Uber Conflict: Pappas Backs Bill With Liability Shield for Husband’s Employer
Michael Graham
NH Journal
August 4, 2026
Democrat Chris Pappas has made ethics and transparency a centerpiece of his U.S. Senate campaign.
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But at the same time Pappas has been positioning himself as a good-government reformer, he has been involved in a very public ethical conflict that critics call problematic.
Pappas serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which writes the federal rules governing ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft. His husband, Vann Bentley, is a policy executive at Uber.
According to Pappas’ financial disclosures, the couple holds between $150,000 and $350,000 in Uber stock received as part of Bentley’s compensation, along with a smaller stake in Amazon, where Bentley previously lobbied.
In May, Pappas voted to advance federal legislation that would strip sexual assault victims of the right to sue ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft over harm caused by their drivers. It was part of the BUILD America 250 Act, a sweeping five-year surface transportation bill.
Under current law, when an Uber driver rapes, gropes, or otherwise harms a passenger, that passenger can sue not only the driver but Uber itself — the company that recruited the driver, ran the background check, and put him on the road.
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But when the entire bill came before the committee, it passed 62-2 with Pappas’ support.
… Republicans disagree, pointing out that Pappas knew the amendment would pass with or without his vote.
“Chris Pappas voted for the bill to become law. Everything else is just performative,” said Samantha Cantrell of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Read more here.
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