Dear Editor:

I didn’t know Suhas Subramanyan when I voted for him in 2024, but he seemed to have a reasonable, results-driven approach to serving as our District 10 Representative in Congress. Since then, I’ve met with him twice in his office and attended his town halls. What I’ve learned is that he listens and he responds thoughtfully; I’ve never heard him dodge a question.
 
I voted Republican for most of my life, and I was very proud to serve in the White House Military Office under Ronald Reagan—still one of my favorite Presidents. I don’t think my centrist, conservative beliefs have changed much, but I do believe the Republican Party has moved away from the principles which attracted me to it.

Its once over-riding focus on ethics, good governance, and support of our allies around the world have shifted to whatever Donald Trump wants. I remember that it was Republicans in 1974 who had the courage to tell Richard Nixon to resign or face impeachment. That kind of ethics over politics brought me into the Republican party when I came of voting age.

I don’t see those principles guiding today’s Republican party, and thus I was heartened to see Rep. Subramanyan’s recently released legislative package aimed at stopping some of the excesses of this Administration.

Three bills are included in it: The Justice and Accountability for Representatives Engaged in Diplomacy Act; the No Pardon Paydays Act; and the Government Travel Transparency Act. There is nothing earth-shaking about any of these bills—they simply codify certain standards of ethical conduct among officials.

In short, here’s what these bills require: The first simply prohibits individuals engaged in negotiations on behalf of the U.S. Government from also engaging in negotiations that benefit their own financial interest. The President’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, for example, has been engaged with foreign governments in countries where he also does business as a private citizen.

The second requires a Congressional review of the criminal history of pardon recipients and prohibits pardon recipients from making high dollar contributions that support the President who granted the pardon. This bill is a result of President Trump using his pardon power to benefit political allies and January 6 rioters who assaulted police officers.

The third simply requires transparency over how officials use taxpayer-funded aircraft for travel, a result of reported abuse by FBI director Patel, DHS Secretary Noem, and the Vice President using government aircraft for personal use.

These three bills simply enact commonsense guardrails to hold individuals accountable for any future abuses. In this respect, Representative Subramanyan is using the powers of his office to the benefit of good governance, ethical behavior, and to help prevent misuse of taxpayer funds. This is among the reasons why I support his candidacy for re-election.

Oscar N. McNeil, Jr.
Waterford