Healthcare, partisan politics and STEM education were among the topics Rep. Brad Schneider addressed Wednesday at the Lake Forest Club.
Schneider, who is serving his second term in Congress, spoke at a monthly luncheon organized by the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce. About 75 people attended.
Schneider spoke about the importance of small businesses as employers.
“For the first time, small businesses haven’t led the economic recovery,” Schneider said. “I think some of that is a lack of confidence with what’s happening with the government. Some of that is lack of access to capital.”
Schneider serves on the House Committee on the Judiciary, where he said he’s trying to address issues surrounding immigration.
“According to the Congressional Budget Office, if we passed comprehensive immigration reform, it would add $2 trillion to the economy,” Schneider said. “That’s something I hope to lead on in the committee.”
Schneider responded to questions from attendees, including one about whether there are any efforts to bring U.S. students to parity with those in other countries in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields.
“We are having trouble finding teachers to teach STEM,” Schneider said. “We also need to make sure schools have the resources. Some communities have multiple computers for each student in their schools. Other schools don’t have textbooks, let alone computers.”
He also said Congress shouldn’t replace the Affordable Care Act.
“I think we should work on its problems and fix them,” he said. “(However) I would like to get to the point where we have bipartisan consensus. Right now it’s all us and all them.”
“Is there anything being done to get the two parties to work together?” attendee Steve Rutledge asked.
Schneider said that the freshman class of congressmen had signed a “civility pledge,” and a small group of congressmen from both parties have met to speak informally. Speaking officially on some topics can be challenging, he said.
“As a Democrat, it’s easy for me to talk about immigration,” Schneider said. “For my Republican friends, they could get criticized from the right in their party.”
He also said that Congress shouldn’t repeal the Dodd-Frank (financial regulation) Act passed during the Great Recession.
“I think we should work to refine it and make sure it’s achieving what we need to achieve,” he said.
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