Pam Fessler
Pam Fessler is a correspondent on NPR's National Desk, where she covers poverty, philanthropy, and voting issues.
In her reporting at NPR, Fessler does stories on homelessness, hunger, affordable housing, and income inequality. She reports on what non-profit groups, the government, and others are doing to reduce poverty and how those efforts are working. Her poverty reporting was recognized with a 2011 First Place National Headliner Award.
Fessler also covers elections and voting, including efforts to make voting more accessible, accurate, and secure. She has done countless stories on everything from the debate over state voter identification laws to Russian hacking attempts and long lines at the polls.
After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Fessler became NPR's first Homeland Security correspondent. For seven years, she reported on efforts to tighten security at ports, airports, and borders, and the debate over the impact on privacy and civil rights. She also reported on the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, The 9/11 Commission Report, Social Security, and the Census. Fessler was one of NPR's White House reporters during the Clinton and Bush administrations.
Before becoming a correspondent, Fessler was the acting senior editor on the Washington Desk and NPR's chief election editor. She coordinated all network coverage of the presidential, congressional, and state elections in 1996 and 1998. In her more than 25 years at NPR, Fessler has also been deputy Washington Desk editor and Midwest National Desk editor.
Earlier in her career, she was a senior writer at Congressional Quarterly magazine. Fessler worked there for 13 years as both a reporter and editor, covering tax, budget, and other news. She also worked as a budget specialist at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, and was a reporter at The Record newspaper in Hackensack, New Jersey.
Fessler has a master's of public administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and a bachelor's degree from Douglass College in New Jersey.
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The outline released Thursday by the White House reduces funding for public housing, Meals on Wheels, community grants and more. Trump's lead budget official says such programs aren't proven to work. -
It's hard to find anyone involved in voting issues who's been approached to be on the vice president's task force — or at least to admit it. -
Bills to tighten voter ID rules have already been introduced in about half the states this year, where Republican lawmakers say the changes are needed to protect the integrity of the vote. -
State legislatures are busy considering bills to tighten restrictions on voters, including new voter ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements.
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The Trump Justice Department asked a federal court to dismiss the Obama DOJ's earlier claim that the ID law was enacted with the intention of discriminating against minority voters. -
President Trump says Vice President Mike Pence will lead an investigation on voter fraud, though it's not clear when that will happen. Meanwhile, a House committee has voted to eliminate an agency that works to improve how elections are run.
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Among those who benefited from Obamacare are many homeless people who were able to get Medicaid for the first time. Some are worried about what a repeal of the Affordable Care Act could mean. -
In a tweet, President Trump called for a major investigation into voter fraud. But some election experts say there's no evidence to back his claim. -
Morning Edition hosts talk through Inauguration events with NPR's Scott Horsley at the White House, and check in on activity on the National Mall with NPR's Pam Fessler.
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Science, women's rights, human rights, LGBT rights, and minority rights are just a few of the issues that were reasons people chose to attend the women's marches across the country on Saturday.
