| Mike Pence | |
|---|---|
| Chairman of the House Republican Conference | |
| In office January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011 |
|
| Leader | John Boehner |
| Preceded by | Adam Putnam |
| Succeeded by | Jeb Hensarling |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 6th District 2nd District (2001–2003) |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2001 |
|
| Preceded by | David McIntosh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 7, 1959 Columbus, Indiana |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Karen Pence |
| Residence | Columbus, Indiana |
| Alma mater | Hanover College, Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law (J.D.) |
| Occupation | Attorney, Talk Show Host |
| Religion | Evangelical Christian |
Michael Richard "Mike" Pence (born June 7, 1959) is the U.S. Representative for Indiana's 6th district, and previously the 2nd district, serving since 2001. The 6th district covers much of Eastern Indiana. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Pence is the former Chairman of the House Republican Conference.[1] After the 2010 election Pence said he would not run for re-election to Chairman of the Conference.[2] On May 5, 2011, Pence officially announced that he will be seeking the Republican nomination for Governor of Indiana in 2012.[3] Pence's announcement was anticipated by his resignation of his leading position in the GOP caucus in the House. He is considered the favorite for the Republican nomination.[4]
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Mike Pence was born in Columbus, Indiana. He attended Columbus North High School, graduated from Hanover College in 1981, and earned his J.D. from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 1986. While at Hanover, Pence joined the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, serving as his chapter's president.[5]
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). He has stated his support of Israel and its right to attack facilities in Iran to prevent them from developing nuclear weapons, has defended the actions of Israel in its use of deadly force in enforcing the blockade of Gaza and has referred to Israel as "America's most cherished ally"[6] Pence claims to have been influenced by Traditionalist Russell Kirk and holds some views that are in line with Traditionalist Conservatism and Burkean philosophy.
Pence has received a 0% rating by the Human Rights Campaign indicating a "anti-gay stance."[7] Pence co-sponsored a bill amending Constitution to define traditional marriage and voted Yes on defining marriage between a man and woman. Pence also voted against a bill protecting people from work place related sexual orientation discrimination.[7]
Pence received a Rated 7% by the ACLU, indicating an anti-civil rights voting record.[7] In May 2007 Pence publicly opposed expanding federal hate crimes protection to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Insisting that the protection bill is "This legislation is unnecessary and bad public policy... the hate crimes bill is broad enough to encompass legitimate beliefs, and protecting the rights of freedom of speech and religion must be paramount in our minds."[8] Pence also received a 22% rating from the NAACP indicating an anti-affirmative-action stance.[7]
Pence voted in favor of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that began the Iraq War, as well as the troop surge.[9]
Pence was a supporter of earmark reform. He voted against the $139.7 billion Transportation-Treasury spending bill in June 2006, and in favor of a series of amendments proposed that same month by Jeff Flake that would strip other members’ earmarks from the federal budget. Pence, however, has in the past secured several of his own earmark projects. Pence earmarked $500,000 for the “Transit Acquisition and Intermodal Facility Project” in his state, as well as $250,000 for construction of a park in Portland, Indiana. Pence also secured earmarks for inclusion in a Labor-Health and Human Services 2007FY bill. This included $200,000 for both Ball State University’s Center for School Innovation in Muncie, Ind. and to the Madison County Community Health Center in Anderson Ind. Pence also secured $100,000 for Ivy Tech Community College in Columbus, Ind. When confronted with this, a spokesman for Pence’s confirmed the projects, stating, “Mr. Pence stands by his earmark requests."[10]
During a 2009 appearance on Chris Matthews' show Hardball, Pence was asked his views on evolution to which he replied that he was a creationist.
In June 2006, Pence unveiled a plan he describes as "no amnesty immigration reform" consisting of increased border security, 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.[11] The plan has received support from conservative leaders such as Dick Armey.[12] 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.[13] Others (Phyllis Schlafly and Tom Tancredo) have criticized Pence's plan.[14][15]
Pence voted for the tax cuts in 2001 and 2003, and advocates making them permanent, as well as the Partial Birth Abortion Ban and "Operation Offset" to counterbalance Hurricane Katrina spending. He has been a strong opponent of federal funding for elective abortions in accordance with the Hyde Amendment. He has voted against federal subsidies for embryonic stem cell research, and has cosponsored pork barrel spending reform. He was influential in the RSC's Top Ten Agenda for 2006.[16]
In 2005 after Hurricane Katrina struck the Louisiana coast and in the midst of the clean up Pence called a press conference announcing $24 billion in spending cuts, saying "... [W]e must not let Katrina break the bank.[17]
During the Iraq War, he opposed setting a public withdrawal date from Iraq. 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 and Senator John McCain were accompanied by General David Petraeus. Pence and McCain described the visit as evidence that the security situation in Iraqi markets have improved. Pence said he was deeply moved by his ability to "mix and mingle unfettered among ordinary Iraqis" and to have tea and haggle over the price of a rug. The Shorja market, he said, was "like a normal outdoor market in Indiana in the summer time."[18] The visit was criticized by the New York Times as giving a false indication of how secure the area was due to the extremely heavy security forces McCain brought with him. The visit to the market took place under large security including helicopters overhead.[19]
Mike Pence is opposed to shutting down the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and trying the suspected terrorists in the US. He believes that trying detainees inside the United States puts “international public relations ahead of public safety and makes a mockery of American justice”.[20] Pence believes that “the Obama administration must overturn this wrongheaded decision”.[20]
As an alternative, Pence has said that the “enemy combatants”[20] should be tried in a military tribunal.
Recently, Pence has urged House Democrats to sign a petition to discharge the Broadcaster Freedom Act, a bill that would outlaw restoration of the Fairness Doctrine. Pence believes that the Fairness Doctrine would "censor the airwaves of American talk radio and American Christian radio".[21]
Pence is an advocate of federal restrictions of online gambling. In 2006, he along with 34 others cosponsored H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act[22] and H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act.[23]
Pence ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1988 and 1990, losing to longtime Democratic incumbent Phil Sharp with the direct endorsement of President Ronald Reagan. Many considered Pence's political future dead at that point.
In 2000, however, Pence was 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 by comfortable margins. In the 2006 House elections, he defeated Democrat Barry Welsh. He was listed as one of the top ten legislators by Esquire magazine in 2008.[24]
Pence had been encouraged by William Kristol of The Weekly Standard,[25] among others, to run in 2010 against incumbent Democratic Senator Evan Bayh.[26][27] Pence led Senator Bayh by a 3 point margin according to Rasmussen polling done on January 21 and 24, 2010.[28] On January 26, 2010, in an open letter to friends and supporters through Facebook, Pence announced his decision not to run for the Senate; he cited his role in the Republican leadership and the belief that Republicans would win back the House in 2010 as his reasons for staying in the House of Representatives.[29]
On November 8, 2006, Mike Pence announced his candidacy for leader of the Republican Party (minority leader) in the United States House of Representatives.[30]
Pence's release announcing his run for minority leader focused on a "return to the values" of the 1994 Republican Revolution.[31] 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..."[31]
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 those include Human Events,[32] Laura Ingraham,[33] and Rush Limbaugh.[34] Ingraham stated on her show, "If there is a God in heaven, (Pence) will be the next House minority leader."[33] 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).[35]
After defeating Rev. Barry Welsh in the 2008 House election, Pence was elected by his GOP colleagues to become the Republican Conference Chairman, the third-highest-ranking 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]
Mike Pence was mentioned as a possible candidate for President in 2008, but he didn't run. In June 2009, an MSNBC political blog listed him as one of a dozen or so possible Republican candidates for President in 2012.[36] That month, the Des Moines Register reported that he planned to visit the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area in late July.[37] Iowa has the first caucus in early 2012, before the primaries in other states. He also scheduled a visit to New Hampshire, home of the first presidential primary, in 2010.[38] In September 2010, Pence was the top choice for President in a straw poll conducted by the Value Voters Summit.[39]
Pence announced that he would not run for president in the 2012 elections on January 27, 2011.[40]
Pence and his wife Karen have three children: Michael, Charlotte, and Audrey. Michael is a student at Purdue University. Pence is a declared Christian and attends Community Church of Greenwood in Greenwood, Indiana. The Pence family lives in Arlington, Virginia while Congress is in session.
This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "Mike Pence Official Biography".
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by David M. McIntosh |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 2nd congressional district 2001–2003 |
Succeeded by Chris Chocola |
| Preceded by Dan Burton |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 6th congressional district 2003–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Jim Matheson D-Utah |
United States Representatives by seniority 183rd |
Succeeded by Todd Platts R-Pennsylvania |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Sue Myrick North Carolina |
Chairman of the Republican Study Committee 2005–2007 |
Succeeded by Jeb Hensarling Texas |
| Preceded by Adam Putnam Florida |
Chairman of House Republican Conference 2009–2011 |
|