TBranstein

TBranstein


 * __Name And Political Party:__** Tom Branstein; Republican Party


 * __State And The Congress Person From My State Who Most Agrees With Me On Issues:__** Virginia; Rep. James Randy Forbes

__**The Web Address To James Forbes' Website Home Page:**__ http://www.randyforbes.com/

__**5 Interesting Facts About My State**__:
 * Capitol city is Richmond, VA
 * State Bird - Cardinal
 * State Shell - Oyster
 * State Tree - American Dogwood
 * State Fish - Brook Trout


 * __5 Important Facts About My State That Relate To The Issues I Am Interested In:__**
 * Most income in agriculture is from cattle, dairy goods, and poultry.
 * Virginia produces 10% of coal on the east side of Mississippi River.
 * A lot of income in the economy comes from tourists to Virginia.
 * One-third of Virginia's energy comes from the two nuclear power plants there.
 * Tobacco is the main crop grown in Virginia still.

__**The 3 Issues That Are Most Interesting And Important To Me, Along With My Positions On Those Issues:**__ Economy: I believe that our economy is starting to get back on track currently. I think that we need to lower taxes in order to get more consumers in our market. That would bring our economy up even more. Also, we need to stop companies from using the bailout bill to give bonuses to their employees. I even think we should stop giving out bonuses for at least a year until our economy is stable. Then we can go back to light spending.

Values and American Society: This issue is very important to America and its families. I believe that adoption is fine if it really needs to be done. An example of this is when a parent cannot support its child, or is not mentally or phisically fit to take care of the child. I have no opinion on the gay marriage issue to this point. I also think that the government should not help with the care of a child unless the child does not have a decent living, or they are being abused.

Environment: I believe that we need to start using way more renewable resources. Our environment is getting really polluted in the way that we are making energy now. We cannot keep using fossil fuels because they pollute and we are going to run out eventually. We need to make every company start making at least part renewable energy, so the Earth can get cleaner. It may cost more at the beginning, but in the long run, using renewable resources for energy will really pay off.

__**My Bill:**__ SB5 My bill makes it so that every energy company in the United States of America has to create 30% of their total energy made in solar energy. This makes us use a renewable resource for for our energy. If we use solar energy, there will be less coal production, so there will be less carbon dioxide emissions. People should vote for this bill because it gives us a cleaner, more efficient energy source, we will never run out of it, and it will cost us less money in the long run.

__**10 Sources Used:**__ 1. "About Solar Energy." //SEIA//. Solar Energy Industries Association, 2009. Web. 18 May 2010. . 2. "Frequently Asked Questions - Gasoline." //EIA//. U.S Energy Information Administration, 09 Apr 2010. Web. 18 May 2010. . 3. "How Much Do Solar Panels Cost?." //Solar Panels - Go Green//. Solar Panels Power, n.d. Web. 18 May 2010. . 4. Masia, Seth. "CO2 Reaches Record 392 ppm." //Solar Today//. American Solar Energy Society, 13 May 2010. Web. 18 May 2010. . 5. "Solar Energy." //EIA Energy Kids//. U.S. Energy Information Administration, n.d. Web. 18 May 2010. . 6. "Solar Research."​ //NREL//. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 10 Mar 2010. Web. 18 May 2010. . 7. "Virginia: Facts, Map, and State Symbols." //Enchanted Learning//. EnchantedLearning.com, 2010. Web. 18 May 2010. . 8. "Solar Power Energy Information." National Geographic 1996. Web. 20 May 2010. <[]>. 9. "Solar energy advantages & solar fountain pumps - Information & Resources." SolarEnergyAdvantages.org 1999. Web. 20 May 2010. <[]>. 10. "Solar Energy Technologies Program." U.S. Department of Energy 23 Apr 2010. Web. 20 May 2010. <[]>.