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0000017a-15d9-d736-a57f-17ff8d070000Race: District 1, U.S. House of RepresentativesParty: RepublicanPolitical Experience: 2010-2012 - U.S. House2006-2009 - Mayor of Manchester2001-2005 - New Hampshire HousePersonal: Married, with two children; lives in ManchesterEducation: Bachelor of Arts, Assumption College; Masters, Franklin Pierce Law CenterCandidate WebsiteIssuesGuinta wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act and enact "market-based reforms" that include allowing insurance to be purchased across state lines."[I]f we could eradicate those state line borders, just start with our region, so every carrier now has the ability to compete not just in New Hampshire but in New England as a region, you will bring more competitive market forces to this area, probably upwards of 30 carriers or more."On immigration, Guinta opposes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants already in the country. He says the U.S. must hire more border patrol agents and construct a wall in "high traffic areas." The current crisis of immigrants fleeing Central America for the U.S., he says, is the result of President Obama's policy of "prosecutorial discretion" to allow some individuals to remain here: "But the vast majority of those individuals can be returned to their home countries with their families."Guinta says he is "disappointed in a whole host of issues" related to the Obama administration's foreign policy, accusing the president of "disengagement" and lack of leadership. While he does not support "boots on the ground" against the Islamic States of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Guinta says the militant group cannot be allowed to grow. "The president is going to have come up with a strategy that doesn’t just contain, but has to eradicate ISIS because Americans would rather, I think, finish this now than deal with it for years and years and years and allow ISIS to become the next Al Qaeda."

Guinta Introduces Bill to Deny VA Execs' Bonuses

Allegra Boverman for NHPR
Guinta at an NHPR forum in 2014

Congressman Frank Guinta has introduced legislation that denies bonuses to senior VA executives who fail to deliver timely care to veterans.
 
Guinta says the Veterans Administration Bonus Elimination Act would provide an incentive for VA hospital executives to schedule appointments within thirty days of a veteran’s request for one.
 
Thirty days is the VA benchmark spelled out in the Veterans Choice law passed in 2014. 
 
Guinta says he wishes such legislation wasn't necessary. "But the reality is, the leadership within the VA has not changed the culture within the VA," he says. "There are good people who work at the VA. We want to make sure that the culture is changed, that the leadership demands an attitude change within the VA."

Last month, the Manchester VA hospital saw nearly 95 percent of patients within 30 days. At the White River Junction, Vermont VA hospital, that number is 96 percent. 
 
The bill was co-introduced with Hawaii Democrat Tulsi Gabbard. Guinta says he’s confident the bill will enjoy bipartisan support. 

Peter Biello is the host of All Things Considered and Writers on a New England Stage at New Hampshire Public Radio. He has served as a producer/announcer/host of Weekend Edition Saturday at Vermont Public Radio and as a reporter/host of Morning Edition at WHQR in Wilmington, North Carolina.
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