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.
-
Food banks face limited supplies. A food bank in Roanoke, Va., is working with local community members, health care providers and other nonprofits to explore new ways to address hunger.
-
Pantries in southwest Virginia — where poverty is rampant and coal jobs are vanishing — will take whatever they can get to stock bare shelves. Some also offer help with health care and job training. -
The city of Baltimore erupted in violence after the death of Freddie Gray, two years ago. The riots brought national attention to many of the city's problems, including a lack of opportunity for its young people. Money poured in to help fix that, but people say Baltimore's youth still need a great deal of help.
-
Groups that help low-income families get food aid report a big drop in the number of immigrants seeking help. Some are canceling government benefits for fear it will affect their immigration status. -
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.
-
Despite fears of issues at the polls, voting around much of the country has gone fairly smoothly so far. There have been some scattered reports of problems, like voting machine malfunctions.
-
For those worried about problems voting in this year's elections, there are several things they can do to help, such as checking their registrations and polling places ahead of time, and volunteering to be a poll worker.
-
One of the country's strictest voter ID laws violates the Voting Rights Act, according to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. It says the Texas law discriminates against the state's minority voters.
-
Most low-income tenants who end up in court are extremely poor; many of them are women with children. With a lack of housing aid and limited legal help, they often lose their cases and face eviction. -
Most people who end up facing eviction simply can't afford to pay their rent. Many low-income tenants work, but their rent outpaces their wages. An unexpected bill or a lost job can mean homelessness.
