Meeting with: Michelle Haimowitz, Legislative Correspondent to Senator Bob Casey (D-PA)
Meeting Leader: Daniel Himmelstein
Familiarity with Open: low (possibly none)
Goals: Purely education
Bob Casey believes that “all public service is a trust, given in faith and accepted in honor.”1 Since he was elected to the United States Senate in 2006, he has worked to create family sustaining jobs and foster financial security for Pennsylvania families; protect our children and invest in their futures; ensure safety at home and respect for America abroad; promote honesty and accountability in government; preserve the dignity of the vulnerable of all ages among us; and advocate for his constituents and help them solve problems they face.
Senator Casey has established a record of results on behalf of the people of Pennsylvania. He was the prime Senate sponsor of landmark legislation for individuals with disabilities, the Stephen Beck Jr. Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE). ABLE will allow millions of families across the United States to save for the long term care of their loved ones with a disability in a tax-advantage savings account. The Associated Press hailed this legislation as “the most important new law for [those with disabilities] in 25 years.” Senator Casey believes that people with disabilities have a lot of ability and we must give those with disabilities the tools to succeed in the workforce and to live a full life.
As concerns arose across the nation about the dangers of campus sexual assault, Senator Casey took action and passed into law the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act. The Campus SaVE Act requires uniform reporting standards for sexual assaults on college campuses and requires schools to provide clear guidelines to students on their sexual assault policies. The new law also emphasizes steps schools can take to educate students and help prevent sexual assault.
Advocate for Children
Senator Casey is a nationally recognized advocate for children. He has fought to ensure that every American should have an outstanding, well-rounded education beginning at birth. He has fought for quality early learning for young children, which is an investment in our children’s growth and development as well as the economy of the future. He has often said “if our children learn more now, they will earn more when they are in our workforce.” To that end, he has introduced legislation to make high quality pre-K available to over three million four-year-olds across the country, as well as to make child care affordable for working families. Just recently, Senator Casey guided into law the Continuum of Learning Act, a bill to make early learning a part of a continuum of learning working in concert with the K-12 system.
Senator Casey is a tireless advocate for the food and nutritional needs of American families and children, and has been a strong advocate for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other nutrition programs that help vulnerable children and families in Pennsylvania. SNAP serves more than 800,000 children each year.
Senator Casey also led the effort to pass into law the Emergency Medical Services for Children Reauthorization Act of 2014. This bill re-authorized an important program that helps improve emergency medical care for children and teens. Casey led the reauthorization of the Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education (CHGME) bill that became law in 2014. This program provides funding to over fifty free standing children’s hospitals to train residents. There are three hospitals in Pennsylvania that benefit from CHGME: the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and St. Christopher Hospital for Children. These three hospitals together received over $35 million. He has supported an expansion of paid leave policies that allow Americans to take care of their new children and sick relatives.
Building a Better Economy
Senator Casey works to build an economy that works for everyone and fights to ensure that all Pennsylvanians have the opportunity to participate in a fair job market. For Senator Casey, this means focusing on the most important priority of our time: growing incomes for middle class families so that they can make ends meet. During his time in the Senate, Senator Casey has fought to increase the minimum wage, ensure equal pay for equal work and enhance worker protections.
Increasing opportunity also means creating conditions under which workers and businesses can prosper. As a member of the Finance Committee, Senator Casey has worked to pass legislation to make it easier for small businesses to plan for capital investments that are vital to job creation; voted to provide billions for tax cuts to encourage businesses to hire workers; and strongly supported extending tax breaks that promote innovation and research that drives our economy. He has also advocated for increased investment in the roads, bridges, and ports that are vital to the Pennsylvania economy.
Senator Casey has also worked to eliminate policies that rig the system against American workers. He has continuously fought against unfair trade policies that force American workers to compete on a playing field that is not level. He has pushed for the U.S. government to take stronger action against China in response to the undervaluing of its currency and other policies that result in American job loss. He also voted for legislation to eliminate tax policies that make it easier for companies to send U.S. jobs overseas.
Jobs and Infrastructure
Across Pennsylvania, Senator Casey works to boost initiatives that create good paying jobs and grow local economies. In Southeastern Pennsylvania, Senator Casey has led the charge to deepen the Delaware River to 45 feet, which will increase by 2.5 million tons the cargo in the region according to the Port of Philadelphia, and, more cargo means more jobs. The Deepening Project will create thousands of direct and indirect jobs in addition to providing short term jobs in the construction industry. Senator Casey has spoken directly to President Obama and Vice President Biden about this project, and has helped to secure over $208 million for it.
In 2014, Senator Casey passed into law the River Act which allocated tens of millions more for infrastructure upgrades to the nation’s inland waterways- a major source of economic growth for Southwestern Pennsylvania. The region’s waterways are responsible for nearly 200,000 jobs in the region, accounting for nearly 17 percent of the regional workforce. By 2018, Senator Casey’s legislation to improve Pennsylvania’s “off-system” bridges will have invested nearly $300 million into bridges owned by counties and municipalities throughout the Commonwealth.
National Security
Senator Casey believes U.S. diplomatic and military leadership are essential to protecting the homeland, as well as U.S. interests and global stability. Senator Casey is a member of the National Security Working Group and former Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee encompassing the Middle East and South and Central Asia. He has been a Senate leader in efforts to cut off ISIS’ financing and intensify efforts to reduce its hold on territory. Senator Casey is also leading the fight to make sure Pennsylvania communities have the resources to prevent and respond to terrorist attacks. He was a Senate leader in imposing tough sanctions against Iran in order to bring the regime to the table. Senator Casey voted for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to cut off all of Iran’s pathways to a nuclear weapon. After Iran tested ballistic missiles Senator Casey advocated strongly for new sanctions on the regime.
Keeping our Promise to our Older Americans
Senator Casey is committed to helping middle class families make ends meet and save for retirement. H
