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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There is growing interest in expanding voting by mail, at least for the remainder of 2020, in order to keep poll workers and voters safe. But there are many challenges to pulling it off. -
The Trump administration says it wants to close a "loophole" that allows states to give benefits to those who would not otherwise be eligible by raising or eliminating income and asset limits. -
Pennsylvania and other states are working through grants from Congress to upgrade their voting machines and other equipment. Advocates say more work is needed 鈥� and billions more dollars. -
The "public charge" rule would limit the ability of immigrants to get green cards if they are likely to use government benefits, such as SNAP or housing aid. -
A new report by the Brennan Center found that automatic voter registration in states has given a big boost to voter rolls in states where it's been adopted. -
Last year, about 1 in 7 people in the U.S. were getting food stamps, or SNAP benefits. But the numbers have started to drop as more people find work and better-paying jobs, analysts say. -
They are being pushed out of the rental market in fast-growing cities like Washington, D.C. Many end up spending most of their income on housing, living in substandard housing, or homeless.
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Stories about poverty can evoke strong reactions, in part because Americans are conflicted about the topic. Both bad circumstances and bad choices can be the cause.
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Many American families living in or right above the poverty line have flat-screen TVs, cars and cellphones 鈥� so what does living in poverty mean today? -
Voters in eight states are required to show photo IDs. Some experts say the tide is turning toward striking down ID requirements. Others say not so fast.
