One of the fundamental scientific discoveries of the dog-human relationship is that when a dog looks into his master's eyes, you have a release of oxytocin - which is the trust hormone, the love hormone.
— Bill Foster
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.
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.
Scientific discovery requires sustained funding for decades, and politicians can destroy it in a single budget cycle.
If you're dealing with live nuclear material, and you do anything that disperses them, it is very hard to hide, even after a 24-day cleanup period, the fact that there was nuclear material in this facility.
As a scientist and successful businessman, I understand that no one has a monopoly on good ideas.
It is important to remember the purpose of health care reform: to make sure Americans have access to quality, affordable health care - especially those individuals who were being denied by their insurance companies because they weren't profitable customers.
I support marriage equality and oppose legislation that defines marriage as only being between a man and a woman.
As someone who started a small business from scratch, I know how important it is for families and for communities to have strong job creation.
I think the amount of love and trust on Capitol Hill is often in short supply, and having more dogs here would probably make this place work better and maybe in a more bipartisan manner.
The decline of particle physics in the U.S. is really a symptom of the erratic and sometimes anti-scientific attitudes in Washington and the incompetence of Congress in managing science.
We need to beef up STEM education.
Science has improved public health, taken us to the moon, and allowed us to understand the origins of our universe. It also has given us the tools to solve problems now instead of reacting to them after it is too late.
Properly funding federal research at Argonne National Labs and Fermi National Accelerator Labs will also create jobs and directly benefit the Eleventh District.
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.
I support the Affordable Care Act and believe we should take steps to further expand coverage and reduce costs.
Federal policies must understand the linkages between economic growth, social mobility, and a strong middle class.
Scientists want to know the evidence behind a statement; they want reproducible tests and verifiable facts. There is a big difference in the thought process of a trial lawyer who is interested not in what's true but what he can convince a jury is true.
Measles may not spread as fast as erroneous sound bites and tweets, but they both have the potential to cause a great amount of damage.
If we choose to ignore science and refuse to fund important scientific research, we voluntarily cede our place as a world leader in innovation.
Science, logic, and truth should not be partisan issues; they are the cornerstones of fields that have made the United States a leader in innovation and a better place for everyone to live.
I believe we need a balanced, bipartisan approach to debt reduction that includes a combination of spending cuts, investments in economic growth, and simplification of the tax code that closes corporate loopholes that incentivize companies to ship jobs overseas.
The United States will always be a global leader, and we need to actively engage the international community to make sure all citizens of the world live freely and equally under their country's rule of law. We cannot, however, afford to fight other nations' wars interminably or stabilize their regions.
Immigrants greatly contribute to our country's economic prosperity.
America cannot become just a service and financial services economy, and to prevent that, there is no substitute for having people with successful, real-world manufacturing experience in Congress.
