Sean Casten
Representative for Illinois · Democratic · United States
“Are any of them going to stand up? Don't they get these calls from their constituents? Why don't they care? I see them all looking away. How would you have me answer that question? I tried. I did my best to explain the psychology of folks I work with who fear Trump more than they fear cancer.”
“Are any of them going to stand up? Don't they get these calls from their constituents? Why don't they care? I see them all looking away. How would you have me answer that question? I tried. I did my best to explain the psychology of folks I work with who fear Trump more than they fear cancer.”
“Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 72 (Wednesday, April 30, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 72 (Wednesday, April 30, 2025)] [House] [Pages H1737-H1738] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] NIH CUTS AFFECTING CANCER PATIENTS (Mr.”
“Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 72 (Wednesday, April 30, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 72 (Wednesday, April 30, 2025)] [House] [Pages H1737-H1738] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] NIH CUTS AFFECTING CANCER PATIENTS (Mr.”
“That wasn't why he called. He called because his son's doctors told him that as you go through the course of this treatment, typically, chemo stops working after about 6 months. You see some tumor reduction, and then it stops working. At that point, you really need to start looking for alternatives.”
“That wasn't why he called. He called because his son's doctors told him that as you go through the course of this treatment, typically, chemo stops working after about 6 months. You see some tumor reduction, and then it stops working. At that point, you really need to start looking for alternatives.”
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“Mr. Speaker, I missed Roll Call vote nos. 111 and 112 because I attended my daughter's senior awards night ceremony. Had I been present, I would have voted Nay on Roll Call No. 111, H.J. Res. 87, and Nay on Roll Call No. 112, H.J. Res. 89. personal explanation”
“Are any of them going to stand up? Don't they get these calls from their constituents? Why don't they care? I see them all looking away. How would you have me answer that question? I tried. I did my best to explain the psychology of folks I work with who fear Trump more than they fear cancer. Mostly I just got sad because this is a guy who said I want hope; all I have is reality. What I want for hope is medicine, and all I could give him was political science to give him some reality. These stories are in all of our districts. All of our constituents want hope. It is the least we can give them, and we are failing. Mr. Speaker, I ask my Republican colleagues to just please grow a spine. Stand up. Give us some reason to hope. Give me a better answer to the next constituent who calls my office, or indeed yours, with those same questions.”
“That wasn't why he called. He called because his son's doctors told him that as you go through the course of this treatment, typically, chemo stops working after about 6 months. You see some tumor reduction, and then it stops working. At that point, you really need to start looking for alternatives. Typically, those alternatives mean you start getting into experimental trials. Those are no longer available because Trump and Elon Musk's cuts to NIH are forcing the local hospitals, the local universities, and the drug companies that would have done these clinical trials, to shut them down. {time} 1100 As he put it to me: As a father, I have to balance hope with reality, but it seems like all I have right now is reality. Then he said to me: Do the Republicans you work with know that they can get cancer, too?”
“Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 72 (Wednesday, April 30, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 72 (Wednesday, April 30, 2025)] [House] [Pages H1737-H1738] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] NIH CUTS AFFECTING CANCER PATIENTS (Mr. Casten of Illinois was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.) Mr. CASTEN. Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago, I got a call from a constituent whose 46-year-old son had just [[Page H1738]] been diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer back in December, and the whole family is now wondering whether he is going to live long enough to see his kids graduate from high school. It is sad. We sort of shared the pain of fathers who lost kids, worried about losing kids. There is no need to tell anybody here that cancer sucks.”
“The result of the vote was announced as above recorded. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table. personal explanation Mr. CASTEN. Mr. Speaker, I missed Roll Call vote nos. 111 and 112 because I attended my daughter's senior awards night ceremony. Had I been present, I would have voted Nay on Roll Call No. 111, H.J. Res. 87, and Nay on Roll Call No. 112, H.J. Res. 89. personal explanation Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I was unable to be physically present for votes today. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 111 and NAY on Roll Call No. 112. ____________________”
“Gooden Gosar Graves Green (TN) Greene (GA) Griffith Grothman Guest Guthrie Hageman Hamadeh (AZ) Haridopolos Harrigan Harris (MD) Harris (NC) Harshbarger Hern (OK) Higgins (LA) Hill (AR) Hinson Houchin Hudson Huizenga Hunt Hurd (CO) Issa Jack Jackson (TX) James Johnson (LA) Johnson (SD) Jordan Joyce (OH) Joyce (PA) Kean Kelly (MS) Kelly (PA) Kennedy (UT) Kiggans (VA) Kiley (CA) Kim Knott Kustoff LaHood LaLota LaMalfa Langworthy Latta Lawler Lee (FL) Lee (NV) Letlow Loudermilk Lucas Luna Luttrell Mace Mackenzie Maloy Mann Massie Mast McCaul McClain McClintock McCormick McDonald Rivet McDowell McGuire Messmer Meuser Miller (IL) Miller (OH) Miller (WV) Miller-Meeks Mills Moolenaar Moore (AL) Moore (NC) Moore (UT) Moore (WV) Moran Murphy Nehls Newhouse Norman Nunn (IA) Obernolte Ogles Onder Owens Palmer Patronis Perez Perry Pfluger Reschenthaler Rogers (AL) Rogers (KY) Rose Rouzer Roy Rulli Rutherford Salazar Scalise Schmidt Schweikert Scott, Austin Self Sessions Shreve Simpson Smith (MO) Smith (NE) Smith (NJ) Smucker Spartz Stauber Stefanik Steil Steube Strong Stutzman Taylor Tenney Tiffany Timmons Turner (OH) Valadao Van Drew Van Duyne Van Orden Vasquez Veasey Wagner Walberg Webster (FL) Westerman Wied Williams (TX) Wilson (SC) Wittman Womack Yakym Zinke NAYS--196 Adams Aguilar Amo Ansari Auchincloss Balint Barragan Beatty Bell Bera Beyer Bonamici Boyle (PA) Brown Brownley Budzinski Bynum Carbajal Carson Carter (LA) Casar Case Castor (FL) Castro (TX) Cherfilus-McCormick Chu Cisneros Clark (MA) Clarke (NY) Cleaver Clyburn Conaway Correa Costa Courtney Craig Crockett Crow Davids (KS) Davis (IL) Dean (PA) DeGette DeLauro DelBene Deluzio DeSaulnier Dexter Dingell Doggett Elfreth Escobar Espaillat Evans (PA) Fields Figures Fitzpatrick Fletcher Foster Foushee Frankel, Lois Friedman Frost Garamendi Garcia (CA) Garcia (IL) Garcia (TX) Gillen Goldman (NY) Gomez Goodlander Gray Green, Al (TX) Harder (CA) Hayes Himes Horsford Houlahan Hoyer Hoyle (OR) Huffman Ivey Jackson (IL) Jacobs Jayapal Jeffries Johnson (GA) Johnson (TX) Kamlager-Dove Kaptur Keating Kelly (IL) Kennedy (NY) Khanna Krishnamoorthi Landsman Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) Latimer Lee (PA) Leger Fernandez Levin Liccardo Lieu Lofgren Lynch Magaziner Mannion Matsui McBath McBride McClain Delaney McClellan McCollum McGarvey McIver Meeks Menendez Meng Mfume Min Moore (WI) Morelle Morrison Moskowitz Moulton Mrvan Mullin Nadler Neal Neguse Ocasio-Cortez Olszewski Omar Pallone Panetta Pappas Pelosi Pettersen Pingree Pocan Pou Pressley Quigley Ramirez Randall Raskin Riley (NY) Rivas Ross Ruiz Ryan Salinas Sanchez Scanlon Schakowsky Schneider Scholten Schrier Scott (VA) Scott, David Sewell Sherman Sherrill Simon Smith (WA) Sorensen Soto Stansbury Stanton Stevens Strickland Subramanyam Suozzi Swalwell Sykes Takano Thanedar Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Titus Tlaib Tokuda Tonko Torres (CA) Torres (NY) Trahan Tran Underwood Vargas Velazquez Vindman Waters Watson Coleman Whitesides Williams (GA) Wilson (FL) NOT VOTING--12 Casten Cohen Collins Connolly Gottheimer Malliotakis McGovern Norcross Peters Thompson (PA) Wasserman Schultz Weber (TX) {time} 1749 So the joint resolution was passed.”
“112] YEAS--225 Aderholt Alford Allen Amodei (NV) Arrington Babin Bacon Baird Balderson Barr Barrett Baumgartner Bean (FL) Begich Bentz Bergman Bice Biggs (AZ) Biggs (SC) Bilirakis Bishop Boebert Bost Brecheen Bresnahan Buchanan Burchett Burlison Calvert Cammack Carey Carter (GA) Carter (TX) Ciscomani Cline Cloud Clyde Cole Comer Crane Crank Crawford Crenshaw Cuellar Davidson Davis (NC) De La Cruz DesJarlais Diaz-Balart Donalds Downing Dunn (FL) Edwards Ellzey Emmer Estes Evans (CO) Ezell Fallon Fedorchak Feenstra Fine Finstad Fischbach Fitzgerald Fleischmann Flood Fong Foxx Franklin, Scott Fry Fulcher Garbarino Gill (TX) Gimenez Golden (ME) Goldman (TX) Gonzales, Tony Gonzalez, V.”
“89) providing congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to ``California State Motor Vehicle and Engine and Nonroad Engine Pollution Control Standards; The `Omnibus' Low NO X Regulation; Waiver of Preemption; Notice of Decision'', on which the yeas and nays were ordered. The Clerk read the title of the joint resolution. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the joint resolution. This is a 5-minute vote. The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 225, nays 196, not voting 12, as follows: [Roll No.”
“Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 72 (Wednesday, April 30, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 72 (Wednesday, April 30, 2025)] [House] [Page H1760] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] PROVIDING CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY RELATING TO ``CALIFORNIA STATE MOTOR VEHICLE AND ENGINE AND NONROAD ENGINE POLLUTION CONTROL STANDARDS; THE `OMNIBUS' LOW NO X REGULATION; WAIVER OF PREEMPTION; NOTICE OF DECISION'' The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Yakym). Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, the unfinished business is the vote on passage of the joint resolution (H.J. Res.”
“Are any of them going to stand up? Don't they get these calls from their constituents? Why don't they care? I see them all looking away. How would you have me answer that question? I tried. I did my best to explain the psychology of folks I work with who fear Trump more than they fear cancer. Mostly I just got sad because this is a guy who said I want hope; all I have is reality. What I want for hope is medicine, and all I could give him was political science to give him some reality. These stories are in all of our districts. All of our constituents want hope. It is the least we can give them, and we are failing. Mr. Speaker, I ask my Republican colleagues to just please grow a spine. Stand up. Give us some reason to hope. Give me a better answer to the next constituent who calls my office, or indeed yours, with those same questions.”
“That wasn't why he called. He called because his son's doctors told him that as you go through the course of this treatment, typically, chemo stops working after about 6 months. You see some tumor reduction, and then it stops working. At that point, you really need to start looking for alternatives. Typically, those alternatives mean you start getting into experimental trials. Those are no longer available because Trump and Elon Musk's cuts to NIH are forcing the local hospitals, the local universities, and the drug companies that would have done these clinical trials, to shut them down. {time} 1100 As he put it to me: As a father, I have to balance hope with reality, but it seems like all I have right now is reality. Then he said to me: Do the Republicans you work with know that they can get cancer, too?”
“Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 72 (Wednesday, April 30, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 72 (Wednesday, April 30, 2025)] [House] [Pages H1737-H1738] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] NIH CUTS AFFECTING CANCER PATIENTS (Mr. Casten of Illinois was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.) Mr. CASTEN. Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago, I got a call from a constituent whose 46-year-old son had just [[Page H1738]] been diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer back in December, and the whole family is now wondering whether he is going to live long enough to see his kids graduate from high school. It is sad. We sort of shared the pain of fathers who lost kids, worried about losing kids. There is no need to tell anybody here that cancer sucks.”