Contact: Matt Lloyd, U.S. Congressman Mike Pence, press office, 202-226-4379

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 /Standard Newswire/ -- U.S. Congressman Mike Pence was elected Chairman of the House Republican Conference for the 111th Congress by a unanimous vote of its members. The following are excerpts from Pence's acceptance speech:

"I will be loyal to the Cause of returning our party to the ideals of Lincoln and Reagan, the ideals that most Republican voters embrace--defending our nation, our treasury and our values with everything we've got. And I'm going to be loyal to the Cause of returning a Republican Majority to Capitol Hill in 2010."

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"We need to have a vision for defending the nation at home and abroad. We need substantive proposals for renewing our economy through tax relief, spending discipline and budget reform. We need principled alternatives to liberal Democrat plans on healthcare, education and entitlements. We need to have a strategy to thoughtfully defend the cherished values of life and marriage and human rights."

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"We all have a duty to be the loyal opposition, to support the Administration when we can and to vigorously oppose every time they try to keep the promises they made to the American left.  And if we do this, if we will be that loyal opposition, if we will fight for the interests of everyday Americans and offer positive substantive alternatives without unnecessary acrimony, the American people will soon tire of the flowery speeches and see the Democratic agenda for what it is--the failed ideas of the Great Society and the New Deal.  And they will come looking for the alternative.  And that alternative will be a renewed Republican party that combines time-tested conservative principles with a positive plan for the future."