Governor Bentley Responds to Misleading Article on Republican Governors Association Conference

MONTGOMERY–Governor Robert Bentley on Thursday responded to a media inquiry regarding the 2015 Republican Governors Association Conference.  The full response failed to be included in the opinion piece that posted today, so the Governor’s Office provided the full response to Alabamians below.

“The Governor attended the Republican Governors Association 2015 Annual Conference in November of 2015.  Staff attending with the Governor included Deputy Chief of Staff Jon Barganier, Communications Director Jennifer Ardis and then Senior Political Adviser Rebekah Mason. The Republican Governors Association covered the cost of the conference, and no state taxpayer dollars were used for the trip.  RGA reimbursed the Governor’s campaign account which then reimbursed the state for use of the state airplane to transport the Governor and his staff to the conference.

“One of the main purposes for the conference is for Governors to meet privately with other Republican Governors on issues that are critical to states and the nation. The Governor attended several meetings regarding the Syrian refugee issue and spoke on a panel regarding health care opportunities for states to discuss how states can improve healthcare outcomes by leveraging innovative technologies to ensure affordable, accessible quality of care for Americans. In addition to his formal speaking events, the Governor had several interviews on the Syrian refugee issue, including a national Fox News interview with Bret Baier, who was at conference covering it.

“The Governor, his security and traveling staff all stayed at the same hotel and on the same floor. He did attend a Celine Dion concert with his traveling staff during one of his free evenings at the conference. The concert tickets were paid for personally by the Governor. Security was with the Governor at every meal he ate.”