Florida



James F. Henry, Democrat, District 11

James F. Henry:
If you look at your monthly credit card statement and remember the kinds of products and services you spent your money on recently, many of the items purchased probably did not even exist 10 or 20 years ago. This is a visual testament to the fact that however hard some forces may try to resist and fight change, change is inevitable, and it drives the economy and improve lives. It is critical that the government encourage a proactive approach to technology. Even if it were possible for progress to come to a stand-still, the net effect of that would be a loss, because as the rest of the world moves forward, our society would fall further behind. The United States should lead the way and allow other nations to follow by staying on the cutting edge of scientific advancement, to ensure that our economy remains vibrant.

James F. Henry:
The question about whether humanity has an impact on the environment, bringing about climate change should not be a debate. It is counter-intuitive to think that we do not have a significant effect on the world around us. Here is an example. You have a piece of pristine, undeveloped land. In its natural state, when the rain falls from the clouds, the rain hits the ground, sinks into the soil, and helps to replenish the aquifer. Then a developer wants to build a supermarket on this piece of land, so they build a big building on top of the soil, and pave a large parking lot for future customers to park. Now, when the rain falls, instead of the water hitting the pristine soil and eventually sinking into the soil and replenishing the aquifer, the water hits the building and the parking lot, and rolls along and picks up oil that may have leaked from cars in the parking lot, or gas that might have been spilled when a customer over-filled his or her gas tank, and eventually that contaminated water drains off the pavement into a retention pond at the back of the lot. The water then enters the aquifer, but it is not pristine, and without measures to address this impact, people can become sick by drinking contaminated water. It may very well be true that there is a natural ebb and flow to the level of warmth of our planet, but just because such changes occur naturally does not mean that humanity, by its mere presence, cannot impact it as well. We need common sense public policies designed to minimize the damage our existence causes on the world around us, and to mitigate the effects for which we are responsible. This is to the benefit of everyone.

James F. Henry:
Our society is based on a social contract theory that contends that in a state of nature, people enjoy unlimited freedom, but no security, because everyone is free to do whatever they choose to do. In such an environment, chaos would ensue, and no one could actually enjoy their freedom. To enjoy their freedoms, laws must be enacted to prevent people from detracting from other people’s enjoyment of their freedom, so peace can be established. It is the role of government to ensure that as I, as a human being, enjoying my God-given freedoms, do not infringe on the freedom of others. This would be my philosophy on the issue of personal privacy. We have a right to expect that all of our right to privacy is protected, and that the government will only infringe upon that privacy to the degree that is necessary to prevent those who would do us harm from being able to do so. When I read recently about how North Korea has developed a state-run hacking system, through which they have stolen billions of dollars they should not have ever had access to, which has no doubt helped them develop the nuclear technology with which they are now threatening the whole world, I was aghast that the United States has allowed this to go on for as long as we have. If we can track how North Korea is doing this, there ought to be a mechanism in place to fight them on the cyber front, and to do so in a way that does not detract from the freedoms law-abiding American citizens enjoy. We cannot afford to give North Korea and other rogue states a way to pull an end-around on economic sanctions imposed by the United States and other responsible world nations.

James F. Henry:
I have a son who is presently 18 years old. He was diagnosed years ago with a form of Autism called Pervasive Developmental Delay, meaning that his level of development is less than his age would suggest. I used to wish that the random acts that he carried out were random acts of kindness, instead of being of a more antisocial nature. When he is properly medicated, he is fully capable of being a contributing member of society. When he is not properly medicated, he could become a menace to society. In my son’s case, and in the cases of many others who suffer from various forms of mental illness, constant monitoring of his medical needs is not just for his benefit, but also for the benefit of all the people with whom he comes in contact. Providing mental health services for people who need them benefits all of us. Taking such services away from the mentally ill places a strain on the entire system, as too many people fill our crowded prisons needlessly if we had been proactive in helping the mentally ill function in civil society.

James F. Henry:
I remember, when I was in high school back in the 80s, I needed to take two years of science and two years of math to graduate. I wanted to be a writer, so I loaded up on English classes, went on to study communications and journalism in college and graduate school, but today, when my 14-year-old daughter does not understand a concept from her freshman math class, I am powerless to help her with her homework, because at age 14, she has already progressed beyond my level of mathematic accomplishment at age 50. As I alluded to in a previous answer, if the rest of the world moves forward, and we stand still, the net effect is that of a loss. The expectations for 21st century students should be, and are, higher than they were for me and my generation in the 20th century. Employers will expect students to have greater skills in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math than people of my generation possess. In order for us to remain relevant as a society, we must encourage continued growth in these areas.

James F. Henry:
Our bodies are mostly comprised of water. If we get headaches, many times it is caused by dehydration. Water is probably the single most important substance we require to remain healthy. I mention these facts to emphasize how very important it is to have a safe water supply. Early in my government career, I worked for a Board of Selectmen that also served as Water Commissioners. They inherited an aging water system that was substandard to the needs of the water customers. There was inadequate water pressure to operate sprinkler systems, which affected industrial users’ insurance rates. There were also ancient iron pipes held together by lead, because that is how they built water systems when those pipes were in the ground. It was painful for the board to do, but they decided to do a major upgrade of the water system. Water rates skyrocketed, but over time, the board was able to use excess funds collected from users to pay down the loan faster, and water rates leveled off. Not all systems, such as the infamous case of Flint, Michigan, have the kind of financial flexibility needed to make the improvements to the system to ensure citizens have access to safe drinking water. The problem is too big for a city to handle alone. The solution requires involvement at every level of government – local, state and federal. It is imperative that congress take action to address this need for economic and public health reasons.

James F. Henry:
I am going to be honest. I am not a food expert, and cannot pretend to have solutions to all the problems that arise out of our current system. Here are a few things I do know:
As a member of the fraternal order known as the Grange, an agricultural society founded in the 19th century, I am aware that family farms are an endangered species. Tracks of land that once were home to livestock are now being developed into apartment complexes, condos, and supermarkets. In their place, huge conglomerate food manufacturers are providing more and more of the food we put into our bodies, but these entities have no soul. Their responsibility is to the shareholders, and the bottom line is the bottom line.

Federal agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration were created to ensure that our food supply was safe, but at this stage it seems that the same people who once ran the corporate food and drug companies are writing the regulations and running the agencies. This cannot be good for the population, except the segment of the population that buys stock in food manufacturers.

James F. Henry:
In the interest of full disclosure, I am now, and ever shall be, a space geek. After doing my 4th grade science fair project on the solar system, I was hooked. I wanted to be an astronomer until I learned that you need to be really good with math (and we’ve already talked about that issue before!), so now I write science fiction novels mostly set in outer space. I waited in anxious anticipation for the New Horizons probe to arrive in Pluto (and firmly believe, no matter what the astronomical community says, that Pluto is a planet. Dwarf planet, indeed!)

Seriously, our space program can enhance our way of life, expand our knowledge base about the Universe in which we live, provide us with technologies that allow people on Earth to live longer, healthier and happier lives, even if people are not fully aware of these facts.

One concern I have is the president’s nominee to head NASA, Jim Bridenstine, a Congressman from Oklahoma. He denies that humans have an impact on climate change and global warming. Given that the Trump administration has sought to silence legitimate scientists from speaking on this issue, putting a politician in charge of a science agency like NASA is a very bad idea.

James F. Henry:
One of the things I hate about politicians is when they make promises they cannot keep. If I am fortunate to the elected to Congress, I will be one of 535 people serving in this job from sea to shining sea, so if I were to tell you what I will do to improve ocean health, I would have to say realistically that I will be a tireless worker to protect all our natural resources, including the oceans, but it is not a fight I can win alone. There will need to be a fundamental change in the composure of both houses of Congress and frankly the White House to place a higher value on scientific and environmental concerns than presently exists.

I can pledge, however, to use my God-given debating skills to advocate for legislation to protect the oceans and try to clean up some of the damage that has already been done.

James F. Henry:
I am well aware of the government’s actions against legitimate scientists, firing and muzzling them from even being able to speak on the subject of climate change, and I believe our world will suffer from this fact.

The president’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord is an embarrassment to our nation. The fact that only the United States and Syria are not on board with this agreement underscores how out of step the present administration is with the rest of the world. Unfortunately, the president holds considerable influence over the tone of national and international policy, and I can only hope that with a new election, and hopefully fresh faces in Congress, that we can influence the president to move in a more positive direction.


Organizations Who Developed the Questions: The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Chemical Society (ACS), the American Geosciences Institute (AGI), the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), the American Institute of Physics (AIP), the American Physical Society (APS), the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Council on Competitiveness, IEEE-USA, the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). Media Partner: Scientific American