Mike Pence

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Mike Pence
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 6th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 2001
Preceded by	David McIntosh
Born	June 7, 1959 (1959-06-07) (age 50) Columbus, Indiana
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Karen Pence
Residence	Columbus, Indiana
Alma mater	Hanover College, Indiana University
Occupation	attorney, talk show host
Religion	Evangelical Christian

Michael Richard "Mike" Pence (born June 7, 1959) is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for Indiana's 6th congressional district. He currently serves as Chairman of the House Republican Conference (caucus) for the 111th United States Congress.^[1] Pence's district includes Randolph, Henry, Deleware, Wayne, Blackford, Madison, Jay, Rush, Union, Feyette, Franklin, Decatur, Wells, and Adams counties, and parts of Allen, Shelby, Bartholomew, Dearborn, and Johnson counties.

[edit] Early life and family

Pence was born in Columbus, Indiana. He attended Columbus North High School and graduated from Hanover College and the Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis. After completing his education he was a practicing attorney and radio talk show host, based out of then WRCR-FM (now WIFE-FM), Rushville, Indiana. He served as President of Indiana Policy Review. He and his wife Karen have three children. He is one of six children.

[edit] Political career

Pence ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1988 and 1990, losing to longtime Democratic incumbent Phil Sharp. By 2000, however, the district had become much friendlier to Republicans, and Pence was handily elected after six-year incumbent David McIntosh opted to run for governor of Indiana.

His first term in Congress began in January 2001. The 6th District comprises all or portions of 19 counties in eastern Indiana, and was numbered as the 2nd District during his first term in Congress. He has been reelected four more times without serious difficulty. In the 2006 House elections, he defeated Democrat Barry Welsh.

Mike Pence was mentioned as a possible candidate for President in 2008. However, he did not run for President. In June 2009, an MSNBC political blog listed him as one of a dozen or so possible Republican candidates for President in 2012.^[2] That month, the Des Moines Register reported, that month, that he planned to visit the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area in late July.^[3] Iowa has the first caucus in early 2012, before the primaries in other states.

[edit] Committee assignments

• Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia
• Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe

[edit] Political positions

He is the former chairman of the Republican Study Committee, a group of conservative House Republicans. He was succeeded in the 110th Congress by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX). Pence describes himself as "a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order."^[4]

[edit] Immigration reform

In June 2006, Pence unveiled a plan he describes as 'no amnesty immigration reform' consisting of increased border security first, followed by strict enforcement of laws against hiring illegal aliens, and a guest worker program. This guest worker program requires potential participants to apply from their home country to government-approved job placement agencies that match workers with employers who cannot find Americans for the job.^[5] The plan has received support from conservative leaders such as Dick Armey.^[6] Pat Buchanan described this as "stealth amnesty," claiming that it is merely a 'one week vacation' for illegal immigrants to return to their home country to apply for jobs under the program.^[7] Others (Phyllis Schlafly and Tom Tancredo) have criticized Pence's plan.^[8][9]

[edit] Taxes

Pence voted for the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and advocates making them permanent, he voted for the Partial Birth Abortion Ban, for "Operation Offset" to counterbalance Katrina spending, and against federal subsidies for embryonic stem cell research (citing his pro-life beliefs and that most success in research has been from adult stem cells), and has cosponsored pork barrel spending reform. He was influential in the RSC's Top Ten Agenda for 2006,^[10] which focused on fiscal responsibility and traditional values.

[edit] Visit to Iraq

Pence has also been a supporter of the 2003 Operation Iraqi Freedom. During an April 2007 visit to Baghdad, Pence and John McCain visited Shorja market — the site of a deadly attack in February, 2007, that claimed the lives of 61 people. During the visit, Pence wore a bulletproof vest and was accompanied by 100 soldiers in armored Humvees being protected from above by US attack helicopters. He described his heavily-militarized visit as being "unfettered" and "like a normal outdoor market in Indiana in the summertime."^[11]

[edit] Quotes

"If a business is allowed to succeed then it must also be allowed to fail." In response to the 2008 Financial bail out.

[edit] Other issues

Pence is an advocate of a federal prohibition of online poker. In 2006, he cosponsored H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act^[12] and H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act.^[13]

[edit] Candidacy for House Republican leadership

[edit] 2006

On November 8, 2006, Mike Pence announced his candidacy for leader of the Republican Party (minority leader) in the US House of Representatives.^[14]

Pence's release announcing his run for minority leader focused on a "return to the values" of the 1994 Republican Revolution.^[15] He said regarding the Contract with America: "Our opponents will say that the American people rejected our Republican vision. I say the American people didn't quit on the Contract with America, we did. And in so doing, we severed the bonds of trust between our party and millions of our most ardent supporters..."^[15]

Some political analysts, such as Robert D. Novak, say Pence benefited in the long run from the endorsement of numerous organizations and individuals aligned with the party's base. Some of which include Human Events^[16], Laura Ingraham,^[17] and Rush Limbaugh.^[18] Ingraham stated on her show, "If there is a God in heaven, (Pence) will be the next House minority leader."^[17] Pence also received support from the Club for Growth, The Wall Street Journal and David Keene from the American Conservative Union.

On November 17, Pence lost to Representative John Boehner of Ohio by a vote of 168-27-1 (the one vote went to Representative Joe Barton of Texas).^[19]

[edit] 2008

After defeating Rev. Barry Welsh in the 2008 House election, Pence was elected by the House to become the Republican Conference Chairman, the third highest Republican leadership position. He ran unopposed and was elected unanimously. He is the first Representative from Indiana to hold a House leadership position since 1981.^[1]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• U.S. Congressman Mike Pence Official House site
• Mike Pence for Congress Official campaign site
• Mike's Blog

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Current Bills Sponsored at StateSurge.com
• Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
• Hoosiers for the FairTax, grassroots website Mike Pence, cosponsor