Survey of 2014 Senate campaign websites: on Technology
Gordon Ball:
We send too little on infrastructure
We must upgrade our aging transportation system. This is how we get manufactured goods to market. China spends 9% of its GDP on infrastructure, and Europe spends about 5% of its GDP. The U.S. spends 2.4% and is looking for cuts.
We can't build a competitive future by trailing China and Europe. Improvements are needed right now.
Investing in our infrastructure creates jobs and ensures safer roads, railways, and bridges; and upgrades to water, sewer, and broadband systems. It means expanding commerce across Tennessee and creating new jobs in our communities.
I will work to ensure Tennessee receives targeted federal investments that improve our state's infrastructure and strengthen Tennessee's economy.
Source: 2014 Tennessee Senate campaign website, GordonBallSenate.com
Aug 7, 2014
Cory Booker:
Fix crumbling rail & road with National Infrastructure Bank
The 2012 federal transportation bill notes, "the condition and capacity of the highway system has failed to keep up with the growth in freight movement and is hampering the ability of businesses to efficiently transport goods due to congestion."
American rail infrastructure, once considered the best in the world, now ranks eighteenth, plagued by congested choke points and crossings that force trains to travel at inefficient low speeds.
This has real economic consequences: a weak national infrastructure not only raises production costs and reduces productivity for American businesses, but also discourages foreign investment and development. We can create jobs and strengthen our
infrastructure for decades to come by creating a national infrastructure bank that leverages public funding to increase private investment in American roads, bridges, airports, marine ports and other assets
Source: 2014 New Jersey Senate campaign website CoryBooker.com
Jul 1, 2014
Cory Booker:
Invest in Next-Gen air traffic; broadband, and smart grid
- Increase funding for Next Gen Satellite-based airplane traffic control system: A safe and efficient air travel system is central to our economy. But the US air traffic control system--a ground-based, radar system developed in the 1950s--has not
been upgraded in decades. With Next-Gen GPS-based technology, businesses can count on a faster and more reliable air transport system.
- Bring broadband to underserved urban and rural communities: Nearly 19 million Americans are without broadband
internet access. This is unacceptable in today's interconnected society. The internet unlocks worlds of opportunity, and no one should be deprived of the key.
- Create a national smart grid: Upgrading our electric grid to allow businesses, homes, and
other end users to send energy use data back to utilities increases resiliency and stability, and can empower businesses and consumers to use energy more efficiently. Smart grid spending also generates a more than two-to-one return on investment.
Source: 2014 New Jersey Senate campaign website CoryBooker.com
Jul 1, 2014
Jeff Bell:
Opposes Internet gambling as immoral, including lottery
Bringing access to gambling into our homes and places of work is a terrible idea, and it is unfortunate that the New Jersey legislature allowed it to happen.
Congress was right to effectively ban online gambling in 2006, but since then the Obama Justice Department and three states have sidestepped this law and in the case of New Jersey, evaded the state constitution.
I would therefore support a new federal ban on online gambling, including prohibiting the sale of lottery tickets over the Internet. We should not be encouraging access to gambling where people are most vulnerable to abusing it.
It is immoral for the state to try and make money off of a business model based upon widespread gambling.
Source: 2014 Senate campaign website, Bell2014.com, "Issues"
May 2, 2014
Bruce Skarin:
It is time to upgrade the operating system of government
For the last decade I have worked on cutting edge research for our government covering a range of issues. In this role I have used analytics and simulation models to help people manage problems that cannot be fully understood without the aid of
computers. During this time, I have seen both the potential of good people to do amazing work as well as the dysfunction created by an outdated, bureaucratic, system. Our country is capable of so much more.
Using technology that simply did not exist just ten years ago and working with a community of professionals and feedback from supporters like you, we will create a sustained effort for getting to the
root of problems and solving them. It is time to upgrade the operating system of government and I believe it begins with more direct participation in Congress from scientists like me.
Source: 2014 Senate campaign website, bruce2014.org, "Learn"
Feb 28, 2014
Cory Booker:
Protect critical infrastructure from cyberattack
America's critical infrastructure--our power plants, oil pipelines, and water systems--are at serious risk of cyber attack. The vast majority of this critical infrastructure is privately owned. Yet today, if a major cyber attack took place on a telecom
company or financial institution, that company wouldn't even know who to call to report it.We need new ways to protect the computer-connected systems that keep lights on and banks open.
Years ago we decided that physical security--fences and cameras -- around sensitive sites like power plants was essential. Yet there is no requirement, or even voluntary standard, for putting virtual fences around the computers that run these facilities.
When critical infrastructure is attacked or essential data is stolen, companies need a clear way to report it to civilian authorities so that government has a picture of the threats and other companies can protect themselves from similar attacks.
Source: 2013-2014 New Jersey Senate campaign web CoryBooker.com
Nov 3, 2013
Cory Booker:
Technology empowers individuals but creates diverse threats
The world is changing. A hyper-connected, interdependent world economy and new technologies have empowered people and organizations. That means both individual activists in repressive countries have more power to seek freedom, and that groups like al
Qaeda can wreak more havoc. This has made the work of ensuring American security more difficult. Gone are the days when we worried principally about a single geopolitical foe.
Instead, American security concerns now range from nuclear proliferation and cyber terrorism to plots hatched in distant countries by small bands of radicals and managing a scale down of forces in Afghanistan in a responsible and safe manner.
We face new, diverse threats, and we must meet them with a smart, principled strategy that recognizes, rather than ignores, how our world is changing.
Source: 2013-2014 New Jersey Senate campaign web CoryBooker.com
Nov 3, 2013
Owen Hill:
NSA should have decent respect for privacy
Privacy / NSA: A decent respect for privacy is at the very core of our identity. Since Christopher Columbus, people came from all over the world who wanted to live their own lives without the intrusion of government. During the founding of our country,
a respect for privacy was clearly stated in our Constitution and laid out in our Declaration of Independence as a reason for fighting the Revolution.
Today, our bureaucrats and politicians hide behind confusing law as an excuse to violate our reasonable expectation of privacy. Rather than standing on principle, they undermine our rights and throw up their hands like they are impotent to
represent the people. It is high time we have politicians who will act as a check against the unconstitutional invasions of our privacy and fight for the ongoing protections of basic rights that our parents and grandparents fought to preserve.
Source: 2014 Senate campaign website owenhillforsenate.com, "Issues"
Oct 9, 2013
Terri Lynn Land:
Improve state customer service via technology & innovation
Terri Lynn Land served two terms as Michigan's 41st Secretary of State, from 2003 to 2010, [focusing on] improving customer service for the taxpayers. Ensuring quality customer service through efficiency, innovation and technology drove Land's agenda as
Secretary of State. Accomplishments include expanding online service options, revolutionizing the branch office structure to create shorter lines for customers and implementing more secure and accurate election equipment across the state.
Source: 2014 Senate Campaign website, terrilynnland.com, "Bio"
Sep 5, 2013
Karen Handel:
On-line access to all agency revenues and expenses
As Secretary of State, Karen reduced the department's budget by nearly 20% by prioritizing programs, streamlining processes and eliminating waste and duplication. At the same time, the agency improved its customer service, reducing the processing
time for corporate filings and professional licenses. Under Karen's leadership, the Secretary of State's office became the first "completely transparent" agency in state government by giving citizens access to all agency revenues and expenses on-line.
Source: 2014 Senate campaign website www.karenhandel.com, "About"
Jun 6, 2013
Mead Treadwell:
Entrepreneur for digital watermarks & Google Streetview
Prior to running for office, Mead Treadwell built a successful business career as a high technology entrepreneur who helped start companies that compete in today's global marketplace. One of them developed the digital watermarking system that helps
protect world currencies and DVDs from counterfeiting. Another introduced the high tech camera that launched Google's Streetview, MapQuest's 360 View, and was used by our U.S. military's street level mapping programs in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Source: 2014 Senate campaign website www.treadwellalaska2014.com
Jun 6, 2013
Murray Sabrin:
Government is the worst manager of infrastructure
Below are some of the major excerpts of President Obama's State of the Union address. After each section, I will clarify what the President means and how his proposals contradict his own rhetoric, namely, that the government should encourage free
enterprise.Obama: "So, tonight, I propose a 'Fix-It-First' program to put people to work as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs, like the nearly 70,000 structurally deficient bridges across the country."
With all the money government collects from the gasoline tax and other taxes, they still cannot maintain the infrastructure. Government is the worst manager of resources.
The monopoly post office is hemorrhaging money and prices still go up. No enterprise could stay afloat with that business model.
Source: 2014 Senate campaign website, www.MurraySabrin.com
Feb 15, 2013
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