Bob Casey: "America Doesn't Surrender to a Problem"

US Senator Bob Casey responds to a question at Lipkin Theatre Town Hall

U.S. Senator Bob Casey visited Northampton Community College's Lipkin Theatre yesterday for a friendly Town Hall attended by a friendly but small audience of about 100 people, including Democratic area elected officials.  Over the course of an hour, the usually soft-spoken legislator responded to a host of questions on topics extending from the electoral college to infrastructure.

Gun Control. - He was at his most passionate when responding to questions about what the federal government should do in response to the gun violence in this country. The Scranton-area resident is tired of hearing Republicans say there's nothing we can do or we have to get used to it.

"America doesn't surrender to a problem," he declared. "We will never surrender to the scourge of gun  violence," he said to an applauding audience waving "AGREE" signs. He went on to list a number of actions Congress could take that, in his estimation, would reduce the likelihood of another mass shooting.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has promised a vote on universal background checks. Casey is concerned Senate Republicans will try to weaken a measure that has already passed in the U.S. House as a result of pressure from the NRA

He also spoke in support of "red flag" laws, under which a person's firearms can be removed upon proof that he's a danger to himself or others. Casey added that some of his Republican colleagues will join in this legislation.

He supports a ban on military assault-style rifles and limits on magazine size, noting that the Dayton shooter was able to kill nine people and wound another 20 in just 32 seconds.

He also favors a "no fly, no buy" rule Currently, persons who are banned from flying because of suspected terrorism can still own firearms.

Impeachment. - Though Senator Casey said that an impeachment inquiry is a function of the House, he brought one document with him - the Mueller report. He even read highlighted excerpts indicating "substantial evidence" of intent to obstruct justice.

Medicare and Medicaid. - Casey pointed out that 38% of the children in Pennsylvania and 60% of nursing home residents receive Medicaid. Yet President Trump wants to cut $1.5 trillion from Medicaid and $855 billion from Medicare over the next 10 years. But he's unwilling to support Medicare for All, saying we have to defend what we have now from Republican attempts to sabotage Obamacare.

Infrastructure. - Casey complained President Trump "talked about it, talked about it but never done anything about it." He called ccordfor a national infrastructure bill to address structurally deficient bridges, as well as highways, cables and our power grid.

Climate Change. - In response to a question from Bethlehem Tp resident Karen Berry, Casey was direct. "Climate change is real, “It is caused by human activity and it will lead to the deaths of millions of people around the world." He criticized President Trump over withdrawing from the Paris Accord, reversals on the Clean Power Plan and EPA appointments.

Northampton County Council candidate Kerry Myers praised Casey for his "cajones." The Senator responded, "That must be a Latin term."

Sitting in the front row were NorCo Executive Lamont McClure, Easton Mayor Sal Panto, State Rep Bob Freeman and Easton City Controller Tony Bassil.

Casey: "We're Americans. We take care of each other."

U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa) toured Northampton County's nursing home, Gracedale, on Friday. He also spoke to about 30 workers and residents at a pavilion on the nursing home campus. Below are excerpts:

Americans: "We're America. We're a strong country. We have the strongest economy in the world. We have the strongest military in the world. But that same strong county will take care of people. That's what we do. We're Americans. We take care of each other. So if a child has a disability and they're getting Medicaid, we're going to make damn sure they get that Medicaid for the rest of their life if it is necessary. And if we have to say to some rich people, 'You're going to pay for it,' that's what we do in America  We make sure that those families get taken care of. When you're a strong country like that, you can show the world that you have the values to make sure that we take care of those people."

Medicaid: "That's not just a program for seniors getting into a nursing home, helping a facility like Gracedale to be able to exist. A lot of great facilities like this providing skilled care could not exist without the Medicaid program. Half of the people in our state have a disability and benefit from Medicaid. You've got kids in rural areas, small town and big cities that have health care through Medicaid. Thank God they do. But we have to make sure that we don't go in the wrong direction by allowing a group of hard right ideologues to undermine the Medicaid program and end Medicaid expansion. That's what they're trying to do. Medicaid expansion, which brought health care to 700,000 people in Pa,, and when you had people who got help in the exchanges, it's over 1.1 million. Thank God we did that. If someone in your family or someone you know has an opioid problem, they can get help through medicaid expansion. We're not going back to the days where we shortchange health care for people who need it."

"Republicans in Washington have a different idea. So what do they want to do for the next ten years? This is literally their budget plan. They want to cut Medicaid by $1 trillion. Not billion. Not hundreds of billions. $1 trillion. We're going to stop them from doing that. We're not going to allow them to do that to our families."

Pre-existing Conditions. - (Senator Casey said that 133 million Americans suffer from pre-existing conditions, including 5.2 million in Pa. and 643,000 children) "They tried to rip away health care by repealing the Affordable Care Act and the protections that the Affordable Care Act provides. They're in court now litigating whether or not we're going to have protection for pre-existing conditions. Are we going to go back to those dark days when someone does not get coverage or treatment because they have a pre-existing condition? My answer is No, we are not going back to those days where an insurance company can determine whether a child gets health care or not whether someone who has a pre-existing condition gets treatment. We changed that in the law. We're going to fight to make sure we never go back to those dark days when your life is controlled by an insurance company. ... I find it hard to believe that we're even having a discussion about whether we can even defeat Republicans in a courtroom to stop them from taking away protections for pre-existing conditions."

Unions. - "We would not have that middle class that I talked about were it not for the men and women of organized labor. Just imagine what our country would be like if we didn't have unions. We would have no middle class. We would not have the growing economy we usually have if we didn't have unions. We've taken that for granted. Frankly, both parties have Both parties have not spent enough time talking about the contributions of workers. We've allowed the corporate right to denigrate unions, to rob you of your dignity. Never let them take that dignity away from you. You contribute so much to our country. You helped build the middle class after WWII. You keep our economy secure because of what you do. Your work ethic makes it possible for us to run a huge government every day, to run a facility like the one we're at. You protect us, you serve us, you strengthen us and you work on our behalf. We've got to have policies that support you."

The Election. - "The other side tends to have more money, but this year we're going to have more votes."

"One party is ruling Washington, and it's not like it's a moderate or even a conservative party. They're governing to the hard right."

You can see more pics here.

Senator Bob Casey Visits Gracedale

Sporting a Nazareth baseball cap, U.S. Senator Bob Casey visited Gracedale today. In addition to speaking to residents, he gave a powerful speech to residents and staff during the shift change. I will fill you in on Monday.