Vandana Jhingan: Candidate Profile

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Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioQA Bio City: SchaumburgWebsite: www.vandanaforcongress.comTwitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: 8th District U.S. Representative Age: Candidate did not respond.Family: Married for 20 YearsOccupation: Midwest Bureau Chief, TV AsiaEducation: Masters in Industrial Relations and Personnel Management Masters in Marketing Sales Management Masters in Public Relations Journalism Masters in Advertising Marketing Undergrad in Economics and Philosophy Certified Yoga InstructorCivic involvement: Board Member- Board of Health Schaumburg Commissioner - Sister City Commission SchaumburgElected offices held: NoneQuestions Answers What do you think is the government's responsibility in assuring that citizens have health care? To what extent does the Affordable Care Act address this responsibility? What, if any, changes are needed in the act.The Federal role should be limited. It should only be involved to the point of making sure that the playing field is fair and level for competition between providers. Selling policies across state lines should be legalized and the more providers encouraged to get into the marketplace, the more that costs will be driven down and choices for consumers will increase. We need better solutions for special needs and disabled persons who often rely on Medicaid and other programs because they cannot afford private insurance. These vulnerable populations need and deserve compassionate and effective care from our country. But even these populations can benefit from state programs delivering services in place of Federal solutions. I support a repeal and replace of Obamacare that ends the individual mandate, allows insurance to be sold across state lines, and is free market oriented.What immigration policies do you support? Where, if at all, do you see room for compromise to produce an effective policy on immigration? What, if any, responsibility does the government have toward immigrants referred to as Dreamers who were brought to the United States illegally as children and are now adults? How will these policies affect your district?I am a first-generation immigrant and understand the value of immigration. Our immigration system is in need of a complete overhaul. We need to remove the chain migration and lottery based system and replace it with point based system. This will bring in the immigrant that will add tremendous value to American system. Regarding any individual here illegally, who commits a violent crime, must be incarcerated and returned to their home country. No exceptions. Second, the borders should be better protected and security should be enhanced to restrict the flow of illegals coming to this country. We should encourage and streamline legal immigration to make it quicker to process and allow qualified students and high tech/high skilled individuals to come here, by invitation, and work and learn. Before looking at DACA we need to look at DALCA Ãcirc;#144; the dreamers who came here legally. I am strongly in favor of providing a path to these 200,000 dreamers who came here legally. They currently are out of status or are separated from their families' due to long wait for their parents to get green cards while they crossed the age of 21 and cannot continue to be on a dependent visa. The issue with DACA and Dreamers is that it encourages their parents to break the law and come here illegally. Perhaps a compromise bill that allows certain high performing (education or work) illegal immigrants to stay, if they pay a fine and get in line for legal immigration.What military or diplomatic roles should the United States play to promote peace and stability in the Mideast? Under what circumstances should we have military forces actively operating?We should continue to support and defend Israel. We should continue the fight against ISIS and other terrorist organizations that seek to destabilize the region. We need to allocate some of those resources into an increase in human intelligence, on the ground, and through technology, to track their movements and prevent attacks before they happen. We also need to closely monitor the countries providing cover / safe haven / sponsorship to terrorists and take strict measures to stop them including cutting aid and imposing sanctions to the fullest extent. Military force should only be used as a last resort if a rogue nation is on the verge of being able to launch ICBM nuclear missiles or has crossed into the borders of another country unprovoked.What should the United States be doing to reduce the threat of potential nuclear conflict from North Korea?We need to continue to isolate North Korea and strictly enforce sanctions. If all other efforts fail, and intelligence is able to locate nuclear powered weapons in North Korea, we should consider preventatively striking and disabling those targets before they can be turned on South Korea or other countries. The North Korean leader is too unstable to be allowed to have working ICBM weapons.How would you describe the effectiveness of Congress today? If you think Congress needs to be more effective, what would you do to promote that?Congress moves too slowly. Too much partisan bickering and not enough real solutions. Long term solutions are needed to make sure Medicare and Social Security solvent. The Medicaid rolls have to be cleansed of illegal immigrants and people who do not legitimately qualify income wise. Reduction of spending and eliminating wasteful and duplicative programs is needed and the Trump administration has taken good steps in that direction. Congress must also have a passion for less spending and less regulation and stop raising the debt ceiling. I will work towards eliminating unnecessary regulations while engaging with all sides to get real solutions.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Fiscal Conservatism and Free Enterprise: Lower taxes, smaller government, less regulation. Reduced spending, balanced budget, do not raise the debt ceiling. I strongly believe in a Constitutional Amendment to balance the budget. No government should be allowed to spend more than what it takes. Planning a 6% increase for a department's budget and then reducing it by 2% to 4% is not fiscal discipline. Government should behave like individuals, families and businesses who have to reign in and control their spending based on their income. In 2018, our party is going to introduce welfare and entitlement reform legislation. We have to prevent these programs from going bankrupt. I strongly believe in teaching people how to fish rather than to give them a fish. Family Values: Pro-life. No marriage penalty in tax policy. Child care tax credits. Keeping our promises to our Veterans and Seniors. I believe that the foundation of any community or nation comes from its families. Strong families mean a strong nation. I will support all legislation that supports and keeps the family together. Firm Foreign Policy: Rework the Iran Nuclear Deal. Do not allow North Korea to develop a working ICBM nuclear program. Rectify trade imbalance, renegotiate NAFTA and other trade deals particularly with China. Aggressively snuff out ISIS and other terrorist groups. The United States as the leader of the Free world needs to have a firm foreign policy to combat radical Islam, discourage dictatorial regimes and contain territorial expansions.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.UN Ambassador and Former Governor Nikki HaleyWhat is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Do not spend money that you do not have.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?No regrets. I feel blessed with my family and ability to serve othersWhat was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Government and Political Science. It helped me to navigate and understand government working and help the community.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Respect your elders. Listen closely to advice from mentors.