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Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia made a point of emphasizing during the Bush v. Gore arguments in December 2000 that there is no federal constitutional guarantee of a right to vote for president. He was right about that. Indeed, as the reform group FairVote reminds us: “Because there is no right to vote in the U.S. Constitution, individual states set their own electoral policies and procedures. This leads to confusing and sometimes contradictory policies regarding ballot design, polling hours, voting equipment, voter registration requirements, and ex-felon voting rights.
MADISON, WI—U.S. Reps. Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) today announced legislation to explicitly guarantee the right to vote in the Constitution. The Pocan-Ellison Right to Vote Amendment would amend the Constitution to provide all Americans the affirmative right to vote and empower Congress to protect this right.
U.S. Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) announced Monday legislation to amend the U.S. Constitution to guarantee the right to vote.
"The right to vote is too important to be left unprotected," Pocan said in a statement. "At a time when there are far too many efforts to disenfranchise Americans, a voting rights amendment would positively affirm our founding principle that our country is at its strongest when everyone participates."
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.
Openly gay U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan’s husband has received an ID issued only to the spouses of federal lawmakers. It is the first time the House has recognized the same-sex husband of a member with the House Spouse ID.
“We’re very happy that my husband Phil (Frank) was able to get a House Spouse ID,” said Pocan, a Democrat from Madison.
For apparently the first time ever in the history of the U.S. House, a gay member of Congress has obtained a congressional ID card identifying his same-sex partner as a spouse.
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) told the Washington Blade on Thursday the House Sergeant at Arms informed him late last month that Philip Frank, whom Pocan legally married in Canada in 2006, would be able to obtain an ID labeling him as congressional spouse. Previously, Frank was given an ID identifying him as a “designee,” but picked up his new ID on April 26.
Madison, WI– On Saturday, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02) announced the winners of the second district’s Congressional Art Competition, a high school visual arts contest that showcases the best student art from around the country. His district office collected more than 30 submissions of artwork from high schools across south-central Wisconsin.
Pocan congratulated the following students on their winning pieces:
On Wednesday, President Barack Obama signed into law a bill canceling furloughs of air traffic controllers, triggered by automatic “sequester” budget cuts. Congress had hurriedly passed the legislation the previous week, no doubt after a bunch of corporate fat cats stuck on the tarmac in their private jets got fed up with the delays.
U.S. Congressman Mark Pocan, D-Madison, stopped by the Rock and Walworth County Head Start Program in Beloit Thursday morning to talk about the cuts the program is facing due to the federal sequester.
Head Start is a federally funded preschool and family program that serves low-income families.
The program is facing a 5.27 percent funding cut. In 2012, about $4.3 million from its $6 million budget came from federal funding.
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and U.S. Representative Mark Pocan, D-Wis., spoke at a panel on campus Thursday about the increasing federal debt and the need for citizens, specifically students, to take notice and begin acting to remedy the issue through bipartisanship.