SikhSpectrum.com Quarterly Issue No.15, February 2004
Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria for United States Senate
Preet Mohan Singh Ahluwalia Dr. Chirinjeev Singh Kathuria graduated valedictorian in 1983 from Downers Grove North
High School. He earned undergraduate and medical degrees from Brown
University and an M.B.A. from Stanford. Dr. Kathuria's group made a
$55,000 investment in The X-Stream Networks, Inc., and he became a
Director and major shareholder. He also helped pioneer the free ISP
concept.
The X-Stream networks, Inc. was sold for USD 75 million in cash and
stock and merged with LibertySurf. Dr. Kathuria was instrumental in
helping build MirCorp and is a former founding director. MirCorp
created
world history on April 4, 2000 when the company became the world's
first to privately launch and fund a manned space program.
Dr.
Kathuria's published papers include Biotechnology in the Uncommon
Market which was published in Biotechnology magazine in December 1992
and Segmentation of aneurysms via connectivity from MRI brain data
which was published in the Proceedings of the International Society
for Optical Engineering in 1993.
When asked why he decided to stand for public office, Dr. Kathuria answered, "Any success that I have achieved I owe to the opportunities and freedoms that America has given me. That's why I want to represent the people of Illinois in the U.S. Senate - to help them have the same opportunities I've had that they may have missed out on in the past. It's my turn to give back to this great nation."
The Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization (IVI-IPO) has endorsed Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria. It represents an estimated 900,000 voters throughout the state.
Recently SikhSpectrum.com caught up with Dr. Kathuria on his campaign. In this interview he shares some of his views on important topics of national and international relevance.
SikhSpectrum: What are your views on affirmative action programs in US Universities?
I am very sensitive to the needs of minority students. Purely from a practical viewpoint, it hurts those students who have good scores and are from the Asian American, African-American and the Hispanic communities. Nevertheless, I would go with what the Supreme Court ruled in University of Michigan case where they essentially said that a quota system is unconstitutional. As per the ruling, race could be used as one of the factors, maybe along with a student’s financial ability to pay. I agree with the Supreme Court decision on this issue.
SikhSpectrum: Since you are a medical doctor by training, what do you think about the debate on human cloning and stem cell research?
As a medical doctor, I definitely see the value in stem cell research. I would go with the Bush administration approved guidelines. I don’t have any issue with it. Stem cells could be extremely valuable in cases like treating Parkinson’s disease. I wouldn’t use if, for example, stem cells are just grown or harvested from an aborted fetus, something on those lines, or a fetus is grown only for stem cells. I would think it is unethical. Right now, I don’t agree with human cloning.
SikhSpectrum: What about abortion?
I am against late term and partial birth abortion. After six months when the fetus is alive, I don’t recommend it. From our survey 90 percent of America would agree with it.
SikhSpectrum: With the aging baby boom population do you feel we need medical reforms in this country?
Lets start with Social Security. When you pay into Social Security it is basically an IOU, that is, when you pay the Government the money just doesn’t sit there. The Government spends it the way it wants. Now with the growing up of the baby boom generation things have changed. Right now the Social Security is twice the US deficit, and we are getting only 1.3 percent rate of return on it.
I would create a Personal Retirement Account where you can take a part of your money for social security and invest it. This way you are assured at least 5 percent rate of return.
Second entitlement program that needs to be revisited is Medicare. The issue with healthcare is several folds. Only 12 percent of the people use the private system. If you are a small business owner, health insurance is too expensive. If you work part-time and are not employed by a corporation, again it is too expensive. I feel you should be able to deduct it from taxes and make it more affordable.
I propose the need for a Medical Savings Account. If an uninsured person enters the hospital through emergency, the treatment and overnight stay could cost more than $1000. I believe the uninsured should be able to buy health care vouchers that are tax deductible. This way they could go to their primary care physician and get treated at the early stages, instead of waiting till the illness gets bad and requires hospitalization.
SikhSpectrum: The economy has been slow in the last few years, and the recent indicators are nor very encouraging. Any comments.
With President Bush’s tax cuts we saw a 7.2 percent growth in economy, which is one of the largest we have seen in twenty years. A basic business rule is that revenue minus costs is profit. If the Government gets more revenue and it cuts its cost, then hopefully it will get rid of its deficit and maybe see a surplus. I will stimulate small businesses to generate majority of American jobs. I am in favor of reducing the Capital Gains tax, State tax and giving companies incentives to make technology investments. All this should generate more economic growth.
For US companies overseas, I will encourage them to come back and invest here. I propose one-year tax forgiveness.
SikhSpectrum: So this is your way of addressing offshore outsourcing, which is slowly becoming a political issue and a public debate.
There are two things. Allow them to come back to the US and get taxed just 5 percent instead of 35 percent. That will increase the revenue, and it should bring $300b to the US economy. The second thing I propose is balance the budget. I am not in favor of tax increases. However, I propose a balanced budget Constitutional Amendment with the Senate “voting up or down” that is, if a certain issue was introduced in the Senate you vote yes or now. This prevents the need for unnecessary discussions and debates.
SikhSpectrum: The State of Illinois has a $5b deficit. Obviously you are concerned about it.
Right. Illinois gets only 77 cents back from the federal government for every dollar it collects and it ranks 44 from among 50 states. We need to bring more federal money into the state for investment. We need to work together. Whoever gets selected will be the junior Senator so our clout is limited in Washington DC. We will need to form a coalition and alliances with both Republicans and Democrats to bring money back into Illinois.
SikhSpectrum: You are ok with bipartisan approach on certain issues. You are open to inviting Democrats if it benefits the state of Illinois or the nation.
Absolutely. The way the Government is set up, you definitely need bipartisan support. The idea is to figure how to get this country to achieve results. I will work with both Republicans and the Democrats.
SikhSpectrum: After the Janet Jackson super bowl fiasco, the U.S. House of Representatives is considering a “three strikes and you’re off” the air provision, that could revoke the licenses of radio and television broadcasters who repeatedly break indecency rules. Would you support this legislation?
I definitely heard of the legislation. I need to first read the wording. I feel there is a lot of sense in the legislation, but I also believe that we cannot compromise the freedom of speech and press that makes America great and sets it apart from many other countries. We should tread carefully on going along that line.
SikhSpectrum: You were involved with MirCorp and sending the first private citizen in Space. With President Bush’s vision of a permanent station on Moon and further exploration of Mars, I would imagine that you support these programs.
Absolutely. I was the former founding Director of MirCorp. A lot of people are criticizing the President’s proposal. This proposal will only increase NASA’s budget by 5 percent. It has been thirty years since we sent man on the moon, and if you recall the promise of President John F. Kennedy to the American people, of putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade, it was undoubtedly, “One small step for man, and a giant step for mankind.” There were more people who wanted to become astronauts than president of the United States. We need goals like this, which will bring the nation together. I will tell the President, lets go to Mars and beyond.
SikhSpectrum: On March 2001, President Bush announced his opposition to ratifying the Kyoto protocol. This was not well received by many global environmental groups especially after the fact that the Clinton administration was more receptive toward regulating greenhouse gas emissions. Do you have any specific views on it or do you feel that this is a dead issue?
With Kyoto we need to keep in mind that although it is a good idea, all countries must comply with a certain minimum level. For example, in many developing nations the pollution levels are extreme. Pollution appears to be a greater problem in the developing world than here in the United States.
We should first get the rest of the world to comply to a certain minimum standards, and then look at signing the Kyoto treaty. It is something we should definitely keep in mind.
SikhSpectrum: In the recently concluded WTO talks in Cancun, the G-22 block resisted what was perceived as the European and American dominance. Under these circumstances do you think that WTO, as a world body, has a future?
America has only signed 3 of the 131 free trade agreements. Without a doubt we are a global player. My philosophy is, if you want to grow American jobs and businesses, you have to grow a global playing field. Small American businesses would love to send their goods to India, South America, Africa etc. but they don’t know how to do business there and who to call. We need a small business trade authority.
The Free Trade agreements need to be fair. With China I will open it, although I am not sure whether on a permanent basis, because of the human rights issues there. Trade agreements must be fair, and I think WTO has a major role to play in the future.
SikhSpectrum: President Bush recently repealed the steel tariffs possibly under the threat of over $2b dollars of sanctions by Europe. However, Europe still refuses to allow imports of American beef injected with growth hormones, and it issued a moratorium on genetically modified foods. The US has now complained to WTO. Would you like to comment?
Take the mad cow disease, we did not have that much of a fallout. Basically, you need to reach an understanding on tariffs and fair trade. This is the advantage of having WTO that allows us to grow commerce without the borders.
SikhSpectrum: What about nuclear non-proliferation, which has gained more importance now with the resumption of North Korea’s nuclear program and the involvement of Dr. A.Q. Khan of Pakistan in the clandestine sale of nuclear technology and know how?
It is a very serious issue. We need to tell these countries that nuclear proliferation is not acceptable, and if they want to integrate in world economy and continue receiving foreign aid they must sign a nuclear non-proliferation agreement. Muammar Qadaffi of Libya, after Iraq, wisely decided to open up to international inspections and stop the nuclear program. This is the way they can be encouraged to integrate into the global economy.
SikhSpectrum: How about the expansion of NATO to include more countries?
NATO is a good alliance. The more countries there are the better it is. It stabilizes our balance of power. The real issue is the terrorist threat, and if more countries join together to combat this threat it makes sense.
SikhSpectrum: You support Bush Administration’s global war on terrorism. Most people do.
Yes, definitely. With the Patriot Act there are some good things and some bad things. Let’s talk about the war on terror. Since September 11 there has been no attack on the American soil. Is it not incredible. The war on terrorism is working. The war on Iraq is a just war when you have dictators torturing, raping, and murdering their citizens. We should use satellites and technology to fight this war together with good human intelligence. We need to educate people that this is a war against terrorism and not any particular religion. For global hot spots like Palestine we must get them more involved in the global economy. Use the National Guard to protect our borders if necessary.
SikhSpectrum: You mentioned the Patriot Act. America Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has a lot of issues with the Patriot Act. What are your views on it?
Take the case of business. The best way to kill a business is to cut its flow of capital. What the Patriot Act does is very good; it freezes the terrorists’ accounts. As regards civil liberties, it does violate some of it and we must strive for a balance. The Patriot Act does a lot of good things but it goes too far in violating the civil liberties.
SikhSpectrum: If this were to come up would you be supporting it?
Yes, I would definitely support a modified Patriot Act where you freeze terrorists accounts but don’t take away people’s civil liberties.
SikhSpectrum: In July 2002, the International Criminal Court (ICC) came into effect. Just before leaving office, Bill Clinton signed the treaty with a recommendation that it not be ratified. What do you think is the future of ICC now that the Bush administration has initiated a global war on terror?
As a scientist and a doctor, before we make any decision we first see the MRI and the lab tests to understand the problem correctly. The same is with business. We look at all the factors on how the company is doing, the management, etc.
The times have changed. It is something we should study whether I support it or not. We need to evaluate where we are with the global war on terror, and then make the right decisions.
SikhSpectrum: Dr. Kathuria thank you for your time, and good luck on your campaign.
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