.png)
Concord, N.H. -- In an interview this morning, Governor Chirs Sununu came out in opposition to H.R 1, “the most sweeping anti-corruption measure ... in a generation,” making a series of false claims about the bill. Sununu’s comments come amid reports of a coordinated effort by the Koch network to derail the bill, which would substantially reduce the influence of corporations and billionaires in U.S. elections while cracking down on unethical behavior by lawmakers.
Among other provisions, H.R. 1 would:
Require Presidents and Vice Presidents to release their tax returns
Make it illegal for lawmakers to take action to benefit their or their family members’ financial interest
Ban lawmakers from sitting on corporate boards
Block lawmakers from using taxpayer dollars to settle lawsuits with their employees
Require Congressional employees to disclose outside income
Close loopholes that allow foreign corporations and foreign nationals to spend in American elections
Invest in cybersecurity and traditional security to protect American elections
As Sununu plots to continue his climb up the political ladder, his record makes clear why he’d oppose stronger ethics restrictions on federal officials:
As Governor, Sununu awarded special tax treatment to the resort town where he and his family own a ski resort -- and let out-of-state ski patrollers get the COVID vaccine first, while denying vaccines to teachers and New Hampshire students. Sununu’s latest budget would cut his own taxes while defunding education and Child Protective Services. H.R. 1 codifies rules preventing lawmakers from taking action to benefit their families and themselves financially.
Sununu steered lobbyist and corporate dollars from his inaugural fund to himself, his family, and his political advisors. H.R. 1 would require federal inaugural committees to disclose their expenditures and not make expenditures unrelated to the inauguration.
Sununu exploited a loophole that allowed him to use shell company LLCs to accept campaign cash above legal limits from his donors. H.R. 1 would restrict the ability to use LLC’s to fund federal campaign activity. As governor, Sununu vetoed a bill that would have closed the LLC loophole and stopped wealthy individuals from skirting campaign finance law.
H.R. 1 would impose new restrictions and disclosure requirements on federal lobbyists. Both Sununu’s father and brother have worked as federal lobbyists, and as an Executive Councilor, Sununu voted to give private prison contracts to his family’s lobbying client.
“It’s no surprise that Chris Sununu -- who has spent the last four years using the corner office to benefit himself, his family, and his special interest donors -- opposes the most sweeping anti-corruption bill since Watergate,” said New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley. “Sununu is parroting the talking points pushed by Mitch McConnell and the Koch network who want to continue to rig Washington to benefit big corporations and corrupt politicians like Chris Sununu -- at the expense of the rest of us.”
###