Pocan gets plum assignment, and he's ready to lead

[hue]

http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/editorial/pocan-gets-plum-assignment-and-he-s-ready-to-lead/article_5fb67fbc-8609-5d03-9d65-33bc75567126.html

Mark Pocan is still just a House freshman. But leaders in Washington are rapidly recognizing what Wisconsinites have known for a long time: Pocan is an incredibly hardworking and effective legislator who knows the issues and is ready to lead.

That initiative is being rewarded with a rare reassignment for a first-termer, as a member of the powerful House Committee on Education and the Workforce. And from his new position, Pocan has the potential to emerge as an essential player in progressive struggles to raise the minimum wage, invest in infrastructure, defend the rights of unions, and renew this country’s commitment to public schools and higher education.

That’s exciting for Wisconsin, and vital for America.

When new members of the U.S. House arrive in Washington, they generally get committee assignments that senior members do not want. So it was that Pocan found himself sitting on the House Government Oversight and Reform Committee. The Madison Democrat recognized that the committee was consequential, and he threw himself into the work. But he still had to listen to committee Chairman Darrell Issa's hyperpartisan preachments about the California Republican’s latest gripes with the Obama administration.

Pocan also got assigned to the Budget Committee, which meant he could keep tabs on that committee's chairman, Janesville Republican Paul Ryan — no small task.

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Some good news for WI!!

[Scuba]

1. Mark's the real deal. Happy to see him get this assignment!