Make no mistake: a return of the Fairness Doctrine would end talk radio as we know it, for religious broadcasters, the right, the left, and everywhere in between. And that’s just what the left wants.

Democratic leaders have not been shy about their desire to stifle free speech on the airwaves. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, Senators John Kerry and Barbara Boxer, and House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter, to name a few, are all interested in seeing the Fairness Doctrine revived.

But now that Speaker Pelosi -- the third most powerful figure in American government -- has indicated her support, our effort to pass the Broadcaster Freedom Act (H.R. 2905) has become that much more urgent.

The Broadcaster Freedom Act, which we introduced last summer, would permanently repeal the Fairness Doctrine by taking away the FCC’s power to reinstate the rule. We’re not too concerned about the current FCC, but who knows what the prerogative of the future FCC (appointed by the next President) will be.

President Bush and many members of Congress, including Rep. Mike Pence, R-Columbus, have turned up the rhetoric on drilling.

"Drill more, drill now and we'll pay less," echoed from the floor of the House in a recent speech by Pence.

Republicans praised bipartisan cooperation, but Indiana's Mike Pence took Democrats to task for their insistence on adding money for domestic needs.

"Despite all the promises to the country about putting our fiscal house in order, here we are again with a massive amount of increased domestic spending with nary a thought to how we are going to pay for it, passing the burden on to future generations of Americans," said Congressman Pence.

Congressman Mike Pence was in Randolph County Tuesday spreading the word that help is available for county residents who suffered damage from storms between May 30 and June 9.

"There's a tremendous amount of assistance available," Pence said. "Rugged, self-reliant Hoosiers might be reluctant to call the government for help, but these programs are designed for this. We are being as aggressive as we can to get the word out."

The assistance includes: up to $28,000 in outright grants; below-market interest rates on loans up to $200,000; and small business loans up to $1.5 million.

However, residents must make sure they apply for these programs.

Lance Cpl. Layton Bradly Crass is a hero, whose important work mentoring Afghani police gives hope to millions of Americans and Afghanis...

In a meeting with The Star Press, the congressman asked for the newspaper's help in distributing the FEMA hotline number.

That number is 1-800-621-FEMA.

Affected residents cannot assume the government already knows about their needs, Pence said."You need to initiate contact with FEMA," he said.

The federal government has approved 28 Indiana counties for assistance to help eligible individuals and business owners recover from recent storms and flooding that began May 30.

Going Home: The Great Flood of 2008
Columbus, Indiana

Serving in Washington is about never being where your heart is, and that is especially true in times of tragedy at home.

Arriving home after a week of urging federal assistance for families struggling to recover from the torrential flooding of June 2008 was an anxious experience. I represent 19 counties, but Columbus is home. I didn’t know what it would be like to see so many of the sights of my youth laid waste and I was right. It was heartbreaking to see street after street of homes despoiled by the waters of June 7th and to see the brave but weary faces of family and friends struggling to find the energy and the courage to press on.

I arrived late Thursday, the day after we learned that President Bush would extend personal assistance to families in Bartholomew County. The cop who lives next door and a boyhood friend joined me for an unscheduled look around town. We were met by the tough and cheerful mayor of my hometown, Fred Armstrong. Mayor Armstrong is a Vietnam veteran, whose non-partisan neighborly leadership has made him a local institution. But I suspect it was his time in combat that steeled him for these days and the entire community has benefited from his calm and professionalism.

Riding with the mayor, we headed into the neighborhoods. It was worse than you could imagine. House upon house, street upon street, family upon family had every worldly possession caked with mud and piled in a heap in the front yard. We stopped and approached one family after another and heard the same terrifying story.

Within 15 minutes of water bubbling up from the sewers or appearing in the streets, basements were completely filled to the ceiling and homes were ruined with up to three feet of water on the main floor. Columbus saw three lives lost in the torrent but all agree it would have been much worse had the flood waters risen in the middle of the night. There was simply no time.

We made our way to the home of a 19-year veteran police officer whose large backyard was now filled with small piles of cherished possessions, lovingly placed there by the entire Columbus East football team. As I stood speaking to a weary half dozen volunteers, I looked down at a mud-covered glass case filled with badges and mementos from years of brave service to this community. The officer and his wife told us how they had been overwhelmed by the kindness of neighbors. This tough veteran of many years on the force restrained emotion as he said, “people just started showing up.”

We got back in the squad car and headed to Everroad Park West, the modest neighborhood where I grew up. I have taken my children by our old house at 2744 31st Street several times. It is the first home my parents ever owned and it is the backdrop to every memory of my boyhood. The red bricks and black shutters of this small home, the cornfield in the backyard, the woods by Haw Creek, the dead end and dirt-clod fights are all lost in the ether of youth but always with me.

As we pulled into the neighborhood, it was worse than I imagined. Every single home on the way back to 31st Street was ruined. Like Candlelight Village trailer park and elsewhere, it seemed like the storm reserved its worst for good people just starting the American dream.

Turning onto 31st Street, I strained to see my old house and was relieved to see those old red bricks and black shutters still standing tall. I bounded from the car and introduced myself to the kind but weary owner of my old home. She and her mother had been wearing themselves out carrying despoiled possessions from the house but she seemed remarkably unbowed. Smiling she asked, “You want to go in?”

We moved away from Everroad Park West when I was about 12 in 1972 and I had never been back since. Walking into the house was like walking into a dream and a nightmare. The walls and the picture window of the living room were the same. But for the collapsing furniture and mud stains, I was home. And my heart was breaking.

I walked into the kitchen where my mother watched us out the back window while she made dinner. I saw that view of the cornfield. I walked into my parents’ bedroom where we would pile on the bed to watch the Wizard of Oz once a year. After that I walked into my old bedroom.

This was not the homecoming I had hoped to enjoy someday but I believe it was the homecoming I needed to see this day. You see, my present home on the north side of town was missed by the floodwaters by about 20 feet.

As I walked out of 2744 31st Street, I felt that it was important for me to be in my old house to better understand what nearly 2,000 Columbus families are dealing with. The pictures and the financial loss don’t explain the hardship that families are facing after the Great Flood of 2008. When the debris is cleared and the federal assistance is disbursed the heartbreak will still remain. Losing the place of memories is second only to losing those those you made them with.

Over the next five days I was in Indiana my experience at 2744 31st Street would be repeated again and again. Homes ruined, possessions destroyed but families standing tall, surrounded by neighbors sharing the work and looking to the future. Heroes all.

Here in this small Indiana city, as the Old Book says, the rain came down, the flood waters rose, the wind blew and beat against these houses but they did not fall because 2744 31st Street, like all of Columbus, like all of Indiana, is built on a foundation of faith and compassion and generosity that no storm can ever defeat.

I will continue to work to help these families recover. I urge you to do likewise. Find a way to come alongside with either resources or time because there are long days of recovery ahead for many Indiana cities and towns. And remember to pray that the Lord “be close to the brokenhearted.” If we will all do our part, if we will continue to give and work and pray, I know that all the 2744’s will again be the place where memories abide and the place where hope is born; they will again be home.

Mike Pence
Columbus, Indiana
June 16, 2008

U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., said Monday he was relieved to learn Wayne County qualified for assistance.

Pence, whose 6th District includes Wayne County, was in Hagerstown on Saturday to visit areas affected by the floods.

"I am relieved beyond words on behalf of families, old and young, that I encountered in western Wayne County on Saturday," Pence said. "These are Hoosiers (who) in many cases are struggling to make ends meet either in retirement or raising kids.

"We were very anxious to do everything in our power to make sure those people have the same opportunities as others in the state who were devastated by the storms."

The Washington Times' lead editorial this morning lays out exactly how and why the so-called 'Fairness Doctrine' is really just censorship. It notes Congressman Pence's work on the front lines to "scuttle the Fairness Doctrine once and for all."

Pence's own home in Bartholomew County got off lightly, with water in the front and back yard but nothing near the house. Hundreds of homes in the Columbus neighborhood where he grew up aren't so lucky.

"Literally every one of these modest homes now has a four-or-five-foot pile of debris in front of it," Pence said after touring damage in Columbus Thursday night and Friday morning. "All of the contents of the homes are destroyed."

FEMA has phone lines open 10 hours a day at 1-800-621-FEMA. Pence recommends calling rather than going to FEMA field offices. He says it's more efficient, and you don't have to wait your turn outside in the weather.

At an emergency meeting Wednesday night, the White River Township Board voted unanimously to re-appropriate $70,000 to aid clean-up efforts from the weekend flooding.

"Hoosier families in Bartholomew and Johnson counties can breathe a sigh of relief. Help is on the way," Pence said in the release, adding that he was grateful to FEMA for its quick response.

U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., said the Army is committed to providing the money needed to rebuild heavily damaged facilities at the post.

"My message to the secretary of the Army is that we don't want to lose any momentum as a training and mobilization facility that we've earned over the last five years," Pence said.

Pence said he would support any emergency federal funding for the more than 50 tornado-damaged homes and businesses in Edinburgh, which could include disaster housing, crisis counseling and Small Business Administration disaster loans

As residents worked Friday to repair homes and clean up debris, government leaders sounded a call to rebuild the covered bridge that had spanned the Flatrock River since 1886 and given Moscow its identity...

U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., flew into the community Friday aboard a military helicopter to see the damage and talk to residents.

"My family and I have been to the covered bridge festival many times," Pence said shortly before leaving. "When I stood on the banks of the river and saw the remains of the bridge starting to be swept downriver, it was frankly just breathtaking to me. . . . I would love to see this community and this county come together and put that landmark back on the map."

Bolstering that bill is a nonbinding resolution put forward last week by U.S. Reps. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) and Mike Pence (R-Ind.). The resolution urges President Bush to immediately impose some of the sanctions in the Counter Proliferation Act and adds the new proposal: cut off the export of refined petroleum to Iran.

Rep Mike Pence (R-Ind.) also said Congress ought to deregulate to allow more drilling.

"My sense is that the most direct route is for Congress to take direct action and give the American people more access to American oil," Pence told Cybercast News Service.

Indiana will apply for federal assistance as soon as all of the assessments come back, which could be as early as today, Daniels said. U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, whose district includes Camp Atterbury and Edinburgh, pledged to support any proposed federal assistance.

Gov. Mitch Daniels and other officials toured parts of central Indiana Thursday to see the damage caused by the state’s latest bout of severe weather.

Daniels joined Indiana National Guard Gen. Martin Umbarger at tornado-damaged Camp Atterbury. The Guard said two soldiers suffered minor injuries Tuesday night as they sought shelter from the tornado, which had wind speeds reaching an estimated 130 mph...

U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., will tour Camp Atterbury and Edinburgh today. Pence had planned to visit the area Thursday, but his flight from Washington was cancelled.