Listening to Our Constituents

Floor Speech

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Mr. POCAN. 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. 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. 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.

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.

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