Here & Now

U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D) on Next Coronavirus Relief Bill

Frederica Freyberg:

Now to the other side of the aisle and Wisconsin’s 2nd District Congressman Democrat Mark Pocan. Thanks for being here.

Mark Pocan:

Thank you. Glad to be here.

Frederica Freyberg:

First off, what is your response to the new statewide emergency order and mask mandate that goes into effect tomorrow?

Mark Pocan:

Well, I’m glad. A majority of states already have this. Republican governors, democratic governors because it’s in the best interest of the people. For the sheriffs that are saying they’re not going to enforce this, I think it’s pretty ridiculous. They’re taking their personal politics over their oaths, which is to uphold the law. To anybody who really thinks this is a burden on their freedom, I hope that they are consistent and they go barefoot and shirtless into every store that they go into, because that also is against those freedoms that they seem to espouse around masks. This is just common sense, you know. I’ve seen studies that if both people have a mask, the chance can be as little as 1.5% chance of someone getting the virus when you have that situation. So there’s reasons why over 70% of people support these mask orders. It’s a good thing we have it in Wisconsin and I congratulate the governor on doing it.

Frederica Freyberg:

You’ve been talking about it for a while. Do you think that Governor Evers should have acted sooner on this?

Mark Pocan:

Well, I’m just glad we have it now. Majority of states have this. I think recently they showed some — we have some spikes in Wisconsin we need to address and I think this will certainly help us toward that so we can figure out what to do this fall with schools and make sure that businesses are able to stay open. If you really care about your local businesses staying open, it’s important that we keep the numbers done and the best way to do that is following the mask order.

Frederica Freyberg:

In Washington, we know that Congress is working on the next coronavirus aid package. What is your reaction to the Republican Senate wanting to reduce the extra unemployment benefit from $600 a week to $200?

Mark Pocan:

First of all, for two and a half months — two and a half months ago we passed a bill and they’ve sat and done nothing. Now they’re first coming around to doing their jobs which I think is amazing and I’m saying that word because I’m not allowed to say other words on TV. But the fact that they would reduce that extra support for unemployment, don’t forget, people have lost their jobs at no fault of their own. As many small businesses have lost demand at no fault of their own because of the disease. Obviously restaurants and bars, tourism, meeting industry, go down the list. There’s a lot of people severely impacted. To say somehow we’re going to punish those people, again through no fault of their own, and they’re going to be making as little as unemployment offers doesn’t seem to make sense. We want people not to be evicted. We want people to be able to feed their families. That extra support was really doing that. Study after study has shown us that it worked. I think $200 just isn’t nearly enough to be additional. We’re going to continue to try to fight for the $600. But I think the fact that they’re even –that’s a priority at the same time they’re throwing into their package funding for F-35s and bigger deductions for two martini lunches just shows how awful their priorities are.

Frederica Freyberg:

What about the argument that giving people that extra $600 puts them above the place where they were when they were working and so it’s a disincentive to find work?

Mark Pocan:

So first of all, it’s never been proven. In fact by many university studies, they say this is not what has happened with the extra money. So it just doesn’t hit facts. In the few anecdotes where it may be true, you would have to be paying someone $10 or $12 for that to be true. Most jobs aren’t paying that low. You’re not really a job creator at that point. You’re a poverty enhancer at that point. I think what this is really showing is that on those really low-paid jobs at $10 an hour, for example, you’re below the poverty line with a family when you’re making a $10 an hour job. Maybe that’s part of the job, right? So we need to address raising minimum wage at a future time. Many of us have advocated to do to $15 an hour. In this particular situation, you’d have to be a really low-paying employer for this to have any impact.

Frederica Freyberg:

Meanwhile, out of Washington what other kind of help should states like Wisconsin and people living here expect around coronavirus aid?

Mark Pocan:

I think some of our priorities have obviously been the unemployment assistance for people again who have lost their job at no fault of their own. Helping small businesses who lost demand because of a lot of unique situations like we’ve talked about with restaurants and bars and tourism. We need to make sure that state and local governments have money. They’re the ones providing the services right now and yet they’re laying off people because it’s costing them so much to do that. We need to do that. We have to shore up the testing to make sure that we’re continuing it do that and contact tracing. We have to protect those front line workers because we didn’t do that in the first CARES Act and a number of other things. But it’s still focused on COVID. It’s just ridiculous that somehow the Republicans in their bill put funding for F-35s and two martini lunch tax deductions in when we should be focusing on people affected.

Frederica Freyberg:

With just about a minute left, I want to get to this. The U.S. Justice Department announces that it will be sending federal agents into Milwaukee. They say it’s for violent crime fighting not protest control, but what is your reaction to what’s called “Operation Legend” in Wisconsin?

Mark Pocan:

Operation Legend is nothing more than the president’s last gasp at trying to survive before drowning before the November elections. He realizes he’s not doing well in the polls. The economy is not doing well. His response to COVID has been pathetic. And because of that, he’s trying to bring those suburban voters back in and he thinks if he scares people that’s the way to do that. That’s what he tried in Portland. It didn’t work. Moms and veterans and other came out and stood in protest to what he was doing. Now he’s removing people from there without any rhyme or reason. And now he’s landing in places like Milwaukee. It’s a pathetic final gasp to try to survive and I think everyone really sees it as just that.

Frederica Freyberg:

We need to leave it there. Congressman Mark Pocan, thanks very much.

Mark Pocan:

Yeah. Thank you.