Michael R Pence
Vice President of the United States
Michael R Pence was born in Columbus, Indiana, on 7 June 1959, one
of six children born to Edward and Nancy Pence. As a young boy he
had a front row seat to the American Dream. After his grandfather
immigrated to the United States when he was 17, his family settled in the
Midwest. The future Vice President watched his Mom and Dad build everything
that matters – a family, a business, and a good name. Sitting at the feet of his
mother and his father, who started a successful convenience store business
in their small Indiana town, he was raised to believe in the importance of hard
work, faith, and family.
Vice President Pence set off for Hanover College, earning his bachelor’s degree
in history in 1981. While there, he renewed his Christian faith which remains the
driving force in his life. He later attended Indiana University School of Law and
met the love of his life, Second Lady Karen Pence.
After graduating, Vice President Pence practiced law, led the Indiana Policy
Review Foundation, and began hosting The Mike Pence Show, a syndicated talk
radio show and a weekly television public affairs program in Indiana. Along the
way he became the proud father to three children, Michael, Charlotte,
and Audrey.
Growing up in Indiana, surrounded by good, hardworking Hoosiers, Vice
President Pence always knew that he needed to give back to the state and
the country that had given him so much. In 2000, he launched a successful
bid for his local congressional seat, entering the United States House of
Representatives at the age of 40.
The people of East-Central Indiana elected Vice President Pence six times
to represent them in Congress. On Capitol Hill he established himself as a
champion of limited government, fiscal responsibility, economic development,
educational opportunity, and the US Constitution. His colleagues quickly
recognized his leadership ability and unanimously elected him to serve as
Chairman of the House Republican Study Committee and House Republican
Conference Chairman. In this role, the Vice President helped make government
smaller and more effective, reduce spending, and return power to state and
local governments.
In 2013, Vice President Pence left the nation’s capital when Hoosiers elected
him the 50th Governor of Indiana. He brought the same limited government
and low tax philosophy to the Indiana Statehouse. As Governor, he enacted
the largest income tax cut in Indiana history, lowering individual income tax
rates, the business personal property tax, and the corporate income tax in order
to strengthen the State’s competitive edge and attract new investment and
good-paying jobs. Due to his relentless focus on jobs, the state’s unemployment
rate fell by half during his four years in office, and at the end of his term, more
Hoosiers were working than at any point in the state’s 200-year history.
As Governor of Indiana, Vice President Pence increased school funding,
expanded school choice, and created the first state-funded Pre-K plan in
Indiana history. He made career and technical education a priority in every
high school. Under Vice President Pence’s leadership, Indiana, known as “The
Crossroads of America,” invested more than
800 million dollars in new money for roads and
bridges across the state. Despite the record tax
cuts and new investments in roads and schools,
the state remained fiscally responsible, as the
Vice President worked with members of the
Indiana General Assembly to pass two honestly
balanced budgets that left the state with strong
reserves and AAA credit ratings that were the
envy of the nation.
It was Indiana’s success story, Vice President
Pence’s record of legislative and executive
experience, and his strong family values that
prompted President Donald Trump to select
Mike Pence as his running mate in July 2016.
The American people elected President
Donald Trump and Vice President Pence on
8 November 2016. President Donald Trump
and Vice President Pence entered office on 20
January 2017.
Vice President Mike Pence remains grateful
for the grace of God, the love and support of
his family, and the blessings of liberty that are
every American’s birthright. He looks forward to
working with the American people as together
they seek to Make America Great Again.
ARMY 245: Call to Duty 11