Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) released a statement following the Senate’s vote to move forward on government funding legislation:
“Washington Republicans have failed to address the nation’s challenges on behalf of the middle class: 180,000 children in Pennsylvania who rely on the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), 800,000 Pennsylvanians who use community health centers (CHCs) for their care, those impacted by natural disasters and 35,000 pensioners. Rather, they have been maniacally obsessed with tax giveaways for the super-rich and big corporations and decimating Medicaid. Republican politicians in the Senate have done nothing to give budget certainty to our veterans and military, rebuild our infrastructure, fund health care priorities like CHC’s, CHIP and the opioid crisis, provide pension security for retired coal miners and other workers whose pensions are at risk and enact comprehensive immigration reform that protects the Dreamers. The coming debate on Dreamers will be the first Senate debate on immigration in five years. Twelve Republican Senators have now come forward to work with Democrats on a range of issues over a short period of time.
It’s time for Senate Republicans to stop genuflecting to the extreme right and corporate benefactors and work in a bipartisan way to get results for families. Republicans in Washington, including President Trump, provoked this shutdown and created this crisis because of their failure to focus on the middle class. I will hold them accountable on the promises they have made.”
