Sen. Bob Casey delivers farewell remarks on Senate floor Wednesday

Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) delivered his farewell remarks on the Senate floor:

 
M. President, I rise today for the final time as a U.S. Senator with a heart full of gratitude. 

 When I was growing up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, I remember my mother, Ellen Harding Casey, often saying, “count your blessings.” I seek to do that here on the Senate floor today. 

 I begin with an expression of deep, abiding gratitude to the people of Pennsylvania who conferred upon me the honor of serving them in three statewide public offices for 28 consecutive years as Auditor General, State Treasurer and United States Senator. 

 It has been a privilege to have served our Commonwealth. 

 For 39-and-a-half years, I have been blessed by the unconditional love and unfailing support of my wife, Terese, the oldest daughter of John and Nancy Foppiano. 

 Every day that I have been a public official, Terese has been the foundation of our family; her love for me and our daughters has been boundless and constant. 

I want to thank each of our four daughters—and for me, just saying each of their names is like a prayer of thanksgiving—Elyse, Caroline, Julia, and Marena. 

 They, like Terese, sacrificed so much while I was in public office. 

 I am so proud of the accomplished young women that they have become. 

Elyse and our son-in-law, Michael, brought us the gift of our grandsons, Max and Aiden, who bring so much joy to our lives. 

I am so grateful as well that my brothers and sisters, their spouses, Terese’s sisters, their spouses, and so many of my nieces and nephews are with us today, as well as many friends. 

I remember today my late parents, Bob and Ellen Casey, who gave me and my siblings life and love—as well as their shining examples of treating every person we meet with respect. 

My father’s work as a public official was a testament to the inscription on the Finance Building in Harrisburg that has also guided my work all these years, “All public service is a trust, given in faith and accepted in honor.” 

The Senate is a place where Senators are accorded most of the attention. Today, I want to thank the men and women who work behind the scenes every day.

The staff of the Senate Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper, who keep the business of the Senate running seamlessly every day. People like Delta Whitfield, Raicee Leake, Rocketa Jackson, and Tim O’Neill—just to name a few, who go out of their way to make everyone feel like a VIP. 

The staff at Restaurant Associates, who cater and staff our special events on campus—and who serve Senators, staff, and visitors to our Capitol with a smile in our cafeterias. 

The men and women of the Architect of the Capitol and Senate Superintendent, who clean the Capitol buildings and keep the facilities immaculate—even in this centuries-old building. 

 And, of course, the Capitol Police officers, who keep our complex safe every day. 

 Many of you will never get the credit you deserve, but the work you do is vital and is a great service to our Nation. 

 I will miss working with Senators on both sides of the aisle. I am grateful for the lasting friendships like Senator Brown, Senator Klobuchar, and my 2006 classmates, and so many more. 

 I’ve been honored to serve these past two years with my friend and Pennsylvania colleague, Senator John Fetterman. 

 Majority Leader Schumer and the late Senator Harry Reid for encouraging me to run back in 2005. Thank you, Chuck, for your leadership and friendship. 

I have been blessed to have been served by exceptional staff every day that I have been in the Senate, from my former Chief of Staff Jim Brown and Legislative Director Dick Spiegelman—to my current Chief of Staff Kristen Gentile and Legislative Director Derek Miller. 

 My current State Director, Teresa Dennis, has served with me every year that I’ve been a public official. 

These last few years were especially challenging for our office with the pandemic and long election cycle. 

I was blessed to have Kristen Gentile, my Chief of Staff, whose leadership and hard work guided our staff through difficult and demanding times.  

She led with grace, grit, and humor—and I am grateful for her years of public service in the Senate.  

And I want to thank every single person who has served on my Senate staff, from January 3, 2007, to today. They have worked tirelessly every day to help the people of Pennsylvania.  

Without objection, I ask consent to enter the names of all my past and current staff, both in my office and on the Aging Committee, into the record so they can be recognized for their hard work and exemplary public service for the people of Pennsylvania and our Nation. 

I am proud of the work we have done together on behalf of Pennsylvania to fight for our children, our seniors, people with disabilities, our veterans, and our workers. 

In my 18 years in the Senate, I have worked to pass many laws focused on improving the lives of Americans every day. 

One of my proudest accomplishments is the Stephen Beck, Jr. Achieving a Better Life Experience Act—or the ABLE Act—which turned 10-years-old this year.  

Before ABLE, people with disabilities could not save more than $2,000 without risking access to their federal benefits—forcing many people with disabilities into a permanent state of poverty.  

I worked with Senator Richard Burr to pass the ABLE Act in 2014 so that people with disabilities can save for their futures.  

There are almost 190,000 ABLE account holders across the nation who have saved over $2 billion. 

Brenda Dare, an ABLE Account holder from Allegheny County says that ABLE “gives us a way to be fully functional citizens who are able to save and prepare for our futures.” Her ABLE account allows Brenda to own her own home and raise her niece full time.  

And—building on the success of the program—starting in 2026, people who acquired their disability before the age of 46 will be able to open ABLE accounts—expanding eligibility to six million more Americans, including one million more veterans. 

In 2013, I passed the Campus SAVE Act to put greater responsibility on colleges and universities to prevent sexual assault on campuses. 

That was important legislation to make sure students understood their rights and protections on campus. It has made college campuses safer in the decade since its passage.  

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act passed two years ago this month to provide pregnant women with “reasonable accommodations” at work to maintain a healthy pregnancy while continuing to work. Senator Bill Cassidy worked with me to pass this bill. 

Modeled after the Americans with Disabilities Act, this legislation ensures that pregnant women can go to their employer and ask for reasonable accommodations—like a stool, a water bottle, or bathroom breaks—just as people with disabilities have been able to ask for other kinds of accommodations for the past three decades.  

As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I was proud to author a law that has dramatically improved our schools and our children’s nutrition. 

That provision, modeled on a Philadelphia pilot program, allowed high-poverty schools to offer school lunch and breakfast free of charge.  

Nearly 68 percent of American school districts now offer free meals under this option, and 20 million children attend schools offering universal free meals. That’s 10 times as many children as in 2010.  

Captain Victor Saracini was a Bucks County resident and United Airlines pilot killed in the terrorist attacks on 9/11. 

His wife, Ellen Saracini, turned her unimaginable grief into action, and she fought to pass legislation to make airplane cockpits safer. 

I was honored to work alongside Ellen to pass two laws to make sure new airplanes are built with a secondary barrier to the cockpit—and to retrofit older planes.  

Those laws will help prevent future terrorist attacks. 

We also know that global food insecurity not only leaves millions of children starving and malnourished around the world, but it also creates political instability.  

I worked with my Republican colleagues to authorize and reauthorize the Global Food Security Act to combat food insecurity, create economic opportunity, and promote international stability. 

I also fought to keep our servicemembers safe in Afghanistan by working to reduce the number of IEDs. In the 2000s, IEDs were killing and wounding U.S. troops in Afghanistan at an alarming rate. 

Through legislation to stop the flow of ammonium nitrate used in IEDs, as well pushing the Pentagon—by 2012, deaths by IEDs had dropped significantly. 

But passing legislation isn’t the only measure of success in the United States Senate. I am extraordinarily proud of my constituent services team—currently led by Lindsay Martin—who have some of the hardest jobs in government.  

Over the course of my three terms in the Senate, they have closed almost 200,000 constituent cases.  

Let me give you some examples. That number represents Pennsylvanians we helped get the Social Security benefits they were due but not receiving. 

The 94-year-old World War II veteran from Philadelphia for whom we secured updated discharge papers and backpay reflecting a promotion he’d been denied because he was a Black soldier. 

The first responder from Erie we helped receive the money she was owed from the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund. 

The mother whose son was denied care by their insurance company for two months until our office reached out on their behalf. And so many more constituents from across the state. 

Finally, I fought to deliver federal funding for Pennsylvania families and communities in all 67 counties. 

I worked to provide investments to lift up families during the pandemic; support public safety by delivering funding for police and fire departments; improve water and sewer systems, roads, and bridges in small towns and rural areas; and support local non-profits that protect the most vulnerable among us. 

Southwestern Pennsylvania’s economy relies on our waterways system. The Port of Pittsburgh and the region’s locks and dams move essential commodities, create jobs, and support economic growth. 

Without our waterways, the entire region’s economy would come to a standstill, threatening over 200,000 jobs.  

Thanks to the infrastructure law and persistent work over many years to highlight just how vital our waterways were, I was able to secure nearly a billion dollars to replace the Montgomery Locks and Dam in Beaver County and invest in our broader waterways system. 

In 2016, during a phone conference about broadband in rural areas, a county commissioner told me, “Senator, kids can’t do their homework!” 

I was able to deliver significant investments to expand high-speed internet to rural communities across the Commonwealth. 

Without high-speed internet, not only are school children adversely impacted—small businesses can’t connect with their customers, and farmers can’t fix their equipment when it breaks down in the field. 

But that’s changing. Just last week, I was in Washington County to highlight the expansion of high-speed internet for 9,000 residents and businesses in rural communities—made possible by a public-private partnership which included $25 million from the American Rescue Plan legislation. 

Washington County is not alone; high-speed internet is being deployed all across the Commonwealth. 

Pennsylvania has a rich history of energy production. Our coal miners risked their health and safety for generations to power our Nation. 

Pennsylvania’s energy workers are the best in the world, and they are well equipped to lead us into the energy economy of the future. 

As the Senate was working to pass the Inflation Reduction Act—a bill to spur a new energy manufacturing renaissance—I made sure that Pennsylvania’s energy communities were first in line. 

In the bill, I secured an energy communities tax credit for investments in clean energy facilities in communities whose economies have relied on coal, oil or natural gas. 

These incentives are spurring investment across Pennsylvania—from the Mineral Basin solar plant on abandoned mine lands in Clearfield County to the expanded demand for Voith Hydro’s production in York County. 

M. President, I want to highlight several challenges that lie ahead for our nation. 

There are so many priorities—like combatting climate change, gun violence, and the opioid crisis; lowering costs for families; and providing home and community-based services for seniors and people with disabilities—that must be addressed.  

It is much more difficult to raise a family and provide long-term stability than it used to be. Pennsylvanians used to be able to work one job—often without a college degree—and provide for their families for decades.  

The 2025 tax debate will be a critical moment for American families. Congress will decide whether to help middle class and low-income families or to continue a 40-year trend to provide substantial tax benefits to the largest corporations on earth, and the wealthiest Americans.  

I urge the Senate to make the Child Tax Credit fully refundable rather than provide more corporate and high-income tax breaks.  

I have long warned that China is an economic adversary that we must confront head on. When China cheats, Pennsylvania loses jobs. 

I have worked for years to crack down on China’s trade cheating and to limit the risks of sending our national security technology and know-how to China. Senator Cornyn and I have been working to pass legislation to crack down on U.S. investments in China, and later this week, Congress will pass a version of that legislation in the continuing resolution. 

But a key to global competitiveness lies right here at home. 

In order to compete globally, we must invest in our children. 

Inspired by Franklin Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms, in early 2020, I proposed the Five Freedoms for America’s Children: the freedom to learn, the freedom to be healthy, the freedom to be economically secure, the freedom from hunger, and the freedom to be safe from harm. 

If every American child was able to benefit from these five freedoms, they would have the opportunity to succeed in their life. 

There are so many benefits to our nation as well: a higher-skilled workforce, a greater GDP, a stronger national security, and a healthier society—if we invest in our children. 

Finally, the Senate—and the American people—have to make a choice between dictators and democracy.  

We must continue to support the people of Ukraine in their consequential war with a murderous dictator, Vladamir Putin.  

Our nation has generously supported the Ukrainian military. Abandoning them now undermines freedom-loving people around the world.  

Inspired by my mother, I have been granted today the privilege of counting my blessings on the Floor of the Senate. 

One of the greatest blessings in my life has been the blessing of public service. 

As the scriptures tell us, “It is in giving that we receive.”  

Dr. Martin Luther King said, “Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve.” King taught us that the word “great” in this context isn’t about fame, acclaim, or notoriety.  

It’s about something more valuable—the opportunity to help others. I will continue to do my part, to serve as a citizen and as a Pennsylvanian. 

Serving in the U.S. Senate has been the honor of a lifetime.  

I yield the floor.