Bob Casey (D-PA-Senator)

Bob Casey, Senator from Pennsylvania

Campaign links: Bob Casey (D-PA-Senate)i

Robert P. “Bob” Casey, Jr.

Bob Casey Senatorial Candidate Pennsylvania

Bob Casey Biography from Senate.gov

U.S. Senator Bob Casey knows that public service is a privilege and that he was elected to fight for Pennsylvania priorities and Pennsylvania values. He is working to foster financial security for American families, protect our children and invest in their futures and ensure safety at home and respect abroad.

Senator Casey has made it his top priority to work to help create and incentivize the creation of family sustaining jobs and to help workers who lost their jobs through no fault of their own. As the new Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, Senator Casey will continue this work while providing Pennsylvania with a stronger voice on job creation and economic policy.

Senator Casey has voted to provide billions for tax cuts to encourage businesses to hire workers and he voted for legislation that provided tens of billions in capital for small businesses to expand their operations. And he has been a strong critic of unfair trade policies that put American manufacturing at a disadvantage. He has repeatedly 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 incentives corporations receive to send U.S. jobs overseas.

Shortly after entering the Senate in 2007, Senator Casey was one of the first senators to call for a fast response to the mortgage crisis that was sweeping the country and that would contribute to the global financial meltdown. He helped secure funding for programs to keep people in their homes and to protect against further declines in property value.

Bob Casey is striving to ensure that the lives of our children can and will be better than our own lives. Senator Casey is a nationally recognized advocate for children. He has introduced two landmark bills to increase access to early childhood education and reverse the chronic underfunding of child care. He was a strong supporter of the law that expanded the Children’s Health Insurance Program which was signed into law in February 2009 to provide health care coverage to more than 14 million American children. During debate on the new health care law, Senator Casey helped to include a number of provisions to protect and improve health care for children. Senator Casey has been recognized with numerous awards for his work benefiting children including the Champion for Children Award from First Focus, Children’s Champion Award from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children (DVAEYC) Champion for Young Children Award.

Senator Casey is the Chairman of the Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs Subcommittee of the Foreign Relations Committee which has jurisdiction over Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Israel and the Middle East. He is a leader in promoting nuclear security and combating the threat posed by terrorists obtaining nuclear material.

To protect our troops in Afghanistan, Senator Casey has been the Senate’s leader to increase international pressure to stop the flow of ammonium nitrate, a prime component in IEDs that have killed or wounded thousands of troops and civilians. Senator Casey is also working with the Department of Defense and State Department to make sure they have the tools they need to stop the IED assembly line.

To increase pressure on Iran, Senator Casey introduced the bipartisan Iran Sanctions Enabling Act, which would authorize the divestment of public pension money from companies doing business in Iran’s oil and natural gas sector. Senator Casey also cosponsored the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act to strengthen the President’s ability to impose sanctions on companies that help Iran import or develop refined petroleum. Both measures are now law.

After a soldier from Pennsylvania was electrocuted in Iraq while taking a shower, Senator Casey pressured the Department of Defense and KBR to provide answers to his family. Because of this pressure and the work of the soldier’s courageous mother, safety inspections were increased in Iraq and Afghanistan and KBR was ordered to repay bonuses it had received for work done in Iraq. Senator Casey also helped pass an amendment to hold contractors accountable for the safety of their employees and U.S. service members overseas.

As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Senator Casey played a key role in passing provisions vital for Pennsylvania agriculture, conservation and nutrition programs. He also supported reforms to save money and close loopholes while maintaining a real safety net for farmers when they need one.

In addition to his strong support for food stamps and other nutritional program in the Farm Bill, Senator Casey has been a strong advocate for increased demand during this economic downturn.

When natural gas drilling began in the Marcellus Shale, Senator Casey was one of the first elected officials to demand that corporate profits are not put ahead of safe drinking water for our children and our families. He introduced legislation to require the disclosure of chemicals pumped into the ground and called for greater regulation to protect Pennsylvanians. He has also introduced legislation to improve emergency response at wells to protect workers and local communities and to prepare Pennsylvania workers for jobs in this new industry rather than ship in workers from out-of-state.

In eight years as Pennsylvania Auditor General and two years as State Treasurer, Bob Casey compiled a record that focused on making government more accountable and responsive to the needs of Pennsylvanians. He has been a fiscal watchdog who made nursing homes safer, child care more affordable and government more accountable. He led the fight to reform Megan’s Law to better protect Pennsylvania communities and children.

Casey serves on five Senate committees: Foreign Relations; Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; the Special Committee on Aging and the Joint Economic Committee.

Casey and his wife, Terese, were married in 1985 and live in Scranton. They have four daughters: Elyse, Caroline, Julia and Marena. Casey is the eldest son of the late Governor Robert P. Casey and his wife, Ellen. Throughout his public career, Bob Casey has been guided by the legacy of his father, and the principle that: “All public service is a trust, given in faith and accepted in honor.”

Biography of Bob Casey from Bob Casey for Senate

When he was elected in 2006, U.S. Senator Bob Casey was the first Pennsylvania Democrat elected to a full Senate term since 1962. Senator Bob Casey believes public service is a privilege and knows that he was elected to fight for Pennsylvania priorities and Pennsylvania values. Senator Casey’s top priorities are fighting to restore Pennsylvania’s economy and create jobs. As a senior member of the Foreign Relations Committee, he is a leader on national security, fighting terrorism and protecting our troops.

As Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, Senator Casey is focused on putting Americans back to work, improving competitiveness to spur economic growth and helping families hit hard by the recession. He has supported billions of dollars in tax cuts for working families and supported small businesses so they can grow and create jobs. He led the fight to continue the payroll tax cut to put $1,000 on average into the pocket of working families. And he has focused on problems facing Pennsylvania manufacturing, especially unfair trade from countries like China.

Job Creation and Tax Cuts for Pennsylvania Families

Senator Casey led the effort in the Senate to extend the payroll tax cut that will put $1,000 into the pockets of the average family. To help spur job creation, Senator Casey has voted to provide billions for tax cuts to encourage businesses to hire workers and he voted for legislation that provided tens of billions in capital for small businesses to expand their operations.

To spur growth in Pennsylvania’s life sciences industry, Senator Casey introduced the Life Sciences Jobs and Investment Act to promote innovation and job creation in life sciences research and development. To increase funding for medical research, Senator Casey has led the effort to increase funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Senator Casey has received the Pennsylvania Federal Official of the Year award from PA BIO and the Legislator of the Year award from the national Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).

As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Senator Casey secured key victories for Pennsylvania’s agriculture in the Farm Bill. For his work supporting agriculture, Senator Casey has received the Friend of Farm Bureau award from the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and the Golden Triangle Award from the National Farmers Union.

Targeting Unfair Trade

Senator Casey has called for a crackdown on Chinese currency manipulation that allows China to cheat and put American workers at a disadvantage. He joined a bipartisan group to introduce legislation, passed by the Senate, to make it harder for the Administration to avoid taking action against China. Senator Casey also voted against new NAFTA-style trade agreements because they would put Pennsylvania jobs at risk while not doing enough to level the playing field for Pennsylvania workers. Legislation introduced by Senator Casey to extend the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Program was signed into law last year. TAA provides essential help to workers who lose their jobs due to unfair trade practices through no fault of their own.

Increasing Security at Home and Abroad

As Chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs, Senator Casey has been an outspoken critic of Iran’s nuclear program and he helped pass legislation that has been signed into law to allow tougher sanctions against Iran including his bipartisan Iran Sanctions Enabling Act to make it easier to divest investments in Iran’s oil and natural gas sector. To protect our troops in Afghanistan, Senator Casey has been the leader in the effort to stop the flow of ammonium nitrate, a key ingredient in Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), from Pakistan into Afghanistan.

Changing the Rules in Washington

Senator Casey has helped to lead the effort to end automatic pay increases for members of Congress. He called for strong changes in Senate rules to reduce obstruction and gridlock. The very first amendment introduced by Senator Casey in the Senate was signed into law as part of the landmark ethics reform legislation. Senator Casey’s law shut down the K Street Project and made wrongfully influencing hiring practices a federal crime.

Protecting and Nurturing Children

Senator Casey is a nationally recognized advocate for children because of his work to protect and expand the Children’s Health Insurance Program and to support early childhood education and child care. In recognition of this work, Senator Casey has received numerous awards including the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children (DVAEYC) Champion for Young Children Award, the Children’s Champion Award from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Champion for Children award from First Focus.

Family and Career

Born and raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Bob Casey, 51, graduated from The College of the Holy Cross in 1982 and spent the following year teaching fifth grade and coaching eighth grade basketball in inner city Philadelphia for the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. He received his law degree from Catholic University in 1988 and entered the practice of law in Scranton.
He served two terms as Pennsylvania Auditor General from 1997 to 2005. He also served as Pennsylvania State Treasurer before being elected to the Senate in 2006. In state government, he was a fiscal watchdog who made nursing homes safer, child care more affordable and government more accountable. He led the fight to reform Megan’s Law to better protect Pennsylvania communities and children. He also aggressively fought to stop waste and fraud involving tax dollars and improve the effectiveness of government services and agencies. His efforts directly resulted in changes that saved Pennsylvania taxpayers more than $1 billion.

Senator Casey lives in Scranton with his wife Terese. They have four daughters: Elyse, Caroline, Julia and Marena.