Mark Pocan
Representative for Wisconsin · Democratic · United States
“Mr. Speaker, this is a stupid resolution. This stupid resolution completely ignores the reality of what Americans are worried about today: the rising cost of living caused by the hapless GOP leadership in Congress and an inept White House. Forget about this resolution being stupid for a second. What about communism?”
House of Representatives1 September 2026Source ↗
“This is just stupid, and it is insulting to Americans trying to get by while this Congress lets tariffs increase the cost of groceries and other goods, lets an illegal war in Iran raise gas prices, and the big, beautiful bill raise the cost of healthcare and utilities. However, here today in the U.S.”
House of Representatives1 September 2026Source ↗
“As a Member of Congress, I don't own any individual stocks because, as a byproduct of my job, I get inside information on many publicly traded companies. We don't let people with insider information buy stock because it impacts markets and threatens public trust in a system that so many of our retirement dollars are in.”
House of Representatives22 July 2026Source ↗
“It is basically the opposite of a real stock trading ban for Members of Congress, a wolf in sheep's clothing. This bill continues the corruption of what marks too much of what is done in Washington. Mr. Speaker, please don't support this Velveeta and weak bill.”
House of Representatives22 July 2026Source ↗
“Food, medicine, fuel for energy, literally everything you need to live and thrive, is blocked by us. It is not just us. We forced the world into an involuntary global blockade, as well, as we will punish anyone who does business with these sanctions.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“When the power goes out, which it does quite often due to our oil ban, surgeons finish surgeries with the light from their cell phones because of our blockade. In fact, while I was there, the power went out across the country for the second time that week: 42 hours down, then 1\1/2\ hours of power, and then a shutdown again.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
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“This is just stupid, and it is insulting to Americans trying to get by while this Congress lets tariffs increase the cost of groceries and other goods, lets an illegal war in Iran raise gas prices, and the big, beautiful bill raise the cost of healthcare and utilities. However, here today in the U.S. Congress we are dealing with none of that, not one thing to make Americans' lives easier. Instead, we are dealing with this stupid resolution, and that is just plain stupid.”
House of Representatives1 September 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, this is a stupid resolution. This stupid resolution completely ignores the reality of what Americans are worried about today: the rising cost of living caused by the hapless GOP leadership in Congress and an inept White House. Forget about this resolution being stupid for a second. What about communism? We are against socialism but okay with communism? That is stupid. Forget about that under the U.S. with Donald Trump, we have been more socialist than many actual socialist countries by claiming U.S. Government partial ownership in over 30 companies, which is clearly ignored in this resolution. That is stupid. Forget that somehow, for some reason, the save America voter suppression act is thrown in here, an act perhaps even more stupid than this resolution itself.”
House of Representatives1 September 2026Source ↗
“It is basically the opposite of a real stock trading ban for Members of Congress, a wolf in sheep's clothing. This bill continues the corruption of what marks too much of what is done in Washington. Mr. Speaker, please don't support this Velveeta and weak bill.”
House of Representatives22 July 2026Source ↗
“As a Member of Congress, I don't own any individual stocks because, as a byproduct of my job, I get inside information on many publicly traded companies. We don't let people with insider information buy stock because it impacts markets and threatens public trust in a system that so many of our retirement dollars are in. However, this bill before us puts Members of Congress above the law. It is not a real congressional stock trading ban like other bipartisan measures. This is a weak alternative. It is like Velveeta to real Wisconsin cheese. It has been said that this bill has loopholes so big a Qatari jet could go through them. It still allows Members to hold stock. It still allows Members to buy stocks with dividends. It still allows family members to buy stocks for others for any reason.”
House of Representatives22 July 2026Source ↗
“Government is lying to the American people about Cuba. I met with some ambassadors from other countries, and one thing really stuck. One said that it was like a silent Gaza. No, there aren't bombs destroying buildings and neighborhoods, but there is a destruction of the power system. There is a devastation to their healthcare system. There is an attack on their ability to educate their children. The people of Cuba are hurting economically more than ever, all due to the U.S. sanctions and blockade, not because of the Cuban Government. Mr. Speaker, their governing system certainly isn't ours. We disagree with some of their actions, for sure. Unfortunately, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is making this personal and political rather than about the best interests of the United States.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“When the power goes out, which it does quite often due to our oil ban, surgeons finish surgeries with the light from their cell phones because of our blockade. In fact, while I was there, the power went out across the country for the second time that week: 42 hours down, then 1\1/2\ hours of power, and then a shutdown again. Garbage is lining the streets because garbage trucks can't pick up trash, causing additional health hazards. We say that we want to transform the country with a more robust private sector, yet we make it harder for small businesses to open and thrive. I have talked to small business owners there, one who went from 400 employees to 12 due to our blockade. The government in Cuba announced 176 reforms for helping private businesses, but our government refuses to acknowledge a single one. Bluntly, the U.S.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“All of that got taken away by Donald Trump. In fact, we didn't just go back to the same old repression. Instead, we went to new levels of sadism against the Cuban people. Ships can't bring supplies due to our blockade. Goods can't be exchanged with the Cuban people because of our blockade. Medicine--even in war, we allow medicine through. Medicine and medical parts can't get to the Cuban people due to our blockade. Cuba is a nation that trains doctors who serve around the world, especially in Central and South America. Yet, in Cuban hospitals, MRI and CAT scan machines sit idly because they can't get the parts they need to fix them. I have seen it with my own eyes. The infant mortality rate has doubled due to the tightening of the blockade. Nearly 14,000 kids and 100,000 adults are waiting for surgeries.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“Food, medicine, fuel for energy, literally everything you need to live and thrive, is blocked by us. It is not just us. We forced the world into an involuntary global blockade, as well, as we will punish anyone who does business with these sanctions. Our boot is on the throats of the Cuban people after over 65 years of blockading their government. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Our punishing of the people of Cuba has not brought the regime change that some politicians want, but we are pushing our boot harder onto the necks of the people. Insanity. Mr. Speaker, we had a period of time of lifting the restrictions under Barack Obama. Guess what. Americans visited Cuba. The people of the country thrived and loved our country, and America was no less safe.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I just got back from a fact-finding trip to Cuba a week ago after having visited the country 30 years ago and 3\1/ 2\ years ago, as well. Let me tell you what I found on this trip. The United States' blockade of Cuba is crushing the Cuban people. We are hurting the very people who we profess to care about, and we are not doing so for national security reasons but for political reasons. Here is what I saw. Our blockade is inhumane.”
House of Representatives21 July 2026Source ↗
“They are rightfully afraid that the Republicans are going after their Social Security, after Musk called it a Ponzi scheme, after Trump lied about the program over and over in the state of the Union, and after the Secretary of Commerce said people could go a month without their Social Security check unless they were fraudsters. It is their money. Leave it alone. That is the pledge. Mr. Speaker, Republican Members of Congress can ignore their constituents, but listen to the lesson from Wisconsin at your own peril. Figure out how to listen to your constituents or get a discount card at Costco so you can buy Depends by the carton. Those are pretty much your choices. People don't support what is going on. Represent them, not Donald Trump and Elon Musk. ____________________”
House of Representatives8 April 2025Source ↗
“When we go home for this coming Easter break, I will do more townhalls, both in my district and in Republican districts, to make sure that people are being heard. This is not winning for the American people. Trump's tariffs are taxes on working people. He is crashing the stock market and making costs go up. This is the opposite of what he had promised. People don't want their services cut to fund a tax cut for the most wealthy. They don't want people who work for veteran hospitals or Social Security to have their jobs cut just to pay for Elon Musk and Donald Trump's tax cuts. They want the Federal Government's hands off the programs they value.”
House of Representatives8 April 2025Source ↗
“We rivaled a midterm congressional election turnout in a spring nonpartisan election. People are pissed, they are scared, and they are feeling unheard. So they came out to vote to be heard. I know GOP leadership is telling its Members to ignore their constituents and not have townhalls, but I think that is backfiring. In fact, that is what we heard with that Wisconsin election. I have had multiple townhalls, both in my district and in neighboring congressional districts in Wisconsin. We have had record turnout. In Belmont, Wisconsin, population 1,000, we had over 200 people show up; and we had to turn people away. People were watching the townhall through the windows. In Viroqua, a town of 4,500 people, 300 to 400 people showed up to voice their displeasure with the Republican agenda.”
House of Representatives8 April 2025Source ↗
“Mr. Speaker, I rise to discuss the special election that we had in Wisconsin last Tuesday for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. It was an overwhelming rebuke of the Trump-Musk agenda of cutting Medicaid, healthcare, long-term care, education funding, and food assistance to pay for a transfer of wealth of $4.5 trillion from the middle class and those aspiring to the wealthiest in this country. It wasn't just a 10-point win that mattered. In fact, more than the win was the turnout.”
House of Representatives8 April 2025Source ↗
“Shutting down Federal agencies won't lower the costs of groceries one dime, but it sets up a gigantic tax break for Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Now is the time to ensure you don't treat politics as a spectator sport. It is about our survival.”
House of Representatives6 February 2025Source ↗
“Madam Speaker, if you have ever had a steak dinner, you have likely seen a little sprig of parsley on the plate. Yes, it is food, but clearly it is meaningless to your dinner. It is simply a splash of color, likely left on your plate when you are done that will get washed off or thrown away in the garbage because ultimately it is meaningless, which is how the Republican majority in Congress is acting during this moment in our Nation.”
House of Representatives6 February 2025Source ↗