Friday, January 26, 2007
The President, The Pences and the Indianapolis Colts
 Congressman Mike Pence and family greet President Bush at Republican Conference Retreat wearing Indianapolis Colts jerseys.
Today President Bush addressed Republicans at our annual planning retreat at the Eastern Shore of Maryland. While most of the time was spent in very serious discussions of challenges at home and abroad, there was one very light and very Hoosier moment.
Knowing the President's enthusiasm for professional sports, Mrs. Pence got the idea that we and the kids should surprise the President by showing up in the colors and uniforms of the Super Bowl-bound Indianapolis Colts. While there was a dress code for the luncheon, just before the President approached us, Mrs. Pence passed out the Colts jerseys she snuck into the banquet to our three kids.
The President of the United States was delighted when we greeted him in glaring blue and white! He said. "Ok, Pence, alright, the Colts...it might be their year!" We assured him that it was. The President spoke very seriously of his admiration for "Manning" and "Dungy" saying "good at football and good men."
Later I chatted with Josh Bolten, the President's chief of staff, and he told me about his experience watching the Colts-Patriots game at Camp David with President Bush last Sunday. He said, "I never remember eating in front of the television set but we did that night." He made no commitment about the President's preference at the Super Bowl but did say, "he sure was impressed with the Colts last Sunday."
Weren't we all. Go Colts.
Mike Pence
Washington, D.C.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Indy Star on the State of the Union
Congressman Pence's reaction to the State of the Union is detailed in today's Indianapolis Star here.
Fox-WSJV in South Bend on the State of the Union
Congressman Pence was mentioned in a State of the Union reaction article on South Bend's Fox 28 website here.
Muncie Star Press on State of the Union
Today's Muncie Star Press quotes Congressman Pence's reaction to the State of the Union here.
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette on State of the Union
Today's Fort Wayne Journal Gazette mentions Congressman Pence in a piece on lawmaker reaction to the State of the Union here.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette on Iraq
The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette includes Congressman Pence's definition of victory in Iraq here.
CNS on March for Life rally
CNS has posted an article about yesterday's March for Life activities, including Congressman Pence's remarks to the rally here.
Human Events on the agenda of the Republican Party
Today Congressman Pence was mentioned in a Human Events article by Heritage Foundation President Ed Fuelner here.
Friday, January 19, 2007
WSJ blog on Media Shield
"Washington Wire", the political blog for the Wall Street Journal, mentioned Congressman Pence's strong support for a media shield law here.
San Francisco Chronicle on Media Shield
Congressman Mike Pence is quoted in today's San Francisco Chronicle about the need for a media shield law here.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Congressman Pence appears on NewsHour
In case you missed it, Congressman Pence, Ranking Member of the Middle East Subcommittee, appeared on the NewsHour last night to defend President Bush's new strategy for Iraq. Excerpts appear below. For a full transcript, click here.
GWEN IFILL: You have been to Iraq four times. You met with the president last Tuesday at the White House about his new plan, and you support it. Why?
REP. MIKE PENCE: Well, frankly, I went into the meeting with the president in the West Wing last week very skeptical about the troop surge.
During all of my trips into Iraq, our military commanders have told me again and again that a large American military footprint in Iraq is actually counterproductive to our interests there and the interests of freedom.
What I found very persuasive, Gwen, was this president didn't just lay out a plan for more troops. He laid out a new strategy, including new tactics, new rules of engagement on the ground, and a plan very much to work alongside Iraqi military forces to put a priority on securing Baghdad.
And I think it's a plan that we owe it to our military, we owe it to the interests of freedom, and the good people of Iraq to see through this new strategy, this new way forward.
GWEN IFILL: What were your initial doubts?
REP. MIKE PENCE: There was a general consensus that I heard from our military leaders that, in order to ensure that the Iraqi military would step up and the Iraqi government would take responsibility, that we ought to be moving always in the direction of a smaller American military presence there.
Of course, all that counsel predated the extraordinary increase in violence that commenced late summer 2006. It's clear that what our strategy and our tactics on the ground were at the time were not working. And this change in strategy, this addition of six additional brigades to support an Iraqi-led effort to bring domestic security to Baghdad, I think is an idea whose time has come.
GWEN IFILL: Congressman, how would you define success in this venture, and how would you define failure?
REP. MIKE PENCE: Well, I certainly would not define success as the arrival in Baghdad of a peaceable Jeffersonian democracy that has the strength of the institutions that our democracy has after 200 years.
I believe success can be defined as that moment that, with absolute certainty, the United States of America can depart from Iraq, knowing that the Iraqi military and the Iraqi government have the ability to defend their new democracy effectively.
Defining democracy as the absence of violence, the absence of insurgent violence, the absence of terrorist activity in Iraq, I believe, is imprudent, and we ought to rather look for that moment that we can bring our troops home with the confidence that freedom has won in Iraq.
GWEN IFILL: There is so much discussion going on right now up here on Capitol Hill about capping the number of troops, or making sure that Congress gets to vote on any increase in troops, or not withdrawal so much, but changing the approach. The president seems to be resisting some of that.
What do you think Congress's role should be?
REP. MIKE PENCE: Well, I believe the role of Congress and of the president are clearly defined in the Constitution of the United States.
Article I gives the Congress the authority to declare war and the authority to appropriate funds for military operations. Article II of the Constitution says the president of the United States is the commander-in-chief of Armed Forces.
And while I think Congress has a role here, Congress ought to ask questions, we ought to consider very carefully, as we continue to appropriate the resources of the American people to this and other military enterprises, I do not consider it appropriate for the Congress, both collectively or individually, to be in the business of imposing tactical decisions in the field on our commander-in-chief.
I am categorically opposed to capping troop levels. I'm categorically opposed to any effort that would attempt to change the 535 members of Congress into a surrogate commander-in-chief or secretary of defense. That is the role of the president of the United States ever since our Congress hired General George Washington to be our first commander-in-chief.
GWEN IFILL: You were home in Indiana this weekend. What are your constituents telling you about the president's plan?
REP. MIKE PENCE: There's no question, but that, even in the heartland of America, people are troubled with our lack of progress in Iraq. They are hesitant to accept the president's new strategy.
And I believe it's incumbent on the president and all of us in Congress who support this new strategy to communicate to the American people that this is not simply more troops for more troops' sake. It is a new strategy, a new tactic, and it's a strategy that puts the Iraqi military and the Iraqi government on the line and in the lead.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Herald Bulletin on MLK, Jr. celebration at Paramount Theater
The Herald Bulletin has a story detailing the Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration at the Paramount Theater in Anderson, IN. here.
Muncie Star Press: Pence hosts town hall meeting
Today's Muncie Star Press contains an article on Congressman Pence's town hall meeting here.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Pence mentioned in New York Times blog
Today's New York Times political blog, "The Caucus" quotes Congressman Pence's reaction to being part of a Republican minority here.
Fort Wayne News Sentinel on Social Security
Todays Fort Wayne News Sentinel has an article about Congressman's stance on tax increases to save Social Security here.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Columbus Republic on drug price control legislation
Today's Columbus Republic mentions Congressman Pence's opposition to price controls on Medicare prescription drugs here.
Indy Star on drug price control legislation
Congressman Pence is quoted in todays Indianapolis Star article about new legislation involving Medicare pharmaceutical price control here.
Indy Star on the Hoosier Congressional response to troop increases in Iraq
Todays Indianapolis Star mentions Congressman Pence in an article about President Bush's new strategy in Iraq here.
Richmond Pal-Item on Pence appointment as Ranking Member of Middle East and South Asia Subcommittee
Todays Richmond Paladium-Item contains an article regarding Congressman Pence's appointment within the Foreign Affairs Committee as Ranking Member of the Middle East and South Asia Subcommittee here.
Columbus Republic Op-ed on Pence's compassionate conservatism
Today's Columbus Republic has an op-ed written by former Pence Legislative Director Ryan Fisher about his time in Congressman Pence's office here.
Pence op-ed on Social Security in WSJ: "No New Taxes"
Congressman Pence authored an op-ed in todays Wall Street Journal about social security here. Excerpts appear below.
No New Taxes
By MIKE PENCEJanuary 13, 2007;
The administration hasn't learned from last year. Despite electoral defeats, it is still advancing Social Security reform as an argument over solvency. The centerpiece of George Bush's plan was to have been personal retirement accounts for workers who wanted to establish their own nest egg -- a much better deal for them and a down payment on the huge liabilities owed by the entire system. Unfortunately, his plan faltered.
The American people did not reject Social Security reform or personal retirement accounts. They rejected the entire debate and how it unfolded. They rejected the notion that the predominant goal was to make the numbers add up or, in the language of the wonks and actuaries, to make it "solvent." Such a yardstick expresses no opinion on how to fix an increasingly bankrupt program, and as a result, blesses both benefit cuts and tax increases alike.
While Mr. Bush has reiterated his opposition to tax increases, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson has repeatedly said that everything is on the table for negotiations with the Democratic Congress. When Press Secretary Tony Snow was asked whether the White House was ruling out a tax increase in Social Security reform, he replied, "No, I'm not." This is all code for the administration's willingness to consider raising taxes in exchange for reductions in promised benefits...
...We have been down this road before. In 1990, I was a young candidate for Congress when the last Bush administration sided with a Democrat majority in Congress to pass the largest tax increase in history, all in the name of bipartisanship and compromise. This compromise ushered in economic recession and a two-term Democratic administration in the White House. We cannot walk down the 1990 road to "compromise" again.
First, the administration needs to be clear that a Social Security compromise must reject tax increases of any kind. That means no increase in the payroll tax rate and no change in the cap apart from the current indexing that already increases eligible income on an annual basis. Tell the Democratic Congress to read your lips, Mr. President: no new taxes.
Second, Social Security reform must be properly understood. It is not about achieving solvency; it is about improving the system so that it offers a better deal for younger Americans through personal savings accounts. Focusing on solvency will lead inevitably to tax increases and benefit cuts. Focusing on personal retirement accounts improves the chance of enacting sound public policy that also makes the system solvent.
Third, the administration should submit a budget that fully protects the Social Security surplus from being used to subsidize government largesse, which Patrick Moynihan once described as "embezzlement." Voters have repeatedly said loudly and clearly that they object to raiding the Social Security surplus. It is time for the administration to either offer a budget aligned with those expectations, or propose cutting the payroll tax immediately to end the historic practice of over-collecting for a pay-as-you-go system. Doing both would quickly restore the public's shattered confidence in the way we spend their money.
Republicans don't have to pass a bad Social Security reform bill. If we lack the votes now to pass legislation that will actually preserve the system and protect our nation's economic expansion, we would be wise to spend the next two years seeking to win the debate and leave a foundation of arguments that will not unravel.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
AP on Embryonic stem cell research legislation
Today Congressman Pence is quoted as a strong opponent to life-destroying embryonic stem cell research in this Associated Press story here.
Muncie Star Press: Pence opposes minimum wage hike
The Muncie Star Press has a piece detailing Congressman Pence's opposition to a minimum wage increase that will, in reality, cost jobs here.
Human Events: Evans-Novak Political Report on Iraq troop deployment
This weekly notes column mentioned Congressman Pence as a supporter of President Bush's force increase in Iraq here.
WTHR: Pence announces support for new Iraq strategy
Tom Walker of Eyewitness News discussed the President's new plan for Iraq here.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Indy Star: Pence on new Iraq strategy
Today's Indy Star reports on Congressman Pence's visit to the White House and details his reaction to the President's new strategy for Iraq here.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Richmond Pal-Item on ethics reform
Today's Richmond Pal-Item lauds Congressman Pence for his principled stand on ethics reforms here.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Washington Times on PAYGO
Today's Washington Times also quotes Congressman Pence on PAYGO here.
New York Times: Pence on earmarks and PAYGO
Be sure to check out this story from today's New York Times that includes some interesting comments from Congressman Pence about the votes in the House this week on earmarks and PAYGO.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Pence on WIBC tomorrow
Congressman Pence will appear on the WIBC Morning News tomorrow at 7:15 a.m. with Jeff Pigeon and Terri Stacy. Pence will talk about the start of the 110th Congress. You can listen live by clicking here.
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