Sunia was elected to Congress in 1980. He served from January 3, 1981, until his resignation on September 6, 1988, after he was indicted on federal charges of running a payroll padding scheme. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five to fifteen months in prison and to pay $65,000 in restitution.
Political views As a Delegate to the U.S. Congress, Sunia opposed a Constitutional amendment which would have made English the official language of the United States. He argued that English already is the language of the U.S. and the law represented few if any changes to the status quo. He was quoted as saying: "… the 35,000 American Samoans on the island use the
Samoan language in government, in the court, in business and in all facets of daily living, but strive to improve their proficiency in English." He did not believe the proposed amendment would reward "linguistic differences as an asset." ==After Congress==