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Candidate Forum: Ashley Hinson — U.S. Rep. Iowa District 1 Republican candidate

EDITOR’S NOTE: Candidate forums will appear on page 3 in the Sunday editions of the Times-Republican throughout the month of September. The timing of the forums is to provide candidate answers for readers prior to the beginning of voting by mail on Oct. 5.

ABOUT THE CANDIDATE:

<strong>Age: 37

Residence: Marion

Hometown: West Des Moines

Profession: State Representative in Iowa’s 67th district

Education: University of Southern California, B.A. Broadcast Journalism – graduated in 3 years

Family: Matt, husband; two sons, Max, 9 and Jax, 7.

Experience: A former award-winning journalist in Cedar Rapids for KCRG, current State Representative in the Iowa House

Website: www.ashleyhinson.com

What are three of the most important issues Iowa will face during your two-year term as a U.S. Representative?

The cost of prescription drugs continues to rise, and Congress has yet to come to the table and find a solution to fix this. In Congress, I will fight to lower the cost of medication and work towards finding a balance between bringing new drugs to the market and making sure they are affordable.

I will work to end the over-regulation and the red tape that is hurting our small businesses. We must protect them and their workers.

Defunding the police is not a salient solution. I will go to Washington, stand up for our law enforcement, and work to find solutions while ensuring that our kids and neighborhoods remain safe.

What can be changed or improved about the Affordable Care Act?

Under the Affordable Care Act, premiums have nearly doubled. It’s clear the ACA is not working for everybody and significant changes are needed. But we cannot replace Obamacare until we have a plan in place that will always protect those with pre-existing conditions.

We need to offer more health insurance and benefit options so individuals have choices and don’t have to rely on the ACA. But what’s most critical is that we bring both sides to the table to come up with a bipartisan solution to make health care better.

What can be done in the House of Representatives to provide relief to Iowa farmers?

We’ve made great strides the past few years with the USMCA and opening up new markets like Japan, and seeing tariffs decrease for Iowa Beef and Pork sold to Taiwan. But we need to continue to look for ways to level the playing field on trade and continue opening up new markets for our farmers.

Where do you stand on immigration reform?

In order to keep our kids and our neighborhoods safe, we must secure our border, ban sanctuary cities and immediately deport illegal immigrants who commit crimes. Our immigration should be focused on welcoming immigrants who do the right things and come to our country legally.

I would support efforts to expand the number of H1-B Visas the country issues every year.

What more can be done to provide opportunities to our veterans? How can you help assure they have accessible and comprehensive health care?

We need to do a better job connecting veterans who are already skilled at a craft. We need to remove barriers to entry, which I’ve done in the Iowa House of Representatives. An electrician in the military can be an electrician here in Iowa and doesn’t need to go through months of training.

We need to expand and fully fund the Veterans Choice program. It’s vital veterans have access to care without having to drive hours or wait months for appointments.

How would you differentiate yourself from your opponent?

The two biggest differences between my opponent and myself are life experience and the ability to work across the aisle. While my opponent has made a career out of politics, I’ve spent my career talking to Iowans and working in the community as a reporter and volunteer. My experience helped me learn what folks in Iowa want and need.

I’ve worked across the aisle on reforms and helped find solutions that cut taxes for middle-class families.

My opponent has focused on moving up in the ranks of her party. She’s part of Nancy Pelosi’s team and has voted with the speaker 93 percent of the time. That’s just not a record that works for Iowa.

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