John E. Sununu

John Sununu
United States Senator from New Hampshire
Incumbent
Assumed office January 7, 2003 Serving with Judd Gregg
Preceded by	Robert C. Smith
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire's 1st district
In office January 7, 1997 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	William H. Zeliff
Succeeded by	Jeb Bradley
Personal details
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Kitty Sununu
Alma mater	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

John Edward Sununu (born September 10, 1964) is a Republican United States Senator from New Hampshire. At age 43, Sununu is currently the youngest member of the Senate.

Personal

Sununu, one of eight siblings, was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Nancy Hayes and former Governor of New Hampshire and White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu. He has Lebanese, Palestinian, Irish, Scottish and English ancestry. Sununu earned both B.S. and M.S. in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1987 and an M.B.A. from Harvard University in 1991. After graduating, he worked in the high-tech industry, at one time for the company of Dean Kamen and as a management consultant for PRTM.

Sununu and his wife, Catherine ("Kitty"), have three children: John, (Catherine) Grace, and Charlotte.

Political offices

In 1996, Sununu was elected to the United States House of Representatives. He was reelected in 1998 and 2000.

In 2002, Sununu ran for a United States Senate seat from New Hampshire. He defeated the Republican incumbent Bob Smith in the primary, then defeated Governor Jeanne Shaheen in the general election by a margin of 51%-46%.

John Sununu as a U.S. Representative

In 1999, NH's Christian Coalition gave "pro-family" awards to both NH Representatives, Sununu and Charles Bass, honoring the vote by both men to impeach President Bill Clinton.

On November 8, 2000, the Boston Globe noted Sununu's defeat of Democratic newcomer Martha Fuller Clark, noting that Sununu had "one of the House's most conservative voting records" — opposing abortion and increased minimum wages while favoring school vouchers and the death penalty.

In 2001, the New York Times described Sununu as a likely contender for the Senate seat then held by NH's Robert C. Smith, calling Sununu "a three-term conservative considered to be on the fast track in the House." The article noted that Sununu's backers included "some of the biggest Republican names in New Hampshire" as well as antitax advocate Grover Norquist.

U.S. Senate actions and positions

Positions in accord with Republican leadership

According to a Washington Post study, Sununu has voted the Republican position 84% of the time. In addition Sununu strongly supports less restricted access to firearms and voted against renewing the Clinton assault weapons ban in 2004. He strongly opposes amnesty for illegal aliens and voted against comprehensive immigration reform in July of 2007.

Sununu was one of only three Senators whose voting record received a score of 100% from the fiscally conservative Club for Growth, which in February 2007 endorsed his bid for re-election. [1]

Although his fellow NH Republican Senator Judd Gregg has often broken away from Republican positions on climate-related votes, Sununu has not. In 2007, the Concord (NH) Monitor described the contrast between NH's two senators as follows: ""Sununu ... said research on renewable fuels is worthy of government research money, though he voted against a measure in 2005 requiring utilities to use a percentage of renewable energy. A program to cap power plant emissions but allow the generators to buy and trade carbon allowances is "a logical place to start" because it has worked for controlling other pollutants, he said. But he voted down the Climate Stewardship Act of 2003, which would have created a cap-and-trade program. Gregg supported it. The senators also split on an amendment to the 2005 energy bill that would have expressed the Senate's desire for the United States to take action on climate change, with Sununu voting against it." [2]

Positions in opposition to Republican leadership

Sununu has sometimes taken positions contrary to the Bush administration and the Republican leadership. He voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment and he opposes restrictions on travel and trade with Cuba, and was one of only two Republicans to vote in favor of terminating funds for TV Martí, which broadcasts anti-Castro programming in Cuba. He was one of a small group of Republicans to vote in favor of banning loans to China for any nuclear projects, and in September of 2005 he voted to disapprove a new rule set in place by the Administrator of the EPA delisting coal and other energy sources from the Clean Air Act.

He also has become well known as one of the five Republican Senators who joined Democrats in a filibuster of the USA PATRIOT Act renewal conference report. This caused the Republican leadership to extend the original legislation until a compromise bill was forged.

In January 2006, at a hearing in front of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on the Broadcast Flag, he was one of the very few present to criticize the legislation. He stated:

• In all cases [of previous technological advancements in the US], we didn't need to step in with a significant statutory government-regulated mandate on technology that consumers use to enjoy this material,
• I don't know of a case where we were discussing such a dramatic step where the federal government will legislatively mandate a specific type of technology to be incorporated in all of this material. Maybe the sky really is falling this time, but I think it is worth suggesting a little bit of skepticism, it's worth offering up a little doubt before we not just entertain this, but jump ahead to what exemptions were required.
• The very technologies that some seem to be afraid of are driving innovation, and driving creativity as we sit here today. In fact, we have an unprecedented wave of creativity and product development and content development... I think the history of government mandates... is that it always, always restricts innovation. Why would we think this one special time... it will actually encourage innovation? [3]

In October 2006, Sununu voted against a portion of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 that would suspend the right of habeas corpus for non-citizen detainees. After voting in favor of the final bill, he defended his voted by telling reporters "The Constitution is not a suicide pact."

On March 14, 2007, Sununu became the first Republican senator to call for the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales after a controversy over U.S. Attorney firings. Sununu cited his anger with the mismanagement by Gonzales and the lack of trustworthiness by GOP Senators towards Gonzales.

Other actions during his term in the Senate

In July 2005, to show solidarity with Senator Arlen Specter, who had lost his hair due to chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease, Sununu shaved his head.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Finance
• Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
  • Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
  • Subcommittee on Interstate Commerce, Trade, and Tourism
  • Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
  • Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Innovation
  • Subcommittee on Space, Aeronautics, and Related Agencies
• Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
  • Ad Hoc Subcommittee on State, Local, and Private Sector Preparedness and Integration (Ranking Member)
  • Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
  • Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security
• Joint Economic Committee

Sununu's current term ends in January 2009 and he is expected to run for re-election.

Electoral history

New Hampshire's 1st congressional district: Results 1996–2000

Year		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
1996		Joe Keefe	115,462	47%		John E. Sununu	123,939	50%		Gary A. Flanders	Libertarian	8,176	3%
1998		Peter Flood	51,783	33%		John E. Sununu	104,430	67%
2000		Martha Fuller Clark	128,387	45%		John E. Sununu	150,609	53%		Dan Belforti	Libertarian	5,713	2%

New Hampshire Senator (Class II) results: 2002

Year		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
2002		Jeanne Shaheen	207,478	46%		John E. Sununu	227,229	51%		Ken Blevens	Libertarian	9,835	2%		Bob Smith	Write-in	2,396	1%	*

*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2002, write-ins received 197 votes.

External links

• United States Senator John E. Sununu, U.S. Senate site
• Team Sununu, Campaign site

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at Vote Smart
• New York Times — John E. Sununu News collected news and commentary
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — John E. Sununu profile
• 2008 New Hampshire Senate Race at 2008RaceTracker.com
• Sununu questions the legality of warrantless domestic spying program
• 2002 Republican Primary Debate between Sununu and Robert Smith