FACT CHECK: Sununu Spends Significant Effort Lobbying For Anti-Choice Budget

FACT CHECK: Sununu Spends Significant Effort Lobbying For Anti-Choice Budget He Falsely Claimed “Is Not My Bill” This is Chris Sununu’s anti-choice, pro-voucher budget

Chris Sununu falsely claims that he does not have the power to remove the extreme abortion ban or school voucher provisions in the state budget. But the truth is that Sununu is spending significant time lobbying his fellow Republicans to pass the anti-choice budget — spending an hour of his time on Friday urging Republican members to pass it. And Republican leaders, including Senate President Chuck Morse, have said that nothing is in the budget that doesn’t have the support of Sununu. And publicly, Sununu has repeatedly praised the budget, saying the budget is full of “good stuff” and said the State Senate did a “great job” in putting it together. SUNUNU’S CLAIMS: Sununu Says it Would Be “Irresponsible” to Veto Budget That Includes Abortion Ban That Wasn’t His Proposal. “But again, you, this, first of all, let's be very clear: none of this was my proposal, right? It really wasn't [...] You want to veto a 13 billion dollar budget, that would be irresponsible, because I support the concept that they're putting forth the core concept of not allowing abortions at such a late point in a pregnancy.” [Governor’s COVID press conference, 6/17/21] Sununu Claims He Doesn’t Have the Power to Strike “One Item” Out of the Budget. "'First, it is not my bill,' said Sununu. It is the Legislature's proposal. And 43 other states have similar clauses, including Massachusetts and New York, who have almost the exact same law. No one is screaming at them. Do you want me to scrap a $13 billion budget for this one item? I will not do that." [Foster’s Daily Democrat, 6/16/21] THE FACTS: Sununu Spent Over an Hour Lobbying the House Republican Caucus to Vote For His Budget. “Gov. Chris Sununu spoke for more than an hour to the New Hampshire House Republican majority caucus Friday afternoon, seeking to unite the members behind the $13.5 billion compromise two-year state budget and especially the policy-driven trailer bill approved Thursday by a House-Senate committee of conference [...] ‘His message was that this was a huge win for the caucus. I think he helped them to appreciate the full spectrum of the proposal and that will help them to overcome some of the reservations they may have with particular pieces.’" [WMUR, 6/18/21] Sununu Has Previously Vetoed Budgets That He Disagrees With. In 2019, Sununu Vetoed the State Budget Because He Disagreed With it. [NHPR, 6/28/19] Senate President Chuck Morse and Senator Jeb Bradley Worked With the Governor to Get “Our Objectives” Passed in the Budget. “‘Sen. [Jeb] Bradley and I worked with our House counterparts and the governor to make sure we got our objectives passed.’” [NH Journal, 6/17/21] Senate President Chuck Morse Says “He Won’t Put Anything In the Budget That Governor Chris Sununu Won’t Support.” “The deal on HB417 - limiting the Governor's emergency powers - is in trouble. Senator Morse is saying that language might be added to HB2, but he won't put anything in the budget that Governor Chris Sununu won't support.” [Adam Sexton, 6/16/21] Sununu Praised the Budget As “Full Of Good Stuff.” “Gov. Chris Sununu applauded the $13.5 billion state budget compromise reached by Republican negotiators in the House and Senate Thursday as a great deal for New Hampshire taxpayers and a prudent response to the needs of the state. ‘There’s a lot of good stuff in there,’ Sununu said at a Concord press conference [...] Sununu also defended several non-spending items that Republicans have included in the budget plan, including an ultrasound requirement for all people seeking an abortion in New Hampshire and a ban on abortions at 24 weeks, with no exceptions in cases of rape or incest." [NHPR, 6/17/21] Sununu Said That He Asked the Senate to Remove the House Divisive Concepts Bill From the Budget. Sununu: “I do appreciate that they took that old piece of garbage and threw it away, which we asked them to, and they couldn't even pass it and replace it with something that was more stable,” [NH Today with Chris Ryan, 6/3/21] Sununu Said the State Senate Republicans Did a “Great Job” Putting the Budget Together. Sununu: “Well, I tell you, they did they did a great job in that they especially on the fiscal aspects.” [NH Today with Chris Ryan, 6/3/21]