Mike Pence in 2020 FactCheck
On Abortion:
Federal funding of Planned Parenthood is "morally wrong"
According to an op-ed by Mike Pence, "'I also believe it is morally wrong to take the taxpayer dollars of millions of pro-life Americans and use them to fund organizations that provide and promote abortions, like Planned Parenthood of America.'"
[Op-Ed--Mike Pence, 2/24/11]
Q: Are you willing to hold up this entire budget over defunding Planned Parenthood?
PENCE: Well of course I am. I think the American people have begun to learn that the largest abortion provider in
the country is also the largest recipient of federal funding under Title X, and they want to see that come to an end." [Media Matters, 4/5/11]
Source: FactCheck on 2020 Trump Research Book
Sep 22, 2020
On Abortion:
Proposed abortion bill that defined "forcible rape"
[Associated Press State & Local Wire, 8/26/12]: "Joe Donnelly and Mike Pence twice sponsored legislation that would separate out 'forcible rape' when it comes to federal funding of abortions. Donnelly and Pence signed onto a 2011 bill that would have
redefined rape for the purposes of seeking an abortion. The Donnelly and Pence campaigns called the defining of rape in the bill something the congressmen had overlooked and said it was quickly removed from the measure once it was found."
Source: FactCheck on 2020 Trump Research Book
Sep 22, 2020
On Civil Rights:
No evidence of hate crimes over gender identity
According to The Indianapolis Star, "Pence, who has said he believes that being gay is a 'lifestyle choice,' also worried that a bill to protect gays and lesbians from workplace discrimination could be used to discriminate against Christians."
[Indianapolis Star, 4/12/15]"This bill designates in particular gender identity for federally protected status. Without, I might add, any evidence of any hate crimes occurring against individuals for gender identity." [Office of Rep. Pence, 4/29/09]"
Source: FactCheck on 2020 Trump Research Book
Sep 22, 2020
On Civil Rights:
Changing definition of marriage is abolishing marriage
[Columbus Republic, 9/22/00]: "Pence said he opposed gay marriages and hate-crimes legislation. He said that marriage between man and woman is the nucleus of American society and 'should be elevated, held higher than, esteemed more under the law than
any other relationship.'"[States News Service, 3/31/08]: "If we change the definition of marriage you're really abolishing marriage. I don't think we really want to see a society without that strong centerpiece of a heterosexual marriage," Pence said.
Source: FactCheck on 2020 Trump Research Book
Sep 22, 2020
On Energy & Oil:
Cap and trade would raise home utility rates more than $3100
[NUVO, 9/27/12]: "I'm concerned about policies like a national energy tax that would work such a hardship on Hoosier utility ratepayers. I think the issue of climate change -- and the cause of any climate change that's occurring -- is a subject
of scientific debate. And I think the science should always drive that debate, but I strongly oppose efforts to enact cap and trade legislation at the national level." [Federal News Service, 4/20/09]: "Now, you've got the
EPA essentially saying that carbon dioxide represents a threat to the environment and that's going to set into motion, Democrats on Capitol Hill and this administration, bringing forward a cap and trade bill,
which literally could see the utility rates of every American household go up by more than $3,100 per year."
Source: FactCheck on 2020 Trump Research Book
Sep 22, 2020
On Energy & Oil:
Build Keystone XL; drill ANWR
[Star Press, 8/7/08]: "It's likely that Congress will vote on a comprehensive energy bill this fall, but Pence is asking, 'Why wait?' Pence supports oil drilling in the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans off the East Coast and West Coast."
[Office of Rep. Mike Pence, 1/18/12]: "With unemployment at a heartbreaking 8.5 percent, I am profoundly disappointed that the president has rejected the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. In saying 'no' to the
Keystone XL pipeline, the president is saying no to energy independence and to thousands of good-paying new jobs. I urge the president to reconsider his opposition to this job-creating pipeline.'"
Source: FactCheck on 2020 Trump Research Book
Sep 22, 2020
On Energy & Oil:
Global warming is a myth; treaty is a disaster
[Mike Pence For Congress via Wayback Machine, 2000]: "Global warming is a myth. The global warming treaty is a disaster. There, I said it. Just like the 'new ice age' scare of the 1970's, the environmental movement has found a new chant for their latest
'chicken little' attempt to raise taxes & grow centralized governmental power. The chant is 'the sky is warming! the sky is warming!'" [Star Press, 1/7/10]: "On nuclear power: 'I think we ought to build 100 new nuclear plants in the next 20 years.'"
Source: FactCheck on 2020 Trump Research Book
Sep 22, 2020
On Environment:
Won't comply with EPA rules on toxic mercury
[Editorial--Fort Wayne Gazette, 7/6/15]: "Indiana was one of almost two dozen states that brought the suit that forced the Environmental Protection Agency back to the drawing board on air pollution regulations related to mercury and other toxic
emissions. Pence has put Indiana in the forefront of every recent fight to defend the coal industry from what the state considers undue interference from pollution regulators."
[The Hill, 7/14/14]: "Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is calling on his former colleagues in Congress to defund proposed Environmental Protection Agency regulations at the heart of President Obama's climate change initiative. 'Using
the power of the purse, Congress has the ability to block or prevent implementation of the EPA's proposed regulations on new and existing power plants,' Pence wrote. 'I respectfully urge you to support legislative efforts to do so."
Source: FactCheck on 2020 Trump Research Book
Sep 22, 2020
On Families & Children:
Day-care kids suffer stunted emotional development
[Mike Pence Letter to The Editor--Indianapolis Star, 4/9/97]: "Researchers found that while day-care kids suffer no disadvantage in cognitive or linguistic development, their emotional development was stunted. Specifically,
researchers found that a child cared for by other was less affectionate toward the mother. This was described as 'statistically insignificant,' which means that the numbers make it as obvious as the nose on your face."
Source: FactCheck on 2020 Trump Research Book
Sep 22, 2020
On Government Reform:
FactCheck: Yes, voter ID laws may increase voter turnout
[On voter ID]: "The reality is recent experience under Indiana's voter ID law shows that such laws do not diminish voter turnout at all. In fact, there's some evidence that they increase voter turnout. As was recently reported, voter turnout among
Democrats improved slightly last year in Indiana despite a new law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls." [Transcript--House Committee On The Judiciary, 2/27/08]FactCheck from Poverty Action Lab ("The Effects of Voter ID
Notification on Voter Turnout," 2012): To add evidence to this polarizing and often politicized debate, researchers evaluated the effect of sending various postcards describing relevant voter
ID requirements to different voters in Tennessee and Virginia. They found that notifying voters of the ID requirements did not negatively affect turnout, and certain messaging actually increased turnout by as much as 1.5 percentage points.
Source: FactCheck on 2020 Trump Research Book
Sep 22, 2020
On Homeland Security:
Homosexuals in the ranks weakens unit cohesion
[Mike Pence Announcement Speech via Wayback Machine, 2000]: "In addition to defense spending, Congress should lead a national debate on reforming the military by:. (4) bringing an end to the 'don't ask/don't tell' policy of permitting
homosexuals to serve in the armed forces. Homosexuality is incompatible with military service because the presence of homosexuals in the ranks weakens unit cohesion."
Source: FactCheck on 2020 Trump Research Book
Sep 22, 2020
On Principles & Values:
To reverse American decline must win back traditional values
[FNS, 2/19/10]: "To reverse American decline, we should recognize that our present crisis is not merely economic and political, but moral. We must win back America for the fundamental traditional values of the American people. The sanctity of life
& the sanctity of marriage."[Press Release, 3/8/04]: "The President rightly called marriage, 'the most enduring human institution.' Marriage was ordained by God, confirmed by law, is the glue of the American family & the safest harbor for children."
Source: FactCheck on 2020 Trump Research Book
Sep 22, 2020
On Homeland Security:
Fact Check: Takes credit for Veterans Choice passed in 2014
Pence said: "After years of scandal that robbed our veterans of the care that you earned in the uniform of the United States, President Trump kept his word again. We reformed the VA, and Veterans Choice is now available for every veteran in America."
The Veterans Choice program was a bipartisan initiative enacted by Obama in 2014. The Trump administration "reformed the VA" by signing the VA MISSION Act of 2018, which boosted funding for the choice program and expanded the eligibility criteria.
Source: NBC News Fact-Check on 2020 Republican Convention speech
Aug 26, 2020
Page last updated: Dec 01, 2021