Robert Casey

May 21, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC- U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today introduced legislation to spur research, development and deployment of new technology to reduce global warming pollution. The Responsible Use of Coal Act would promote technology that could capture and store carbon dioxide pollution.

“Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is essential to help us solve the challenges of global warming,” said Senator Casey. “The Responsible Use of Coal Act will accelerate the research, development, demonstration and deployment of CCS technologies. This technology can protect the environment while also creating and sustaining jobs in the United States.”    » read more »

Current guidelines leave 47 Housing Authorities ineligible

May 21, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. – Today, 16 members from the Pennsylvania delegation sent a letter to Shaun Donovan, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) urging him to reconsider selection criteria for the $1 billion in Public Housing Capital Funds included in the Economic Stimulus, also known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Based on current HUD requirements, only 35 of the 82 public housing authorities in Pennsylvania will be eligible to compete for the $1 billion available in the initial round of funding. The selection criteria was made public in a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) on May 7, 2009.    » read more »

May 22, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC- U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs, and Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chairman of the Helsinki Commission, urged Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to review procedures impeding the rapid resettlement of Iraqi refugees to the United States.    » read more »

May 20, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senators Arlen Specter (D-PA) and Bob Casey (D-PA) announced today that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will allocate $142,720,815 in federal funding to transportation projects in Pennsylvania. The funds are enabled by the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

“I am pleased the stimulus funds are benefiting Pennsylvania’s important transportation projects,” Specter said. “By advancing our roadways and mass transit infrastructure, this funding will reduce congestion, as well as our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on foreign oil.”    » read more »

May 19, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Senate today approved legislation that strengthens oversight of the credit card industry. The legislation includes measures cosponsored by U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) that place restrictions on marketing credit cards to college students and direct the Federal Trade Commission to study new technology to combat crime at automated teller machines.    » read more »

May 15, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC - Philadelphia area Congressional members met with Tom Vilsack, Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, to discuss the decision made by the Bush administration to terminate the Philadelphia Universal Feeding pilot program.

During the meeting, U.S. Senators Bob Casey and Arlen Specter and U.S. Representatives Chaka Fattah, Allyson Schwartz, Robert Brady and Joe Sestak urged Secretary Vilsack to reverse the decision to terminate the program which ensures 120,000 school children in the Philadelphia-area have access to nutritious meals.    » read more »

September 29, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC- U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today released the following statement in response to the House vote on the bailout bill:

“Despite the House vote today where two thirds of Republicans voted against a major rescue bill to strengthen our economy, I am going to keep working. As a U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania and a member of the Senate Banking Committee, I will continue to work with my colleagues to develop a strategy to protect retirement and pension savings and stabilize our credit markets so that working families can borrow the money they need for their daily lives and allow small businesses to make payroll.    » read more »

August 5, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC- After learning from General David Petraeus that he has formed an “Electrical Safety Joint Planning Team” to oversee the theater-wide assessment of all facilities following a series of electrocutions in Iraq, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today released the following statement:

“Last week's House hearing put on display that the Department of Defense was too slow and hesitant to respond to an emerging threat in Iraq: electrocutions of U.S. military personnel.    » read more »

August 1, 2008 -- Washington, DC – Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) and Senators Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Bob Casey (D-PA), George Voinovich (R-OH) and Jim Webb (D-VA) today introduced legislation which prohibits the Bush Administration from entering into a binding security agreement without the approval of Congress.    » read more »

June 13, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC-Following the death of Tim Russert, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) released the following statement:

“America lost a giant in the world of quality journalism and Buffalo lost her favorite son. He was a tough but fair cross-examiner of candidates and public officials and few journalists understood American politics and history better than Tim.

“He earned the respect of Presidents here at home and world leaders as well as members of Congress. He was a faithful son, a devoted husband and father who never forgot where he came from. I speak for the Casey family in extending our condolences to Maureen, their son Luke and the entire Russert family."

Source: Senator Bob Casey

June 12, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC- Speaking on the Senate floor today U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) urged President Bush to work with Congress on any future long-term security agreements with Iraq.

“Unfortunately, the Administration is handling these negotiations in the same manner that has characterized its entire approach to Iraq since 2003: with unnecessary secrecy, a disdain for Congressional input and an arrogant insistence that its course of action is the only reasonable option,” said Casey.    » read more »

May 7, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) today introduced a bipartisan bill to help prevent injured veterans from losing their homes while awaiting adjudication on their disability claims.

The Disabled Veterans Homeownership Preservation Act would help disabled veterans who are caught up in the extensive backlog of claims pending in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Wounded Iraq veterans: Photo by soldiersmediacenter (CC)    » read more »

May 5, 2008 -- PHILADELPHIA, PA - U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today proposed landmark legislation to reverse chronic underfunding of child care and increase the availability of high-quality child care to children in low-income and working class families. This gross underfunding over the last seven years has left only one in seven eligible children receiving federal assistance and the national average wage for child care workers is barely above the poverty line.    » read more »

April 17, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey expressing concern over a statement he made, which appears to be inaccurate, regarding Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) safeguards.

Code Pink protesters: Photo by Talk Radio News Service (CC)

In the letter, Senators Casey and Whitehouse asked Attorney General Mukasey to correct remarks he made on March 27, 2008 in San Francisco, CA that implied that FISA safeguards may have stopped the U.S. government from preventing the 9/11 terrorist attacks.    » read more »

April 16, 2008 -- WASHINGTON – A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators—including Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Gordon Smith (R-Ore.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), and Evan Bayh (D-Ind.)—today unveiled their plan to provide the men and women of our National Guard and Reserves with benefits that better reflect their increased service to our country.

A National Guardsman returns after extended deployment: Photo by Poppyseed Bandits (CC)    » read more »