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Mark Pocan: “The VA is facing staffing shortages.”

Featuring: Mark Pocan, Democratic | U.S. House, Wisconsin, District 2

Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025

Published January 30, 2025 | Video Starts at 56:40

It's everything that you can imagine that's make sure they're kind of in the right way. Thank you. There's a lot that they're going to go after, so. And right now, for federal employees, The VA is facing staffing shortages. If I understand it right, I was told the acting VA administrator said they're going to waiver for 300,000 of the positions. But the VA is huge, rightfully so. (56:40–56:46)

CLAIM

Asserts that the Department of Veterans Affairs is experiencing staffing shortages.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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Mark Pocan

“This is an unprecedented amount of executive orders and executive actions coming out of Donald Trump.”
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“He [Trump] put at least people who are professionals in this area [CDC], but he also didn't take their advice.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 01:34-1:16:43
“The GOP is in control of the House by right now, a one seat margin.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 02:23-02:29
“They couldn't really govern the first time Donald Trump was president when they had a majority.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 02:48-02:53
“Project 2025 is here, right? Many, many of the executive orders and actions are directly out of Project 2025.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 07:29-07:39
“We have a continuing resolution that funds government through March 14th.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 08:14-08:19
“Since the start of this administration, ICE has reported they've made 4800 in 29 arrests.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 08:53-09:00
“Donald Trump has talked about privatizing the Postal Service.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 09:55-09:58
“Many of Donald Trump's executive orders are likely not legal.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 10:13-10:18
“Reconciliation, tax fight. That is probably the biggest fight you will see us have in Congress, and that will likely be in April.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 10:51-11:03
“This executive order or action to reduce federal funding... looking at 2,600 different federal agencies to go after.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 12:58-13:34
“Wisconsin already is a state that did not expand Medicaid.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 17:34-17:38
“It would cost 4 trillion over the next 10 years just to do a simple extension of the tax break that they offered last time.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 18:48-18:58
“83% of the tax break that Trump has done last time and if he continued at this time would 83% would go to the top 1% of people in this…”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 19:03-19:16
“It's 10, 15 times cheaper to take care of someone in their home than put them in a nursing home.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 22:11-22:18
“We're not part of the [International Criminal Court].”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 23:19-23:20
“The Senate just said they will not take that bill up because they need 60 votes.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 23:20-23:25
“There are 75 kids playing sports in the public schools in Utah. Four are trans, one is a trans girl.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 27:22-27:35
“Over 80% of those trans kids have had thoughts of suicidality because of the bullying of adults.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 27:43-27:51
“The Lake and Riley Act allows deportation without due process if accused of a crime.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 28:51-29:04
“Donald Trump overturned executive orders that Joe Biden had done.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 31:22-31:31
“Federal employee unions strategize with Congress on workers' rights.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 33:07-33:15
“Benjamin Netanyahu is likely a war criminal according to the international court.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 34:40-34:45
“Over 47,000 people, minimum, have been killed [in the conflict involving Israel].”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 34:49-34:55
“The number of Hamas in the entire country fighting was 30,000 out of 2.2 million people.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 35:08-35:16
“I will never support offensive weapons until something changes there.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 35:26-35:31
“I am also dissatisfied that President Biden, towards the end, approved another sale of weapons.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 35:40-35:47
“UNRWA was the group that fed, I think it was 60% of the people, the 2.2 million people every day.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 35:56-35:58
“40% or 50% of the kids in Gaza were educated by the UN.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 36:13-36:18
“UNRWA does an amazing job of what they do there, and therefore they've been targeted.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 37:15-37:21
“UNRWA is a very important group.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 37:34-37:36
“They have to by I think Tuesday be out of the area completely by Israeli law.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 37:46-37:52
“We had funded them. That funding has now gone away.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 37:53-37:58
“I don't think it's going to get better immediately.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 38:08-38:11
“I support the UN almost complicitly here.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 40:07-40:11
“Getting out of the World Health Organization makes no sense.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 40:37-40:43
“We got out of the Paris climate agreement immediately.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 43:19-43:22
“We're going to be cutting back all the Inflation Reduction act funding that helped fund trying to do the changes that we were trying to do.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 43:22-43:31
“All of our mail now is processed out of Milwaukee.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 45:35-45:38
“He's trying to do every state taking 13 or more areas that process, like in Georgia, down to a single spot and slowing down the delivery…”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 45:37-45:47
“There's a lot of reasons why, besides the constitutional reference to the Postal Service, that it's important to keep the Postal Service…”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 46:01-46:11
“The Democrats in the Senate screwed up because they did not prioritize approving those board of governor appointments that Joe Biden had.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 47:35-47:44
“There's a rural program for mail. They tested in Wisconsin and Virginia and it dropped our delivery rates by 20-25%.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 47:59-48:08
“HR722 is the start of a national abortion ban.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 49:06-49:10
“Technically, we have 1849 law in Wisconsin affecting, excuse me, on abortion.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 49:55-50:02
“If they freeze NIH, National Institutes of Health funding, I'm going to try to apologize every time I say an acronym.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 50:12-50:18
“Every drug I think in the last 15 or 20 years that's come to market has had support from our tax dollars through the National Institutes of…”
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“They're looking to steal money from veterans so they could give Elon Musk more money to put spaceships in the air.”
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“Department of Veterans Affairs [programs] are on the chopping block with the executive orders and actions.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 56:05-56:17
“The acting VA administrator said they're going to waiver for 300,000 of the positions.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 56:46-56:53
“Diversity, equity and inclusion [programs] are absolutely on the target list.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 57:41-57:41
“Inflation happened in 12 or 14 countries that are very similar to us across the globe.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 59:04-59:16
“50% said [the economy and inflation] was why [they voted the way they did].”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 59:36-59:38
“You're going to see likely more inflation under Donald Trump if he does what he wants to.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 59:56-1:00:03
“He's talking and he's clearly implied that he's going to do tariffs across the board tariffs.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 1:00:03-1:00:09
“We pay for those tariffs because everything will cost a little more.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 1:00:42-1:00:47
“They will try to move towards private vouchers.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 1:03:14-1:03:21
“In Wisconsin, the law was cleaned up, but in many of these states, they will do things like this.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 1:03:45-1:03:51
“You're taking that money directly out of public education.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 1:03:51-1:03:55
“Some of the kids that need it most, especially in special education, they're not going to those voucher schools.”
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“Project 2025 is over 900 pages.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 1:04:53-1:04:58
“Project 2025 was so unpopular, no one wanted anything to do with it.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 1:06:07-1:06:12
“You're going to kick out possibly up to 8,000 people from the military who are serving this country.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 1:09:20-1:09:26
“The COVID pandemic under Trump was a disaster.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 1:16:11-1:16:15
“In one of the first day or two of sweeps, they detained overnight a veteran because they looked like an immigrant.”
Representative Mark Pocan Town Hall in Madison January 2025 | Uploaded January 30, 2025 | 1:21:35-1:21:44