wburdick

William Burdick Representative of Maryland Moderate View

The representatives my view is the most like are Mike McIntyre, and Jim Marshall. [|Jim Marshall's Website], [|Mike McIntyre's Website]. Mike McIntyre: I agree with McIntyre on the issue of education, a higher education is definately becoming increasingly important. I also agree with him on the issue of energy, we should invest more money into alternative energy resources, rather than encouraging the use of fossil fuels.

Jim Marshall: I agree with Marshall on the position of services for offendors' re-entry into society. I agree with this because everyone's made mistakes and they have been forgiven. It just depends on the seriousness of the crime, if it was a misdemeanor, it would make sense. But serial killers, ect. those are the kind of things that are unforgiveable and shows that they have no repent or guilt. __5 Interesting Facts About Maryland__ 1. Maryland's nickname is "The Old Line State". 2. The state bird is the Baltimore Oriole. 3. Maryland is named after Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I. 4. The Capital of Maryland is Annapolis. 5. The state flower is the Black-eyed Susan.

__5 Interesting Facts About Maryland that Relate to my Issues__ 1. Maryland's economy used to rely on fishing, now it relies on industry. 2. Maryland's agriculture consists of seafood, poultry and eggs, dairy products, nursery stock, cattle, soybeans, and corn. 3. Maryland has 268 schools. 4. Maryland is a national leader in clean and efficient energy supplements. 5. Maryland's education system has received two number-one medals in two years.

__4 Important Issues__ 1. The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug has been immigrated to the United States from Asia. This bug was first noticed in the U.S in late summer, 2010. This bug feeds on host plants, rendering them unable to be sold. The affected plants include, apples, peaches, blackberries, sweet corn, field corn, and soybeans. This has been damaging our rural areas because these insects ruin the plants causing the owners to lose money. Also, the most used method of protecting the plants (pestacides) is actually harming the plants, so it's a lose-lose situation.However, to avoid the spread of the bug, farmers must follow the safety instructions on all containers and equipment.

2. As always, education is a major issue. Some believe that the few federal dollars being spent on the school systems, come with a price. That there are strings attached. Those people believe the federal government should not play such a big role in the schooling. Although the schools are locally funded by states, the federal government's share of the K-12 spending has increased. In 1990-1991 the federal share was 5.7% as of now, the federal share is 8.3%. Also, with the federal funding comes the //No Child Left Behind// act. This has decreased the amount of funding given to schools nationwide while the government still gets a portion of their spending.

3. Another problem that is easily noticed is the current state of the economy. The unemployment rate is slowly, but surely, rising. We are not in a state of depression, however, this rate of unemployment is not one to be bragged. Not only is the unemployment rate an issue, the country's self-sustanability has dropped. We are now taking in more imports than we are sending out exports.

4. The source of energy is also a major issue. Our current sources of energy are major contributors to the pollution problem. If we continue to pollute like this, worst case scenario, we have no more Earth. Best case scenario, the Earth is alive...no more plants, slowly the animals die out, and a thick smog covers the planet. Global Warming, obviously, is an issue. This is causing the temperatures to rise worldwide. Some scientists believe that this will eventually cause the polar ice caps to melt and flood continents severely. Others believe this will cause many phenomena to occur. However you believe it will affect us, it will not be positive.

My Bill: HB36

The purpose of this bill is to reduce or completely erase the cost of keeping a person in jail. Prisoners will grow their own food and work in manufacturing to pay off the costs of the cost of their prison sentence. Any money left over will be evenly deposited into all prisoners bank accounts, that choose to work, and when they get out of prison they will get the money to start off and hopefully be less likely to return to a life of crime.

Resources: __Incarceration in the United States.__ 12 May 2011. 20 May 2011 <[] >. __Vegetable Seeds.__ 20 May 2011 <[] >. Wagner, Peter. "The Prison Index: Taking the Pulse of the Crime Control Industry." Western Prison Project and Prison Policy Initiative, 2003. College, Mary Lou Fulten Teachers. __Current Issues in Education. __ . Heffner, Thomas. __Major Economic Problems Facing the United States. __ 10 May 2011. . University, Penn State. __Brown Marmorated Stink Bug. __ April 2011. .