As Pennsylvania state auditor, Bob Casey disclosed to state ethics officials that his relationship with his lobbyist brother-in-law could be “perceived to constitute a conflict of interest.” More than two decades later, Casey has opened his Senate office to one of that brother-in-law’s clients.
Patrick Brier, Casey’s brother-in-law, began lobbying for the Rehabilitation and Care Providers Association (RCPA) in 2015 through his consulting firm, Brier Dlugolecki Strategies. Since then, Casey, the chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, has introduced several bills supported by the group and appeared at events sponsored by the organization, which has showered the senator with praise and awards.
Casey, who faces his toughest reelection campaign this year has faced scrutiny over his family’s business dealings. The Democrat tapped a partner at his younger brother Matt’s personal injury firm to help select federal judicial nominees. The firm, Ross Feller Casey, has contributed more than $220,000 to Casey’s campaign. Another sibling, Patrick Casey, is a lobbyist at Dentons LLC, which recently began lobbying for a blacklisted Chinese tech firm, an issue of pertinence to Casey’s role on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Casey’s campaign has paid his sister’s printing company $500,000 over the past decade.
Casey’s alliance with the RCPA, which represents 400 rehab and disability facilities in the Keystone State, was highlighted in 2022 when the group issued a “thank you” letter to Casey for his “steadfast leadership” in promoting two bills backed by RCPA and its members. Casey has appeared at events for the organization, and was awarded its “legislative leadership award” in 2016, given to lawmakers who support legislative issues “on behalf of RCPA and its members.”
A top aide to Casey, Michael Gamel-McCormick, spoke at RCPA’s annual meeting in 2019 and met with RCPA and its members in 2020 for a discussion on “federal health-care-related issues critical to RCPA members.”
Brier Dlugolecki, which started lobbying for RCPA in 2015, also sponsors fundraisers for RCPA’s political action committee, which aims to build “key relationships in both state and federal government with lawmakers who are supportive of our members’ interests.”
