Bob Casey

I want to thank and commend both nominees for your enduring commitment to public service.

I ask for your commitment regarding these Americans.

I mean, be on the panels and on the Committees that decide how best to prepare for disasters

I have seen the President's budget. You are increasing the fine against ghost preparers. That is great. But can you enforce it?

We know that many of these non-filers are high-income individuals.

I have and will continue to advocate for the IRS to have the resources which are so critical to fulfill its responsibilities.

I introduced the Gateway to Careers Act with Senators Young, Kaine, and Collins, a bipartisan bill to expand career pathway programs.

I think we can do this. I know we can do this.

I also think we do need to be somewhere in the middle.

I think it is unfair to the American people.

We know that communities will continue to suffer from the persistent challenges flowing from the pandemic.

I think if there is one thing we have learned over the course of the pandemic, it is the importance of services that allow seniors and people with disabilities to remain in their homes, in their communities, as we have heard over and over…

We know that if there was one problem that was terribly, terribly exacerbated by the pandemic, it was the crisis in mental health, especially for children and teens.

It is very clear to me that, as a practical matter, having audio-only is better than not having any care.

We run the risk of a two-tier system.

It also shows the inequities in our health-care system. And those communities that do not have the same degree of infrastructure, health infrastructure, or access to infrastructure, health care, were the ones who suffered the most during…

I hope we go forward with permanent changes in our reimbursement structures and in the reciprocal regulatory issues among States so that we can expand telehealth, because I think it gives timely access to care for so many individuals.

We have seen here in the pandemic that patients absolutely want that type of care, and we should act to expand it.

Mr. Chairman, thanks very much for having this hearing. It is critically important, the number of issues that we are learning so much about in the last more than a year now.

S. 1362 recognizes that pharmacists can play an integral role in addressing these longstanding disparities.

Paid sick leave and paid family and medical leave are essential to workers to ensure that they are able to take time off to care for themselves and to care for loved ones.

Seventy percent of small business owners did offer their employees COVID leave under the Families First, but only 43 percent have claimed the tax credit out of those 70 percent, and the reason is it is too complicated.

Twenty percent is the percent of private sector workers that have access to paid family leave.

I, too, remain very compelled and disturbed by that 20 percent figure, and in particular by the 5 percent figure for low-wage workers.

One of my priorities, and I know it is a huge priority for so many of us, is making it easier for working and middle class families to have a secure retirement.