Issue Position: Changing Washington

Issue Position

Bob Casey thinks that the constant fighting and refusal to compromise in Washington is hurting our country. He works with Democrats and Republicans to find fair solutions to problems facing Pennsylvania families. Bob Casey has supported spending cuts and measures to force Washington to live within its means. He has also supported reforms to stop automatic pay increases for Congress and to strengthen ethics rules.

Cutting Spending: A former Pennsylvania Auditor General, Bob Casey has a record of rooting out government waste and safeguarding taxpayer dollars. He is working to hold government accountable, force Washington to live within its means and cut government waste. In the Senate, he has voted for a trillion dollars in spending cuts.

Shutting Down the K Street Project: The very first amendment introduced by Bob Casey in the Senate was signed into law as part of the landmark ethics reform legislation. Bob Casey's law shut down the K Street Project and made wrongfully influencing hiring practices a federal crime.

Ending Automatic Pay Raises: In 2009, Bob Casey supported legislation passed by the Senate to end automatic pay increases for members of Congress. After the Senate passed this legislation he joined other senators in sending a letter to the U.S. House urging a vote. After that attempt failed, Bob Casey helped introduce new legislation to end automatic pay raises.

Preventing Obstruction: Bob Casey called on the Senate to adopt rule changes to reduce obstruction of legislation and encourage debate on issues important to Pennsylvanians and Americans. Bob Casey supported a strong rule reform package that would provide greater transparency, allow for a more equitable amendment process and reduce procedural tactics used to prevent consideration of legislation.

No Pay for Congress During Government Shutdown: Bob Casey introduced legislation to block pay for members of Congress and the President in the event of a government shutdown. It would have prevented any retroactive pay after a shutdown was over. This passed the Senate in March 2011.

Stopping Congressional Insider Trading: To combat insider trading by Congress, Bob Casey cosponsored legislation that is now law to make clear that Congress is subject to insider trading laws, increases transparency and implements new ethics rules.

Stop Excessive Bonuses: Bob Casey cosponsored bipartisan legislation to put a stop to excessive bonuses for executives at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the taxpayer-owned mortgage companies. The Stop the Outrageous Pay (STOP) at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Act prevents the distribution of undisbursed bonus money and moves all Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac employees onto a structured pay scale similar to that of other federal financial regulators. Ten Fannie and Freddie executives received over $13 million in bonus pay last year.

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