Budget
As a current member of the Joint Economic Committee and a former Chair of the Joint Finance Committee in the Wisconsin State Assembly, I believe our budgets should serve as a reflection of our values.
I support a budget that makes investments in our future generations and protects programs that advance our entire society. I believe our budget should strengthen Social Security and Medicare, and invest in job growth through infrastructure, education, and research and development, while responsibly reducing our deficits and cutting wasteful spending and redundant programs where they exist.
More on Budget
WASHINGTON – Twelve days into the GOP-induced government shutdown that has furloughed Wisconsin workers, threatened the food security of 113,000 Wisconsin women and children, and stalled business for Wisconsin companies, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02) took action today to force a vote to reopen the government.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02) today released the following statement after the government shutdown at 12:01 a.m. on October 1, 2013.
WASHINGTON, DC--Less than 24 hours before a potential government shutdown, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan released the following statement on the continued threat of a Tea Party-instigated government shutdown:
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02), a member of the House Budget Committee, today voted against a funding bill that caters to the Tea Party wing of the Republican party and moves the government closer to a shut down. The continuing resolution, or CR, the House considered today would keep in place the sequester cuts that will cost the nation more than one million jobs by the end of 2014 and attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act for a 42nd failed time.
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02), a member of the House Budget Committee, today voted against legislation that recklessly prepares the country for default instead of moving forward on a comprehensive national budget to spur economic growth. The Full Faith and Credit Act would require that if the country defaulted on our loans, the U.S. Treasury would have to pay bondholders in China and other foreign nations before fulfilling our obligations to our U.S. troops, Medicare patients, and small business owners.
MADISON, WI – One week after Congress missed its legal deadline to pass a final budget, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02) today called on Speaker John Boehner and House Republicans to stop blocking the budget process. Last week, Pocan sent a letter to Speaker John Boehner with his fellow House Budget Committee Democrats urging the Speaker to immediately appoint budget conferees so Congress can move forward and pass a final budget that lays out our national priorities.
The legal deadline for Congress to pass a budget was April 15.
WASHINGTON—U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02), a member of the House Budget Committee, today expressed concern with the budget proposal released by President Obama. Pocan is disappointed with the decision to include a change in how benefits are calculated for Social Security recipients, also known as a chained CPI. According to the Social Security Administration, moving to a chained CPI formula would reduce an 85-year-old’s benefits by more than $1,100 a year.
Shaun Zinck, Beloit Daily News
Republicans plan to balance the budget “on the backs of the middle class,” said U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, during a rally held at Blackhawk Technical College’s central campus.
The rally was sponsored by The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM) and Every Child Matters. Both are Washington, D.C.-based lobbying groups.
Washington’s Congressional Budget Office said three quarters of the federal deficit over the next year is caused by economic weakness, Pocan said.
WASHINGTON—U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02), a member of the House of Representatives Committee on the Budget, once again voted against the GOP budget proposal introduced by committee chairman Paul Ryan (WI-01). The budget, which Pocan had vigorously spoken out against in the Budget Committee and on the House floor, passed the full House in a party-line vote.
The Badger Herald, Noah Goetzel
Just a day before the U.S. House of Representatives unveils its federal budget proposal, a local congressman lobbied against Republican initiatives to cut social programs at a retirement home in downtown Madison Monday.
U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, emphasized the need to replace the “arbitrary” spending cuts made by the sequester with a balanced budget that would not slash funding to social programs such as Medicare and Social Security. He spoke to a group of approximately 25 at the City of Madison Senior Center on Mifflin Street.