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I think when you provide something absolutely free, the potential of abuse exists. Getting an education without skin in the game is not good.
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There is an almost universal experience in physicists, at least of my generation, which is home-made pyrotechnics.
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I'm pushing - on a bipartisan basis, actually - to get federal support for the creation of high-quality textbooks that can be downloaded for free on the Internet.
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When I first ran for Congress, I decided that I would not take pledges to vote for or against any issue. I believe the practice of taking pledges contributes to the worst of the partisan gridlock in Washington, preventing many members of Congress from even considering a reasonable compromise offered by the other side.
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Properly funding federal research at Argonne National Labs and Fermi National Accelerator Labs will also create jobs and directly benefit the Eleventh District.
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I really believe in U.S. manufacturing and U.S. exports, but we have to have a level playing field.
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There's a fundamental question that everyone has to answer: What fraction of your life do you spend in service to your fellow man? It's not something that science helps you answer at all. It's one of these questions like, Who are you gong to marry? Science doesn't really help you with the question.
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One of the big concerns is the increasing disrespect for the scientific method and for policies that aren't based on facts and evidence.
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We owe these heroes a great deal - it is our solemn responsibility to ensure that all veterans receive the care and respect they have earned.
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When I see the sort of mindless tax cuts for the wealthy, cuts to education, I just think we've got it exactly backward in this country.
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People are people, regardless of who they love or what gender they relate to.
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There are a number of much less expensive alternatives to detaining immigrants than locking them up somewhere.
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Whoever is running the country should not be in the pay of a foreign interest. The best way is to see tax returns.
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If we choose to ignore science and refuse to fund important scientific research, we voluntarily cede our place as a world leader in innovation.
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As a scientist, the starting point is always the facts of the matter, whereas often, in politics, the starting point is how does this play in the next election.
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I supported and voted for the public option in the version of the Affordable Care Act passed by the U.S. House. Had it been incorporated into the final version of the ACA, it would have done much to increase the competitiveness of ACA Exchange Marketplaces.
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We need to beef up STEM education.
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In science, if you stand up and say something you know is not correct, that's career-ending. It used to be that way in politics, but not anymore.
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The idea of ensuring that federal research dollars should be reasonably spread around is an arguably useful goal. But it should be done per person, not per state.
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I often say that I inherited the family's recessive gene for adult-onset political activism.
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Immigrants greatly contribute to our country's economic prosperity.
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'Too big to fail' is fine for restaurant chains. If Denny's fails, it's fine for this economy. You can always go down to the TGIFs. But that's not the same for large-scale investment companies.
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I used to say I represented 33% of the strategic reserve of physicists in Congress.
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History has not looked kindly on us when we've prevented people fleeing violence from seeking refuge in this country.