Here & Now

Mark Pocan Reacts to State of the Union

Freyberg:

I spoke with Congressman Ribble earlier. Joining me now from the other side of the aisle, welcome to Congressman Mark Pocan, the democrat who represents Wisconsin’s 2nd District. Thanks for being here.

Mark Pocan:

Thank you, Frederica

Freyberg:

So, Congressman Ribble declares the President’s State of the Union address was one of the most partisan he’s heard, and chafes at the idea that the GOP should stop introducing veto-certain bills. This sounds kind of like a set-up for more gridlock. What responsibility does Washington have to the rest of us to act like we are all pulling together?

Pocan:

Well, the ideal situation would be the democrats and president have laid out really what he would like to see done, what the democrats would like see done, to help the middle class and those aspiring to be in the middle class. Now the republicans, cause we’re at the time when we do the budget, which is usually done in March, will have a chance to lay out their priorities, and then, hopefully, that means you get together and find out what you have in common and where you can compromise and get something done. That’s the way it should be, and that’s the way, I’m hopeful, it will be done. But if we keep doing what we've, you know, we’ve done for the last couple sessions, it will be everyone talking past each other rather than with each other. That would be very unfortunate. But the republicans now don’t have Harry Reid to blame. They’ve got both houses. They can put their agenda on the table. I think the President put his agenda on the table. Let’s have a dialogue with the American people.

Freyberg:

Congressman Ribble suggested, as have others in the Republican Party, that one of the things they think they might be able to work with the president on is this Fast Track trade talks for Asia and Europe, and yet, they say the democrats particularly don't like that. So, what’s your view of the president calling for that authority of the Fast Track?

Pocan:

It’s gonna be an interesting vote. I would say the vast majority of democrats don’t like Fast Track, but also a number of republicans. And there will be some democrats that will support the president on Fast Track, along with the republican leadership. But Fast Track Authority means is that we give up the public’s voice via their elected representatives. It limits our ability to amend and even debate the treaty. And it’s a treaty, and it's a treaty that's 29 chapters, of which only five actually directly deal with trade. It’s been negotiated secretly by 600 people, none of which are members of congress, a lot of corporate CEOs, and we don’t even know what’s in it. So, to give up our authority, before we even know what’s in it to debate or amend it, seems like it’s against our Constitutional responsibility over a treaty. So, I think what you’re going to find is a lot of republicans who are more constitutionalists, and a lot of the democrats who have seen some of the bad things they don’t like in past trade deals kind of working together to try defeat Fast Track.

Freyberg:

The president says that his budget will include childcare subsidies and free community college tuition. What would those kinds of things mean in your district?

Pocan:

I think, you know, what I look at is an economic message. We need to talk about how, while the economy has been coming back slowly, people have been left behind. Or more importantly, wages have been very stagnant in this recovery so if it means that person used to make $25 an hour in a factory that now went overseas and now the best job they can find is $10 an hour, and they can't pay their mortgage, or they can't support their family, if they can go to a community college and get that ability to learn a new skill and get a high paying job, that should be something that doesn't become a democrat or republican value, but more American value, and we can figure out how to do it. I think that if you look at it as just another government program, like the republicans sometimes do, then they're not going to support it. But if we can make sense of it, in that, how do you support those people left behind, and there have been a lot of articles recently about this, people around the country who were in that situation, then I think we've got something maybe we can find agreement on.

Freyberg:

That’s interesting that you bring that up. The president also talked about this being the fastest economic growth in a decade, and we've got a hot stock market. Are your constituents feeling this recovery the way he described it?

Pocan:

The stock market is up, no question. We've had how many months now, I think it's over 50 months of continuous job growth, but wages have been relatively flat. We’ve seen productivity increases that's going to the top 1% and 2%. We need to make sure everyone is sharing in that, and we address income inequality. That means things like minimum wage, things like sick pay, things like tax breaks for the middle class, a lot of what the president talked about. That’s where we have to see if we have something in common with the republicans. But there's no question that wages have not kept up with the rest of the recovery, and we have to address that so people can have the opportunities they need for their families.

Freyberg:

Many of these things are non-starters according to Congressman Ribble, and presumably many others in the majority party.

Pocan:

It might be the specific proposal, but the values shouldn’t be, the value that someone should be able to support their family who are working full-time and playing by the rules, they should be able to afford a mortgage and make sure their kids can go to college. I think we all agree on that. Let's start there and then let’s work backward rather than starting with here’s an idea, here’s an idea, look how far apart they are. I think it's really more of a semantical fight, and if we really want to get something done, just start with what we're both trying to accomplish, then figure out how to do it.

Freyberg:

Specific to your district, what will lead to its growth and health?

Pocan:

Again, I think a big part of it is how we're addressing things like the minimum wage, how we're addressing things like educational opportunities. I would also add research and development specifically for this district, because we have such amazing bio-tech and hi-tech boom because of the university being here. Those are family-supporting jobs, if we can do it. So, my pillars are always investing in education, investing in research and development, and investing in infrastructure for those folks that have been left behind by some of the jobs that went overseas. We have bridges that literally are old enough to be eligible for Medicare, a majority of the bridges. Those were kind of things that if we rebuild now, you put people back to work, and you can also reinvest in our infrastructure. Those are debates we're going to have to have with the republicans, but when he talked about infrastructure, I watched a few republicans stand up during the speech.

Freyberg:

All right, Congressman, thanks very much.

Pocan:

Absolutely. Thank you.