Republican

Candidate name: Michael S. Steele

Place of residence: Landover Hills

Date of birth: Oct. 19, 1958

Place of birth: Andrews Air Force Base, Prince George’s County

Current occupation: Lieutenant governor of Maryland

Education: Law degree, Georgetown University; bachelor’s, Johns Hopkins University

Community involvement: Board of Visitors, U.S. Naval Academy; State House Trust, East Baltimore Development Corp.; Export-Import Bank Advisory Committee; Prince George’s NAACP

Family: Wife, Andrea; two sons, Michael and Drew.

Campaign office address and telephone: Steele for Maryland, 3611 Branch Ave., Temple Hills, MD, 443-603-1288

Web site: www.SteeleforMaryland.com

Link to state Board of Elections campaign finance database

One of my absolute first goals in the U.S. Senate is to implement policies promoting economic empowerment. It is the responsibility of our leaders to create policies that encourage greater entrepreneurship and ownership in Maryland and across the country.

Secondly, we must fix the current failures and disparities in our education system. No child in America should be deprived of opportunities for success because they lack access to a quality education.

Thirdly, we must focus more federal attention and federal resources to combating the crime and drug use that plagues too many of our communities. Economic and educational success thrive in safe neighborhoods and loving families; inversely, where people are empowered to pursue economic and educational excellence, crime is no longer an acceptable option.

How would you rate the performance of the U.S. Senate excellent, good, fair or poor? Why?

When most of us look at the U.S. Senate, we see an institution and a power structure that cares more about itself than about our problems. We see lobbyists looking to peddle influence and too many elected officials ready to be influenced unduly. We see multi-national corporations get their way while small businesses struggle to navigate a punishing tax and health care structure. The whole system’s broken, and it’s time for change. That is why I am running for the United States Senate.

Do you have a timeline on when the U.S. should pull out of Iraq?

We need to steadily increase support to the Iraqi people so they can take control of their own destiny — policing and governing themselves — and we can begin to accelerate the process of bringing our troops home. Any politician out there talking about timetables is playing into the hands of our enemies who have an enormous capacity to wait.

How should the government pay for the war on terror?

There is no doubt that war requires sacrifice and fiscal constraint. We have a responsibility to ensure that our armed forces have the supplies, the equipment, and the technologies they need.

The government is also required to be fiscally responsible with taxpayer money. Like most Maryland families, Congress must prioritize spending so we are adequately addressing our most necessary funding needs, and not wasting money on pork barrel spending projects and bridges to nowhere.

Would you make any changes to the way the Department of Homeland Security is run?

The federal response to Hurricane Katrina clearly indicates Congress should take a closer look at our national emergency response resources, organization and capabilities. Investigating the effectiveness and operational abilities of DHS would be an important priority in the U.S. Senate.

Additionally, I have called on Congress to restore Maryland’s homeland security funding grants. The Department of Homeland Security recently announced their 2006 homeland security grants which represent a 40 percent cut to New York City and Washington D.C., and a $6 million slash in homeland security funding for Baltimore. We must work to immediately restore funding to protect our state and Washington, D.C. — home to many high-profile terrorist targets.

What should be done to save Social Security?

We all know we have a problem with the solvency of our Social Security program. As you read this, our nation is faced with four choices: raise taxes, reduce spending, borrow money from the public, or comprehensively reform the system in order to pay for it. Sadly, Washington continues to fail our seniors by continuing to politicize this issue instead of securing and modernizing the program. It’s time to stop the noise about this issue and make some real reforms.

I do not have a narrow view of the past or future of our social security system. My concern is for both my mother and my 17-year-old son. Our first priority must be ensuring that the system remain solvent and that the funds are in place for our seniors who are currently retired or nearing retirement. However, I would also support reforming the system to build in the flexibility necessary to allow the next generation of beneficiaries to have some ownership over their retirement choices.

What should be done to save Medicare?

Medicare should be about saving lives. We must ask ourselves what can be done to make certain seniors have access to life-saving medicines and medical treatments. This means ensuring our seniors and their families have the information they need to make informed choices about what’s best for their health care.

With an aging population and continued cost pressures, Medicare should find more ways to employ information technology — technologies that have been shown to reduce medical errors and improve patient care, such as electronic medical records and e-prescribing. These technologies not only save lives but also save money.

I have previously called on the President and Congressional leadership to extend the sign up period for the Medicare Prescription Drug plan, and I will repeat that call again. Maryland seniors need more time to learn about the different drug plan options available to them, so they can make the best choices for their health care. Unfortunately, Washington has once again failed Marylanders by rushing through a program just to meet a government timeline, instead of the best interests of our seniors.

What is your position on the death penalty?

As a Roman Catholic former seminarian, I am pro-life. I am against the death penalty.

What is your position on abortion?

As a Roman Catholic former seminarian, I am pro-life. I would support a law which allowed for exceptions of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is threatened.

Do you support same-sex marriages? Why?

First and foremost, I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. As this issue continues to be debated, many of the proposals include approaches dictated from Washington. As someone who has supported an amendment to Maryland’s state constitution recognizing marriage as between a man and woman, I will continue my efforts to ensure Maryland does not recognize same-sex marriages. At the same time, I will be unwavering in my support and respect for the United States Constitution. Washington does not need to solve this issue; Maryland needs to solve the issue.

Do you support the federal No Child Left Behind law? Why or Why not?

No Child Left Behind is an example of a good idea but poor execution. While the goals of the program are on target, and Maryland has certainly benefited from NCLB funding, talking to Maryland students and teachers makes it clear that the program itself has fallen short of expectations.

For too long, Washington politicians have given lip service to real education reform, short-changed our teachers in both pay and training, made excuses for poor parental involvement and compromised the future of our students. They compromised our students when they didn’t increase Pell Grant awards and eliminated the Carl Perkins program. They short-changed our teachers when they left them struggling in the classroom without the necessary skills and tools needed to succeed; or without enough money to retire on.

Unless we get serious about getting parents involved in their children’s education or about honestly assessing and applying true reforms, we risk the very future of our nation — our children. I am committed to changing the business-as-usual attitude in Washington and Maryland which has made teaching and learning more of a challenge than an opportunity.

What state transportation projects are a priority for you and how should we pay for them?

Since 2003, there are 120 new transportation projects in development, including the expansion of I-95, the Inter-county Connector, and Metro subway improvements.

In the U.S. Senate, I will seek federal funding to advance the two new transit lines in Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties, improvements to Interstate-70, and the Green Line Metro extension to Fort Meade. I will also work to dedicate more federal resources to developing the Purple Line of the Metro and fund Transit Oriented Development Projects — especially those focused on the much-needed development of Metro stations in Prince George’s County.

To fund large transportation projects, we need to explore nontraditional funding strategies such as matches from local jurisdictions and private developers.

Has Sarbanes-Oxley worked? Is there more the government can do to prevent corporate corruption?

Publicly traded companies should be held accountable to their stockholders, their employees and to the general public through transparent accounting practices and the increased supervision of auditing companies. I look forward to reviewing any recommendations from the SEC’s advisory committee charged with assessing the impact of regulations on smaller companies, including the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation.