Ahead of Election Day on Nov. 5, NHPR is speaking with the candidates running in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District.
NHPR All Things Considered host Julia Furukawa spoke with Republican nominee Russell Prescott. He’s a former state senator and served on the Executive Council.
Editor’s note: This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Transcript
Russell, let's talk about abortion policy. You've previously said that the issue of abortion should be left to the states. If your GOP colleagues in Congress were in favor of a policy that would have federal implications on abortion here in New Hampshire, would you vote alongside your colleagues?
No, I would not. I believe in the Bill of Rights. And part of our Constitution is part of our oath of office. When you are going to be a congressman, you take that oath of office to support and defend the Constitution, which includes the Bill of Rights and the 10th Amendment, which is [that] states have the right to govern themselves. And if they don't give up those rights, it should remain with the states. And that's where I will remain. I served seven different terms in public office. [I] always took the oath of office very seriously, [I’ve] never broken it. And I won't do that in Congress.
New Hampshire has seen heavy rainfall and destructive flooding events, all of which will intensify with climate change. What federal policies do you support that would address disaster relief funding, for FEMA for example?
Well, when you go in through the budget, which we haven't done in many, many years—we're doing continuing resolutions now—in the law of 1974, it's a budget act, you can look it up, it says that we should have 12 different subcommittees on appropriations. And I'm sure one of those 12 would have the line item for FEMA. We should make sure that those line items that we look at always take care of the needs of our country. And then we look at the wants, to be able to see if we can reduce spending to lower our deficit and reduce the national debt, but not certainly for disaster relief. That takes place in those subcommittees. And I think that's the most important part of the job of being a congressman –to stick to a timeline, stick to the law, and make sure you do the debates and those subcommittee levels for all of those spending bills.
Are there other specific policies you would support that address the effects or proactive mitigation of extreme weather events?
I don't know about proactive mitigation of extreme weather events. It's pretty natural.
I mean when it comes to climate change.
Well, climate change is certainly something I addressed when I was in the state Senate. Every bill that came before the Commerce Committee, every bill that came before the Energy Committee that I chaired, both for certain times of my terms there, [I] made sure that we kept studying and making sure that climate change wasn't impacting sea level rise. Make sure that if something is occurring that we can look back at the data and make sure that we take appropriate steps. So number one, you got to make sure you do spend the money on science to make sure. Because I'm an engineer, I deal with hard facts and trying to solve problems. With seven patents, you have to come up with data to be able to make a patent and know that you're actually breaking through and having new ideas. That's what's most important to me while I was the chair of the energy committee.
As violence escalates between Israel and Iran, what role do you see the U.S. playing in the conflicts in that region?
I think, just [to] reiterate what has been said, is that [to] make sure that they are allowed to protect themselves from attack. And just as similar as Israel has been beside our side after 9/11, they were our greatest ally there in the Middle East, we want to make sure that we give them the same consideration. When we were attacked on our ground, we made sure that we brought those people that were the perpetrators to justice. And I would say that we need to do the same when we speak about Israel and make sure that they do that as well, [that they] have that ability.
So when you say the ability to defend themselves, does that mean that the U.S. should continue to support and provide military aid to Israel amid the rising civilian death toll in both Gaza and Lebanon?
Again, to bring those people to justice, it's important that we do stand beside Israel all the time when they're defending their own home nation and making sure that they, because they are the greatest ally that we have in the Middle East, are supported by America 100%.
We've heard concerns from voters about an erosion of confidence in our democracy here. There's also been a lot of misinformation, especially surrounding our elections. What role could Congress play in restoring faith in U.S. elections and democracy in general?
Well certainly, the erosion of confidence in person that would disobey the Constitution, take away the rights of our state for governing our own elections, is what Chris Pappas has done. He's violated his oath of office. It took away from our state to be able to have a voter ID law here in New Hampshire. I was the prime sponsor of that law and made sure that it met judicial muster under President Obama. And I worked with the association of the town clerks and city clerks to make sure it was a workable law and that [the law] will add confidence. If we don't have a congressman that's disobeying the Constitution and trying to take away our rights for governing, it will be better for [our] confidence in our elected officials. And second is, we’ll remain having our voter ID law. That adds confidence to our voting as well.
(Editor’s note: Prescott is referring to a bill that required voters to present a valid photo identification or fill out an affidavit. The law went into effect in 2013.
Pappas helped reintroduce the Freedom to Vote Act in 2023, a sweeping elections bill that in part, would have weakened voter ID laws in some states.)
And could you be specific about what you mean when you say Chris Pappas has violated his oath of office?
Well again, it's the Bill of Rights. When you swear to uphold, not just uphold [but] support and defend the Constitution, it means the Bill of Rights. And the 10th Amendment is; New Hampshire has never given up their right to run their own elections. And yet he voted to remove the rights of us even having a voter ID law here in our state. That's wrong. He wants to govern it from the federal level. I want more local control for the voters to be in charge of the future of our state, not Chris Pappas in the federal government. It’s wrong. And he broke his oath of office.
Although data have shown that instances of noncitizen registration and voting are exceedingly rare, how do you respond to concerns that this kind of policy could create real barriers for people who are eligible to vote?
I would respond in a way that made sure that our President Obama's administration judicial review was done and it was passed with flying colors. And within three months, that bill was implemented into law. And within that time frame of, like June all the way to November, we had a voter ID bill that worked. It was because I made sure that we reached across the aisle and made sure I talked with everyone about the bill, made sure I reached across to the administration of the Obama administration while they did their judicial review. And that was more important, bipartisan wise, to make sure that we give the assurance that we are checking ID.
