Expressions of love and thankfulness marked the farewell of Pennsylvania’s senior senator, Bob Casey Jr., who on Wednesday gave his final floor address in the U.S. Senate.
“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,” Casey said in describing his time as a U.S. senator and as Pennsylvania’s treasurer and auditor general prior to that.
“It’s been a privilege to have served our commonwealth, to serve the people of our commonwealth,” he said.
Casey, a moderate Democrat, served three consecutive terms in the Senate. He lost November’s election to U.S. Sen.-elect Dave McCormick, a Republican, who assumes office when the 119th Congress convenes Jan. 3.
Republicans will control the Senate with a 53-47 majority. The GOP will also have a majority in the U.S. House and, of course, hold the presidency through President-elect Donald Trump.
Pennsylvania’s junior senator, John Fetterman, called Casey a friend and mentor, someone who lent him his voice when a stroke in 2022 temporarily took away his own ability to speak and nearly took his life.
“Today, on the floor of the Senate and for the record, I will confirm that Bob Casey is Pennsylvania’s best senator,” Fetterman said. “After 18 years, Bob Casey’s legacy is a better Pennsylvania.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota was in Casey’s freshman Senate class. They joined the upper chamber together in 2007. She praised Casey for his work, particularly on issues concerning senior citizens and the disabled, saying he spoke for those who couldn’t afford a lobbyist or were being ignored.
And, simply, she described a man who acted with humility and kindness.
“What has made Bob truly a good friend is you can actually trust him,” Klobuchar said. “In that way, he’s been like a brother I’ve never had.”
Casey’s formal goodbye paid respect to his upbringing. He spoke lovingly of his late parents, Ellen (Harding) Casey and former Pennsylvania Gov. Bob Casey Sr.
His mother, he said, frequently told he and his seven siblings to “count your blessings.” Words of his father that guided his career in public service are inscribed on the Finance Building of the State Capitol Complex: “All public service is a trust, given in faith and accepted in honor.”
He called his wife of nearly 40 years, Terese Foppiano Casey, the foundation of their family and in speaking aloud the names of their four daughters, said that simple act is a blessing of thanksgiving.
Casey took time to thank workers throughout the Senate, right on down to the catering staff, and dwelled on the work of his own staffers in Washington and in Pennsylvania.
Career highlights include the ABLE Act, known formally as the Stephen Beck Jr. Achieving a Better Life Experience Act. The law allowed people with disabilities to open tax-free savings accounts without jeopardizing their federal disability benefits. To date, he said, nearly 190,000 accounts opened and collectively saved $2 billion.
He spoke of efforts like the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act which lets women request “reasonable accommodations” to help them stay on the job while pregnant, and of establishing free breakfast and lunch programs in public schools across the country.
International food security, part of efforts to maintain geopolitical stability, cutting off the flow of materials used to create improvised explosive devices during wars in the Middle East, and laws to better secure airplanes post-9/11 were also touched on during Casey’s final speech.
Moving forward, Casey urged the next iteration of the Senate to cut costs for the middle class, make the child tax credit fully refundable, challenge China economically and maintain support for Ukraine in “their consequential war with a murderous dictator, Vladimir Putin.”
He closed by again thanking Pennsylvanians and making one last reference to his mom while giving a nod to his Catholic faith.
“Inspired by my mother, I’ve been granted today the privilege of counting my blessings on the floor of the United States Senate,” he said. “One of the greatest blessings in my life, and I know for so many people here, has been the blessing of public service.”
“As the scriptures tell us,” Casey said, “it is in giving that we receive.”