The first five months in office for U.S. Rep. Greg Pence, R-Ind., have been a whirlwind of setting up district offices, meeting with constituents, getting acclimated to the job and working on legislation.
And all of that has been amid the looming question of whether House Democrats will attempt impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, for what they perceive as impeachable offenses following the conclusion of a two-year investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election, and whether the president and his campaign colluded with Russia in its efforts.
Mueller concluded that Russia interfered with the election, but that Trump and his campaign didn’t collude with Russia on its efforts. Mueller also did not bring obstruction of justice charges against the president, although he said the report did not exonerate him of wrongdoing.
Pence, 62, a Columbus resident, said he thinks the country is suffering from “Mueller fatigue” and is ready to move on.
“It doesn’t seem that the (Democratic) leadership has much appetite to pursue impeachment. You hear different interpretations of the Mueller Report. I’ve moved on. In my heart, I know that the president and the campaign did not collude, and as far as obstruction, to me, it’s pretty clear Mueller didn’t recommend any charges be brought, and I think that was his responsibility,” the freshman congressman said.
While touring the congressional district recently, Pence said he got the sense that constituents are tired of the drama surrounding the report and possibility of impeachment.
“Maybe we ought to be spending a little more time working on the USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement) — the “New NAFTA” agreement (regarding free trade between the countries) — and getting things done to benefit this country, instead of another two-and-a-half years more of chasing after the president. It seems to be the only thing Democrats want to get done. It’s obvious not all Democrats agree that they ought to impeach the president. They’re not even unified.”
Pence said time also needs to be spent working on an infrastructure bill to provide states with funding needed to improve roads. The congressman is a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
“I think there’s an enormous appetite between the Republicans and the Democrats to do something about infrastructure in this country. The issues are how does Indiana get its fair share, particularly since we’ve taken care of our roads, and other states have done such a poor job,” Pence said.
He also expressed disappointment that a deal is stalled because of remarks House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made about President Trump, regarding a “cover up,” prior to a planned infrastructure meeting with the president, which prompted the president to walk out of the meeting.
“I wish Pelosi would accept that everyone needs and wants an infrastructure bill, and will help move that forward,” Pence said.
Introduced legislation
A transportation bill that Pence is trying to move forward is House Resolution 2460, the Modernizing Agricultural Transportation Act of 2019, which he sponsored. It asks the Department of Transportation to examine regulations of hours of service and electronic logging devices that create obstacles for “safe, humane and market-efficient” transport of livestock and perishable agricultural commodities.
Federal regulations limit truck drivers to 14 hours of on-duty time, of which 11 can be driving time, before they must be off for 10 hours. The issue in the agricultural industry, Pence said, is when drivers hit their limit — sometimes by no fault of their own, such as traffic delays — but have perishable produce or livestock as cargo and are close to their destination.
“For the ag industry, it’s causing some real product spoilage or killing cattle in the truck,” Pence said of the regulation that started in December 2018.
A study of unintended consequences is needed, Pence added. A common sense change, he added, would be to allow those hauling grain or produce or cattle — as opposed to other non-perishable cargo — to “get the job done” because they have a small window for such deliveries.
Pence also introduced along with U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., the Our Obligation to Recognize American Heroes Act of 2019 (OORAH Act). It’s intended to help victims and families of the 1983 Marine barracks attack in Beirut with compensation, by giving them access to $1.68 billion in Iranian funds.
On Oct. 23, 1983, two truck bombs struck buildings in Beirut housing American and French military members who were stationed there as part of a multinational peacekeeping operation during the Lebanese Civil War. The bombs killed 241 U.S. service members, including 220 Marines.
Pence was liaison officer with a battalion that served in that peacekeeping force, but the battalion was relieved and shipped out 10 days before the attack.
A lawsuit brought by families of the U.S. victims and some survivors sought judgment against Iran, claiming it was responsible. A judge ruled that Iran provided Hezbollah with financial and logistical support for the attack.
“When the deceased’s families came to me and said, ‘Would you support us in going after Iran, and its movement of monies internationally to not have to pay reparations?,’ I said, ‘Absolutely,’” Pence said.
The families want to enforce settlement agreements with Clearstream S.A., a Luxembourg-based financial institution that is alleged to have laundered money for Iran.
Meeting constituents
Introducing the two bills, as well as cosponsoring 31 others, has been part of a full schedule for the freshman congressman, who has set up district offices in Columbus, Richmond and Muncie, and will open one in Greenfield.
“I always knew congressmen worked hard, but it’s busy,” Pence said.
Weekdays while in Washington, Pence said his days start about 7 a.m. and last until about 9 p.m. That includes meetings with legislative staff, committee meetings, party whip meetings, visiting with constituents, House votes and studying bills.
Pence said he’s met with 700 Sixth District constituents in Washington since Jan. 3, and visited all 19 counties in the district at least three times since then.
“The intent is to make sure that even though I live in Columbus, and I’m not moving to Washington, make sure we’re talking, we’re going, we’re out with the constituents all the time,” Pence said.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”About Greg Pence” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Who: Greg Pence
What: First-term member U.S. House of Representatives, Indiana’s 6th District
Political party: Republican
Age: 62
City of residence: Columbus
Occupation: Owner of Exit 76 Antique Mall in Edinburgh, Bloomington Antique Mall
Education: Columbus North High School graduate, 1975; bachelor’s degree in theology and philosophy from Loyola University of Chicago; master of business administration from Loyola, 1985; Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs, post-graduate work.
Background:
- United States Marine Corp, 1979 to 1984
- Union Oil Co. (Unocal), 1985-87, sales representative
- Marathon Oil Co., 1987-88, territory manager
- Kiel Bros. Oil Co., 1988-2004, vice president 14 years, president two years
- Co-Venture Resources, 2005-06, partner
- Circle K convenience stores, 2006-10, director of fuels
- Pence Group LLC, 1994-present, owner
- Exit 76 Antique Mall in Edinburgh, 2006-present, owner with wife
- Bloomington Antique Mall, 2008-present, owner with wife
- PMI LLC, 2014-16, owner
Family: Wife, Denise; four grown children, Nicole, Lauren, Emily and John
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Contact information” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Here’s how to contact U.S. Rep. Greg Pence, R-Ind., at his Washington and Columbus offices.
Washington
222 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-3021
Columbus
555 First St., Columbus IN 47201
Phone: 812-799-5230
[sc:pullout-text-end]
