Mark Scheffler
DemocraticQ1 America has a growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry, supporting cutting edge innovation and reshaping businesses, but raising concerns about education, ownership, and security. Application of AI technology has increased the demand placed on data centers, controversial for their resource use (such as water and land) and raising utility costs. What are your policy positions in regards to data centers and AI? What sources of evidence informed these positions?
Mark supports the development of artificial intelligence engines but only with iron-clad regulations to protect human wellbeing, jobs, data privacy, and of course environmental protections. He’s proposing a 1-year moratorium on all new AI data center construction to give policymakers time to develop a regulatory framework to ensure that this powerful technology benefits humanity, is ecologically friendly, and can be powered entirely by 24/7 renewable energy created right here in America. He also supports strong water quality protections and the use of closed-loop geothermal cooling systems.
KEYWORDS: climate change, renewable energy, clean water
Q2 Making the US competitive in the bioeconomy (using technology applied to renewable biological resources to produce food, energy and industrial goods) requires innovation and investments in business, academia and government. Please describe policies you will support, if any, that relate to workforce development in Wisconsin’s strengths such as agriculture, biotechnology, and energy; and explain their rationale.
Mark is the only candidate in this Congressional race supporting the creation of the world’s largest renewable biomass market powered by America’s farmers. This plan builds on the excellent work being done at UW’s agriculture school and would support the production of renewable biomass for 24/7 electrical generation, bio-fuels (including sustainable aviation fuel - SAF), bio-plastics, building materials, paper products, textiles, etc.. Wisconsin has the resources, Wisconsin has the talent; we just need fresh, independent leaders to think long-term again.
KEYWORDS: biomass, agriculture, next-generation, bio-fuels, renewable energy
Q3 Wisconsin’s public K-12 education systems have seen a significant decline in the past two decades, with more than 600 public schools closing and statewide student enrollment dropping 7%. These impacts have been especially pronounced in Wisconsin’s many rural counties, where opportunities for STEM education are already fewer. What policies, if any, would you support to improve K-12 education for students across Wisconsin?
As the only candidate in this 8th Congressional District race who has taught full-time in a Wisconsin public school, Mark brings a wealth of experience and expertise. He supports educational choice exclusively through public charter schools, his tax modernization plan (#TinyTax) would keep more than $20 billion per year in our local and Wisconsin economy which would be use to increase funding for our shared public infrastructure, including public schools. He also supports a massive increase in funding for the arts and humanities to offset the effects of artificial intelligence and to strengthen student understanding, curiosity, creativity and achievement. Lastly, he supports equalizing funding for schools across rural Wisconsin, winding down our broken voucher program, and supporting job training for advanced manufacturing across the state.
KEYWORDS: public charter schools, tax reform, rural education
Q5 If elected, in what capacities would you refer to scientists when you are deciding how to vote on a policy?
America must continue to lead on scientific research, and must always lead all policy decisions at the local, state, federal and international levels. And this includes not only physical science, but most especially social science research that can help us make better policy decisions designed to help improve human and environmental wellbeing. Mark believes that public policy should never be driven by religion, mythology, tribalism, nor by intuition. While there are certainly areas of human endeavor that can include these concepts, public policy should never be one of them.
KEYWORDS: objectivity, social science, scientific discovery, prosperity, human wellbeing
Q6 In 2025 alone, the National Institute on Health (NIH) awarded over $575 million for research grants and contracts to Wisconsin universities and hospitals, which directly supported over 6,500 jobs and generated an estimated $1.37 billion of economic activity. However, federal funding cuts for science research and agencies like the NIH and National Science Foundation leave the future for scientific research less assured. What policies, if any, do you support or plan to implement to promote continued funding for scientific research?
Mark’s tax reform proposal (#TinyTax) would fully fund all spending allocated by Congress in the 2022-24 budget, including fully funding the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institute on Health, the National Academy of Science, NASA, et.al.. Mark believes strongly that impounding Congressional spending by the executive branch is bth unconstitutional and outright unworkable and he supports strengthening the separation of powers between Congress and the Executive Branch. He also supports minimizing Presidential executive orders as a means of instituting public policy.
KEYWORDS: #TinyTax, NIH, CDC, NASA