The Honorable Mike Pence
426 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative Pence:
On behalf of the more than 350,000 members of the National Taxpayers Union, I write to offer our support of your candidacy for Republican Leader in the 110th Congress. Taxpayers would benefit greatly from your consistent advocacy for fiscal discipline and limited government.
As a four-time winner of our "Taxpayers' Friend Award," you have demonstrated the resolve to follow through on these principles, no matter the political difficulties that may arise. Your strong leadership as Chairman of the Republican Study Committee has, at times, been the only voice for sanity in the federal budget. When your colleague Jeff Flake introduced a series of amendments to strike wasteful spending from appropriations bills, you were one of only 21 Members who stood up for taxpayers and supported all 19 attempts to pare back such expenditures. Unfortunately, in recent years your strong voice for fiscal responsibility has been drowned out by the back-scratching, pork-barrel politics of old.
Taxpayers across the country are dismayed at the current state of Congress, and yet their cries for restrained spending and balanced budgets have fallen on deaf ears. The hope associated with 1994's Contract with America has subsided, only to be replaced by the same disgust that brought about the "Republican Revolution" in the first place. Your candidacy represents an opportunity for fiscal conservatives to chart a new course, one that relies on action instead of rhetoric. To recapture the hope of 1994, Republican leadership must adhere to bedrock principles instead of merely paying them lip service.
We are proud to support your candidacy for Republican Leader in the 110th Congress and look forward to working with you in the future to revive fiscal discipline and accountability on Capitol Hill.
Sincerely,John Berthoud
President