Issue Position: Cleaning Up Washington

Issue Position

Congressman Hodes is leading the way to clean up Washington

"We must end the abuses of the past." - Congressman Paul Hodes

Severing the link between earmarks and campaign contributions:

Congressman Hodes introduced legislation that would ban lawmakers from taking campaign contributions from companies, including their senior executives and lobbyists, on whose behalf they have requested earmarks. The Clean Law for Earmark Accountability Reform (CLEAR) Act would ban Congressional campaigns from accepting campaign contributions from any senior executive or registered lobbyist representing an entity for which a Member of Congress has requested earmarked federal funding in that election cycle.

Congressman Hodes believes that this is a matter of right and wrong. It is wrong that legislators request earmarks for companies or organizations and then turn around and take campaign contributions from them.

Currently, a Member's campaign can accept campaign contributions from organizations for which the Member is making appropriations requests. This practice has the potential to create at least the appearance of impropriety, and at worst, an ethical and legal dilemma. Worse still, the mixture of earmarks and campaign contributions can erode the people's confidence in the actions and motivations of their elected representatives. Congressman Hodes proposed the CLEAR Act to help restore that confidence. Learn more about the CLEAR Act here.

Leading the way on lobbyist reform:

On his first day in office, Congressman Paul Hodes helped pass sweeping ethics rule changes that prohibit lobbyists from giving lawmakers gifts, travel, and expensive meals.

On July 31, 2007, Congressman Hodes voted for another ethics overhaul bill that passed the House. The bill forces congressional candidates to report more detailed information on how lobbyists are contributing to their campaigns. It would also strip members of Congress of their pension benefits if they are convicted of a crime connected to their office.

The new rule also continues the current requirement that members of Congress and their senior staff are prohibited from lobbying Congress for one year after leaving office. It requires House members and senior staff to report on any negotiations they have on post-congressional employment to the ethics committee.

Led the way to create an outside ethics panel:

Congressman Hodes helped lead the way to create a bipartisan, outside ethics panel to help investigate alleged ethics violations by members of Congress. He also co-authored an amendment with his freshman colleagues to give this new board subpoena power.

This legislation puts ethics violations in the hands of an independent, non-partisan board -- and that is the right way to go to give the American people the confidence that any corruption will be investigated fairly and thoroughly.

Congressman Hodes was sent to Congress by the people of New Hampshire to clean up Washington. This legislation goes a long way towards helping restore trust in the People's House.

Standing up to end wartime propaganda:

Congressman Paul Hodes fought for and passed legislation to end wartime propaganda. Congressman Hodes wrote an amendment in the 2009 Defense Authorization Act that prohibits the Department of Defense from using taxpayer funds to engage in propaganda programs aimed at people in the United States.

This legislation prevents administration officials from manipulating the public with false propaganda when it comes to war and national security. The Department of Defense should be barred from offering perks to retired military officers who use their position to mislead the public about wartime policies in the media. Granite Staters' tax dollars should not be used to undermine the trust that Americans place in their elected officials and military leaders.

Congressman Hodes' amendment also directs the Inspector General of the Department of Defense to work with the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study and report to Congress on the Defense Department's program to influence media coverage of Iraq through network and cable news analysts.

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