Scott.A.Milkey From: Clift, Mckenzie C Sent: Tuesday, December 01, 2015 6:04 PM To: Lloyd, Matthew;Hodgin, Stephanie Subject: RE: transcrip Attachments: Governor, Rafael Interview Transcription.docx Yes - see attached. McKenzie Clift Communications Specialist Office of Governor Michael R. Pence Office: 317-234-8926 [email protected] From: Lloyd, Matthew Sent: Tuesday, December 01, 2015 6:00 PM To: Hodgin, Stephanie <[email protected]>; Clift, Mckenzie C <[email protected]> Subject: transcrip Can you send me script from Rafael interview? Transcription This Week Interview with Governor Mike Pence – Airing 10/18 Rafael Sanchez, RTV 6: Governor Mike Pence: Governor, thank you for joining us. Rafael Sanchez, RTV 6:You bet. You announced a major road program which you say will not, in any way, raiGovernorse taxes. Mike How Pence:is that possible? Well, it’s a real testament to the strong, fiscal responsibility that Indiana’s demonstrated in recent years. Look, we have one of the strongest balance sheets in the country. We have a growing economy. We have record employment in the state of Indiana and the lowest unemployment rate in the Midwest. That’s all created an environment where, in the end of the last fiscal year, we actually ended up with near record reserves in the bank. So, as we were looking at the priorities of the coming session and the General Assembly, I knew it would be possible for us to invest in the kind of preservation of our infrastructure, of roads and bridges, across the state of Indiana. By leveraging our fiscal strength without having to raise taxes on Hoosier motorists and taxpayers.Rafael Sanchez, RTV 6: We’re talking about $1 billion. Will the legislature approve this money comGovernoring out Mike of the Pence: rainy day fund? st Well, I’m hopeful that the legislature will embrace all of our 21 Century Crossroads plan. What we want to do, ultimately, is invest $1 billion over the next four years to take what is already a good system of state roads and bridges, ranks above the national average, and even improve that still. And the good news is, we can do that without raising taxes on Hoosier motorists in this state. The way we make that happen is, I believe, that it is important that we maintain adequate reserves. But, I’ll ask the General Assembly to allow me to move dollars above 11.5 percent into roads. And also, we have the highest credit rating of any state in the country – a Triple A bond rating. And that means we can borrow money at a very affordable rate. And so I’m also going to ask the legislature to give me the ability to borrow dollars over a 20 year period of time to invest in the preservation of our roads and bridges. I’m encouraged by the initial response that we havest received from members of the General Assembly. But, I look forward to taking the case for the 21 Century Crossroads plan all across Indiana and into the well of the General Assembly nextRafael January. Sanchez, RTV 6: The Indiana Democratic Party says that you’ve decided to speed this up; that this proposal that you announced last week is really an effort because of the numbers you’re seeing in the 2016 campaign. Is there any truth to that, sir? Did you speed up this program in an effort to respond to the political radio ads that you possibly have been hearing that criticize the stateGovernor for havingMike ne Pence:glected roads over these years? You know, Rafael, our administration has invested in infrastructure every year since I became Governor. More than $1.2 billion has been invested since I took the oath of office. This is simply building on that and, frankly, it was born as we closed out our fiscal year well ahead of where we expected to be in our budget reserves. We set a goal of 12.5 percent, which would be very high for any state in the country. But, because Indiana’s economy is expanding so rapidly, our reserves were over 14 percent. So I sat our team down and said ‘What could we do in the upcoming short session of the General Assembly that would have the greatest impact on encouraging more investment and seeing more jobs created in the state of Indiana?’ And roads and bridgesRafael Sanchez, and infrastructure RTV 6: were on top of the list. The Democrats, as soon as you made your announcement, put out a release saying that Indiana roads are, I believe the grade that they gave them were a D or a D+. Is that just not accurate? Because I want to make sure that I understand. Are they making things up? Are they lying? The information that we’re hearing from the other side; how would you characterize it if it’s notGovernor the truth? Mike Pence: The suggestion that Indian’s infrastructure is crumbling or suffering from neglect is just political nonsense. But look, that’s ok. It’s a free country. People can say what they want to say. I think that when you look at the real statistics, you’ll see that the investments that are underway today have our roads and bridges in the state of Indiana in fair or even betterst condition in more than 90 percent of the cases. The $1 billion that I want to invest now, in the 21 Century CrossroadsRafael Sanchez, plan, RTVwill take 6: us even higher. I want to move on to other big topics that, of course, your office has to deal with. Your state ordered investigation of Planned Parenthood found that those clinics were ok. They were in the clear. They were not misusing federal funds on abortions. Why then have a contract with Real Alternatives? Was that in response to Planned Parenthood? Or, why do you see Real AlternativesGovernor Mike as being Pence: a suitable provider of health services for women in our state? I’m very pleased that we were able to identify these resources. Hoosiers in northern Indiana were taking advantage of them over the last year and now, people all across the state, expectant moms across the state, will have more choices for counseling and support as the result.Rafael Sanchez, RTV 6: Critics say that this group is really an anti-abortion group and that’s where the criticism is coming from. Was it possible to find a provider that was neutral and still provide the services you wanted or did you like this service or this contract because of their anti-abortion stance?Governor Mike Pence: A number of other states have contracted with Real Alternatives and had genuine results. Look, I think women ought to have the broadest range of choices available for counselingRafael Sanchez, services. RTV 6: But in this case, Governor, they’re anti-abortion, so do they get full services?Governor Mike Pence: It is, like me, an organization that recognizes the sanctity of life. But, it’s important to note that Real Alternatives doesn’t fail to provide medical services. Real Alternatives offers counseling and support to expectant mothers and also assistance in not only coming to term, but also exploring adoption opportunities. We’ve expanded access to adoption in the state of Indiana and I think this is all part and parcel in making sure that young women have the broadest range of choices available for counseling and support. I think that’s the right approach and I’m grateful that we’re able to expand this program at no additional cost to Hoosier taxpayers. Rafael Sanchez, RTV 6: You recall the firestorm caused by RFRA. You have people like businessmen Bill Oesterle and former Governor Joe Kernan who are urging you to extend civil rights protections to the LGBT community. Will 2016 be that year? Will you either change their mind or will you encourage the legislature to extend statewide protections to those that are in the LGBTQGovernor community? Mike Pence: Well, let me say that I abhor discrimination. One of the heroes of my youth was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. One of the greatest experiencesth of my life was walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge next to John Lewis on the 45 anniversary of Bloody Sunday. Hoosiers don’t tolerate discrimination against anybody. We are the kindest, most compassionate, most caring people in the world. But Hoosiers also cherish faith, religion and the freedoms that are associated with those things. And so I think that as we go forward, there are two things that are important. Number one is that as this debate continues in the public square, and maybe in the General Assembly, that it be done so in a way that shows compassion and respect for everyone, with every point of view. But what we’re considering is whether those two great principles, the fact that Hoosiers don’t tolerate discrimination and Hoosiers cherish faith and religion, whether it’s possible to reconcile those two things in the law. We’ll be thoughtful about it. Candidly, Rafael, I’m being prayerful about it. We’ve come to no determination yet, but we’re listening to a lot of people respectfully. We’re taking the matter seriously and we’ll look to resolve our position on that issue and what we think is the best course for Indiana in the weeks and months ahead. Scott.A.Milkey From: Craig, Lindsey M Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2015 4:45 PM To: Shields, Adrienne M Cc: McGuffee, Tyler Ann;Habig, William J (Gus);Brookes, Brady;McGrath, Danielle Subject: Re: Real Alternatives Request No worries.