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DUNMORE — Bob Casey announced Friday he won’t run for president in 2020, following up on that news with a speech decrying the government shutdown and its impact on federal employees.
“The reason the government of the United States is shut down is because the President of the United States said he would shut it down, expressed an interest in shutting it down … and he got his way,” Casey said.
“You’re having to go to work without getting paid because some politician in Washington didn’t get his way on an appropriations bill,” Casey said at the Dunmore office of a union that represents federal corrections officers. “Their jobs are already stressful, and this shutdown adds to the stress and the misery.”
Late last year, Casey said he would consider a run for the White House. But in a news release Friday, he said “the best way for me to fight for the America that so many of us believe in is to stay in the U.S. Senate and not run for the presidency in 2020.”
As the record-long Trump shutdown drags on, Casey, D-Scranton, joined with local prison workers to highlight the impact of the shutdown on public safety. Thousands of federal prison workers — including around 3,000 in Pennsylvania — have been risking their lives each day as they continue to work without pay.
Casey called for an end to the shutdown and outlined the road ahead.
“It has been 28 days since President Trump decided to shut down the government over not getting funding for his inefficient, ineffective southern border wall,” Casey said. “It also means 28 days of government employees being held hostage by our president. Last Friday, 820,000 federal workers, including 14,000 in Pennsylvania, missed a paycheck.”
Casey said there are more than 33,000 federal correctional workers in 122 facilities across the United States.
“Telling the brave men and women who work in our federal prisons — who put their personal safety at risk every day — to work for no pay is absolutely immoral,” Casey said. “We can have a conversation and debate about border security and we should discuss the most effective ways to reform our immigration system and address the flow of drugs into this country. But we can’t have that discussion while federal workers are being held hostage and Americans who rely on federal programs aren’t getting the services they need.”
Casey on 2020
Casey released a full statement on why he will not be seeking the Oval Office:
“With so much at stake for our nation, 2020 will be the most important presidential election of the modern era. The middle class and those struggling to climb another rung on the ladder into the middle class have never had more burdens. The Trump Administration and Washington Republicans have stacked the deck against them by undermining health care protections, rigging the tax code for the wealthiest and corporate interests and ignoring the high costs of child care, prescription drugs, and college tuition. Extremist Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate have strongly supported federal budget proposals to turn Medicare into a voucher program and decimate Medicaid, threatening care for our children, seniors, and people with disabilities.
“This corporate agenda threatens the very foundation of the American Dream. Both parties should work together to lift the burdens outlined above that middle-class families carry every day, provide a tax cut for the middle class and raise the minimum wage. These measures would lift take-home pay for tens of millions of Americans. Our great nation can ensure that all Americans have a fair shot in our economy while tackling the existential crisis of climate change. Our moral obligation to be good stewards of the earth can be met while our workers and businesses thrive.
“Both parties must also come together to enhance our national security and rebuild our alliances, which have been shaken by President Trump’s dangerous fascination with Vladimir Putin and despots around the world. The resignation of Defense Secretary Mattis was a terrible blow to our security and to our standing in the world. The President’s impulsive, erratic approach to foreign policy makes us less safe and creates uncertainty in a world where allies need the certainty that can only come from U.S. leadership.
“Our workers and families deserve a government that is on their side, and a government that affirms their dignity, their worth and how their individual stories are part of the fabric of what it means to be an American. President Trump does not embrace this vision of America. In fact, he has done everything he can to tear down the values that have always made America great. His Administration has worked to undermine hard-won civil rights protections while the president spends his time trying to pit Americans against one another by race or creed. His vision is an America of ‘blood and soil,’ not the nation of ‘out of many, one’ that our founding ideals set forth.
“With all of these challenges confronting us and with our Commonwealth playing a potentially decisive role in the 2020 vote, I believed it was important for me to at least consider the monumental undertaking of running for president. After two months of considering it, I have concluded that the best way for me to fight for the America that so many of us believe in is to stay in the U.S. Senate and not run for the presidency in 2020.
“During my time in office, I have passed into law measures that advance the cause of those with disabilities and improve the lives of children. I want to build on those measures and continue to be a U.S Senator who fights for all families. Pennsylvania workers need a Senator who will always fight for their economic livelihoods, and our children and seniors need a senator who puts their needs first. I will also continue to fight for the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act: full participation, independent living, equal opportunity and economic self-sufficiency.
“2020 is not the time for me to run for president, but it is the right time for me to continue to fight the battles I have fought as U.S. Senator and state official. I have no doubt that our Democratic Party will nominate a candidate who can win Pennsylvania and the presidency.
“The people of Pennsylvania have given me the privilege of being the first Democrat, and one of only five senators in more than 100 years, to be elected to a third term. I am grateful for the honor of serving the people of our Commonwealth in the years ahead and to continue my work on their behalf.”
