Senator Bob Casey, who has dedicated his career to public service, including nearly twenty years as a US Senator for the state of Pennsylvania, will be Boston College Law School’s 2025 commencement speaker. The event will be held May 23 at BC’s Conte Forum.
As Senator, Casey was known for advancing economic opportunity, strengthening health care access, and protecting the rights of US families. During his eighteen years in the United States Senate, he established himself as one of the leading advocates in Congress for children, workers, seniors, and people with disabilities.
Over the course of his three terms in office, Casey built a track record as a uniquely effective legislator, authoring and passing into law ninety-nine pieces of legislation. His ability to work across party lines and focus on practical solutions led to legislative successes that made college campuses safer; required employers to grant reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers; improved cockpit safety on commercial airliners; and enhanced criminal penalties for online stalkers who victimize children.
Casey’s signature achievement was the passage of the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act.
A generational leader on disability policy, Casey’s signature achievement was the passage of the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act. Widely regarded as the most impactful disability rights legislation since the Americans with Disabilities Act, the ABLE Act allows people with disabilities to save for education, housing, and other essential needs in tax-advantaged savings accounts. Today, more than 187,000 people with disabilities hold ABLE accounts totaling more than $2 billion in assets.
Casey served as a Member of the Senate’s Committees on Finance; Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP); Intelligence; and as the Chairman of the Special Committee on Aging. Earlier in his Senate career, he was a Member of the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee and Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; as well as the Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee.
Beyond his legislative accomplishments, Casey delivered tens of billions of dollars in federal investments to spur job creation, modernize infrastructure, and incentivize clean energy development in Pennsylvania. Among them, he secured $857 million to complete construction of the Montgomery Lock and Dam, preserving the ability to move goods through southwestern Pennsylvania and stimulating significant job growth in the region.
Prior to his election to the Senate, Casey served two terms as Pennsylvania’s Auditor General, compiling a record as a fiscal watchdog who made nursing homes safer, child care more affordable, and government more accountable. His efforts directly resulted in changes saving Pennsylvania taxpayers more than $1 billion. In 2004, Casey was elected State Treasurer and during his tenure, the Treasury Department not only earned competitive returns on taxpayer dollars, but also invested those funds in a way that improved the quality of life for Pennsylvania families. He created the first-ever Hospital Enhancement Loan Program (HELP) to enable licensed acute care hospitals to secure lower-cost financing for critical facility and technology upgrades that improve the quality of patient care.
Casey graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 1982. He spent the following year as a Jesuit Volunteer in North Philadelphia teaching fifth grade and coaching eighth grade basketball. After earning his law degree from Catholic University, Casey returned to Pennsylvania to practice for six years before entering public service. He went on to win six statewide elections, more than any candidate in the Commonwealth’s history.
Casey received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at the Boston College 2017 Commencement ceremony, where he was also the keynote speaker. He and his wife, Terese, live in Scranton and have four adult daughters and two grandsons.