Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Departing Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey
Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor paying tribute to longtime friend and Senate colleague Bob Casey as he bids farewell to the Senate. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:
This afternoon, our dear friend Bob Casey will also come to the floor to deliver his farewell speech, after many, many distinguished and very successful years serving the people of Pennsylvania.
Now, with a career as distinguished as Bob’s there are many things you can say what he meant to his beloved home state. And he loved and breathed Pennsylvania. It's a big, diverse state. He knew every corner of it. He was loved and respected in every corner of it. Here's what his people called him:
A champion for Pennsylvania workers.
A champion for middle-class families.
A champion for children.
A champion for seniors.
A champion for disability rights.
A champion for clean energy and the environment.
A champion in the fight against corporate gouging.
That’s just some of the ways people have described Bob. During his 18 years in the Senate, there are very few issues that he didn’t champion.
It’s not hard to understand where he got such a strong work ethic. Like Joe Biden, he’s from Scranton, where hard work is the rule, not the exception.
If you combine that work ethic with an innate sense of public service, as the son of a governor, governor, as somebody who deeply cares about the people he represented and its genuine and comes out of every pore of his body, you will get a fighter who works as hard as the people he represents. You will get Bob Casey.
When Pennsylvania coal miners suffering from black lung disease needed help, he successfully fought to get their benefits and made sure they got medical help.
He was an advocate for our nation’s children, always fighting to make sure that they had the support they needed to reach their full potential.
He championed efforts to expand access to early childhood health care, child care, child nutrition, family tax benefits, and was one of the biggest advocates for extending the CHIP, or Children’s Health Insurance Program, which kept so many kids healthy, millions of poorer kids healthy.
And he will go down as one of the Senate’s greatest champions ever, in all of history, when it comes to disability policies. When our former colleague, Senator Tom Harkin, retired, many people wondered who would carry on as the voice for Americans with disabilities. Without hesitation, and with amazing success, Bob stepped up to the plate.
In the year since, he has been instrumental in passing legislation to advance the rights of people with disabilities and help them live free from discrimination.
He didn’t have any personal connections to the disability community, nor was he trying to score political points – he did it all simply because it was the right thing to do.
He was one ever the most beloved members of our caucus. People love Bob – everybody. No one ever said a bad word about Bob Casey. Why? Because he cared so much, was so hardworking, was so effective, and was one of the most genuine people that we have ever, ever seen in this Senate, not just now, but throughout history.
He leaves a deep impression on every one of us. He does. And the guy had it all, and in such a nice way. He got things done. He was hardworking. He didn't take no for an answer. But when he came back at you, time and time again, because he was so committed, so well prepared, so sincere, and so nice, you always said yes. It's one of the reasons he was so effective.
So, that sums up the man, Bob Casey. And let’s not forget: he always did the right thing, even in difficult political situations. I would talk to him and say we need your help here, Bob, we need your vote there. He’d struggle with it, he knew it would have bad political consequences, but he inevitably did the right thing.
He is as good, as decent, as honorable as any Senator I have worked with in this chamber.
He has a beautiful wife, Terese, and the entire Casey family, I say to all of them: thank you for sharing Bob with us all these years. Thank you for backing him up despite some tragedies your family has had.
And Bob, thank you, thank you for your leadership, thank you for your friendship, and simply thank you for being you.
###
