Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.)

Hunter also played a leading role in congressional efforts to question why fewer Medals of Honor are being attributed in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars than in previous ones. He got the House to adopt legislation that would require the Pentagon to review the process by which medals are awarded; he has also advocated for the creation of a veterans panel that would be authorized to recommend overlooked candidates.

Hunter has argued against closing the Guantanamo Bay prison "until the war is over." In particular, he opposes the potential transfer of detainees from Guantanamo Bay to the Marine Corps' Camp Pendleton, situated in the San Diego area.

Immigration

Hunter picked up his father's mantle as one of Congress' staunchest proponents of a fence along the U.S-Mexico border. Within months of joining Congress, Hunter introduced a bill that gave the Department of Homeland Security authority to construct 350 additional miles of reinforced fencing. He has also lobbied DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano to ensure fence construction in specific areas where it had been deemed unnecessary.

Hunter's bill also addressed other immigration-related issues: it banned federal funds going to so-called sanctuary cities where immigrants arrive, imposed stiffer penalties for crimes like weapons smuggling and gave additional immigration agencies the power to investigate drug cases.

Domestic Policy

Hunter has voted against much of the House Democrats' domestic agenda. Most of the time, his stance matched his the House GOP's nearly unanimous opposition to legislation like the February 2009 stimulus package, the March 2010 health-care legislation and the June 2009 cap-and-trade bill aimed at curbing global warming.

"There is absolutely no rational argument for pushing forward legislation that imposes new taxes and costs on energy consumption and causes more jobs to go to countries like India and China," he argued in a statement.

He also opposed the cash-for clunkers program that encouraged the exchange of older cars for more fuel-efficient ones, which 77 House Republicans supported. On the other hand, Hunter supported legislation reforming the credit-card industry; the bill cleared the House with an overwhelming majority and the support of 105 House Republicans.

In 2009, Hunter twice voted against the House bill reforming the health-care system, the first time in the Education and Labor Committee and the second on the House floor. He did so despite the success of his amendment designed to help businesses apply for an exemption to the bill's mandate that employers provide health-care coverage. Hunter argues reform should content itself with tweaking the private insurance systems, notably by banning consideration of pre-existing conditions and by allowing people to purchase insurance across state lines.

He also opposed the final version of the legislation enacted in March 2010.

Social Issues

Hunter opposes abortion rights. He also opposes legalizing gay marriage. "If we let marriage be anything people want it to be, we're going to destroy the very foundation of our society, which is our families," he said during his first congressional campaign. "If you destroy marriage, you're going to destroy America." In 2008, he supported Proposition 8, which outlawed gay-marriage in California.

In February 2010, Hunter voiced opposition to allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the military, arguing it was "bad for the cohesiveness and the unity of the military units, especially those that are in close combat."

He explained that the bond that develops between troops "is broken if you open up the military to transgenders, to hermaphrodites, to gays and lesbians."

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