Casey will vote against confirmation of DeVos, Sessions, Pruitt
January 19, 2017 12:31 AM


Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette
In a statement this afternoon, Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey said he had decided to vote not to confirm three of President-Elect Donald Trump's most controversial nominees: Secretary of Education nominee Betsy DeVos, Attorney General nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator nominee Scott Pruitt.
Mr. Casey said he came to the decisions after "deliberations, hearings, and review of available paperwork," and offered a justification for opposing each candidate.
He said he had "significant concerns" about Ms. Devos, noting that she "has no experience in public education," and charging that her advocacy "centered upon pursuing efforts to undermine and privatize public schools"; Ms. DeVos' advocacy on behalf of charter and private schools has given even some charter supporters pause.

Mr. Casey also singled out Ms. DeVos for her support of "radical organizations that have sought to weaken protections for victims of campus sexual assault." That's an apparent reference to groups like the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which has contested federal efforts to compel universities to act more aggressively on campus sex crimes. Mr. Casey himself sponsored legislation to establish uniform requirements for reporting such crime on campus.
"I am offended that President-elect Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education has supported efforts to make it harder for campus sexual assault victims to receive justice," he said.
As for Ms. Sessions, Mr. Casey cited "a fundamental disagreement" on voting rights, and a vote Mr. Sessions took as Senator to oppose non-binding language asserting that immigrants should not be banned based on their religion. Mr. Trump has said he favored such a ban as an anti-terror measure, though he has since backed away from that position.
Mr. Casey noted that as an Attorney General in Oklahoma, Mr. Pruitt had repeatedly sued the government over environmental regulations, including those to limit mercury and ozone emissions. He also cited a 2014 New York Times story that reported Mr. Pruitt essentially copy-and-pasted an energy company's objections to some regulations, forwarding it to the EPA as the position of his office.
"On behalf of the children of Pennsylvania, who deserve clean water to drink, clean air to breathe and action on climate change, I will vote against Mr. Pruitt’s nomination," Mr. Casey said.
http://www.post-gazette.com/early-returns/ernational/2017/01/18/Casey-will-vote-against-confirmation-of-DeVos-Sessions-Pruitt/stories/201701180179
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