Bill Richardson (Former Presidential Candidate)
Bill Richardson
D-NM
Biography
RICHARDSON, William Blaine “Bill”, a Governor from New Mexico, born in Pasadena, Cali., on November 15, 1947; raised in Mexico City, Mexico; attended Middlesex School in Massachusetts; graduated from Tufts University 1970; received MA from Tufts University in 1971; unsuccessful candidate for United States House of Representatives in 1980; elected as a Democrat to the House of Representatives 1982-1997; appointed U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations 1997-98; U.S. Secretary of Energy 1998-2001; elected Democratic Governor of New Mexico 2002-2006; re-elected Governor 2006; candidate for the Democratic nomination for President in 2008.
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Governor Richardson dropped out of the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary on January 10.
Energy
Governor Richardson’s energy plan, initially announced in a May 17, 2007 speech, calls for a 50% cut in oil demand by 2020, an increase of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards to 50 mpg by 2020, and cutting greenhouse gas emissions 90% by 2050.
Evolution/Intelligent Design
Global Warming
Governor Richardson supports mandatory pollution limits. In the past, he has called upon the United States to join the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.
His campaign has also put out a proposal to improve the environment, which calls for abiding by the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act, encourage recycling, increasing the EPA’s disclosure of corporate reporting of toxic pollutants, and enforcing the Endangered Species Act.
Healthcare
Introduced on August 7, 2007, Richardson’s healthcare plan has an individual mandate requiring that all Americans get health insurance coverage and holds employers responsible for some of the costs. Low-income Americans will be given advanced refundable tax credits to help them purchase the same insurance that is available to members of Congress. Also, under the Richardson plan, the federal government would be able to negotiate prescription drug prices for Medicare.
Stem Cell Research
Governor Richardson supports expanding federal funding for embryonic stem cell research and has pledged to end the ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cells if elected President. As Governor of New Mexico, he announced a $10 million dollar funding initiative that calls for the building of a state-funded facility devoted to embryonic stem cell research.
Speeches on Science and Health Policy Issues
September 19, 2007 Speech to the Obesity Society
August 07, 2007 American Choices: Affordable Health Coverage for All Americans
May 17, 2007 New America Foundation (Energy)
SCIENCE IN THE DEBATES:
MSNBC Democratic Debate, October 30, 2007
Question: Aside from blue ribbon panels, what can be done right now about what afflicts the United States on this issue of energy?
Richardson: You need an energy revolution in this country -- an Apollo program that does the following: one, reduces consumption of fossil fuels by 50 percent by 2020. Fuel efficiency -- I'm going to be specific-- 50 miles per gallon. A renewable portfolio standard -- in other words, all electricity in America – 30 percent renewable sources. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2040; by 30 percent by 2020. A cap-and-trade system. Energy efficiency, too. You got to ask the American people to sacrifice a little bit. What does that mean?
That means when we use appliances, mass transit, air conditioning, that we all bound together to reduce this dependence on foreign oil that affects our national security, when 65 percent of your oil is imported. When the planet -- when the planet is polluted by fossil fuels and manmade pollution, it is American leadership, and it's presidential leadership, and it has to be an energy revolution, not these little energy bills that the Congress keeps passing that are meaningless.
Question: Do you believe ewe in this country need to extend the school day and/or extend the school year, and will you commit to it?
Richardson: Yes, I'd commit to it. And I'm glad, finally, education is coming up in a major debate. This is what I would do. We are 29th in the world in science and math compared to the E.U., to countries in China and India. They graduate four or five times more engineers. There is a competitiveness gap here. This is what I would do. One, I'd have 100,000 new science and math teachers. But we have to pay our teachers what they deserve, a minimum wage of what I believe is $40,000 per year. I'd get rid of No Child Left Behind. I would have science and math academies, but in the high school curriculum it is critically important that we have more civics, more language, and art in the schools to provoke creativity in science and math proficiency.
