College in 1980; State Department clerk, 1962; served in the U.S. Army from 1967 to 1969 including a tour in Vietnam; worked at the State Department from 1980 to 2003, retiring as an Information Technology Specialist.

CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE

Compare Innovation & the Elections 2008 responses for IL-15.

SEA and eighteen other science organizations have come together to ask the 2008 congressional candidates seven questions on science and technology policy. See what Steve Cox has 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?

I would support increased funding for public education beyond high school. Just as we can not afford for teenagers to drop out of high school, we can not afford to have young people with significant potentials to achieve not go on to college. We must also place a real value on the minds and souls of our brightest and best students, allowing them to succeed at the highest levels, with appropriate service back to their country in exchange. Education at all levels needs to be truly responsive to the human conditions that people have and to provide those resources which can bring about positive results.

Education needs to be a life long process. People employed in changing technologies or with outmoded knowledge and skills should be allowed to gain new proficiencies to continue as long as possible to contribute.

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?

I believe a mix of these approaches will be necessary at the start. However, we must move more aggressively toward reducing the extremely negative effects of global warming. This will require more commitment to international order and discipline in our personal lives.

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?

As stated in my previous answer, the Congress and our President will need to work long and hard on our energy policies. Reaching appropriate solutions at various stages of this process will require patience and thoroughness. We must carefully select from those available resources in the present and move toward those that have future relevance. We must make sure that the solutions we choose are economically and environmentally sustainable.

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?

This question on education links to the answer I provided in item 1 above. Families are the most important social unit in our society. We need to strengthen them by providing the best health care, the best support services and the best education that is possible. Generally, we are all apart of some type of family unit. Therefore we are all providing the support that can make us all better human beings. All of this will require work and dedication from all of us, from students to educators, from farmers to businessmen.

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?

As in other areas of our national life, we need to exercise discipline, conservation and resource management. Policies that target waste should be made more effective and gain more universal acceptance, as with our concern for this planet.

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?

Research has always been the key to the future. As we support those students coming through college, we likewise develop our researchers for the future. Congress needs to structure a higher, educational system that makes research apart of the public domain and therefore a common benefit to all the citizens of this great country. Research should not be limited to the realm of big business, where all to often big profits go to the wealthy few. We the people of the United States should have a legitimate stake in research both medically and economically.

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?

It is a given that science, research and technology have always contributed. The Congress and the President must continue to find the ways and means to continue this advancement, to lower cost, reevaluate quality standards and make health care more universal and our quality of life better.