Women’s Rights and Opportunities
Representative Casten is committed to supporting and expanding women’s rights and opportunities — by protecting reproductive rights, fighting for equal pay for equal work, and supporting programs that aid women subjected to harassment and abuse.
We must ensure that women are treated equally – including in the workplace. For every dollar a man makes, a woman makes 80 cents, and the wage gap is even larger for women of color.
In the first few months as a Representative, Rep. Casten was proud to be a cosponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work. This legislation strengthens and closes loopholes in the 1963 Equal Pay Act to secure justice for working women in Illinois and across the country by providing effective remedies for women subject to unfair and inequitable pay practices.
Violence Against Women Act
Domestic violence and abuse is far too prevalent in our country. Rep. Casten is committed to combating domestic violence and advocating for victims of abuse. He is proud to have cosponsored and helped to pass H.R. 1585, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019, which has been absolutely vital to saving the lives of women and their families since its inception. This bill addresses gaps in current law, and does so in collaboration with victim service providers, law enforcement, and other experts in the field. Rep. Casten also won approval of his amendment to the bill to include campus faculty in grant programs so they can be trained in recognizing and responding to domestic or sexual abuse.
Women's rights are human rights. Rep. Casten will continue to protect and advance women's rights here in the United States and around the world.
More on Women’s Rights and Opportunities
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Sean Casten (IL-06) released the following statement condemning the U.S. Senate’s vote to end debate on two bills designed to limit abortion rights, S. 3275 the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act and S. 311 the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.
Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Sean Casten (IL-06) released the following statement after the House passed H.J. Res. 79 by a bipartisan vote of 232-183. The resolution would remove the arbitrary 1982 deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) as an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Sean Casten (IL-06), along with U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), as well as, U.S. Representative Joe Kennedy III (MA-04), introduced legislation that prohibits the consideration of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or actual or perceived sexual orientation when calculating damages in civil lawsuits.
Chicago, IL. – This week, U.S. Representatives Sean Casten (IL-06) and Robin Kelly (IL-02) convened a non-partisan Congressional Maternal Health Field Inquiry, in collaboration with Advocate Children’s Hospital, to shine an urgent light on the rising rate of American mothers dying from pregnancy and childbirth. The inquiry’s findings will contribute to larger federal reporting and fact-finding efforts to craft a national response to America’s shocking and growing maternal morality rate.
It was one of his talking points on the campaign trail last year and it hasn't gone away.
Climate change is an "existential threat" to human life, 6th District U.S. Rep. Sean Casten says, and it's the problem around which he's built a career.
But now, instead of addressing climate change as the head of his own business, the Downers Grove Democrat is attacking the issue as a politician representing a large swath of the West and Northwest suburbs.
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Sean Casten (IL-06) voted to pass H.R. 2740, a package of bills that would fund the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Defense, State, and Energy throughout the next year.
The bill includes several provisions championed by Congressman Casten aimed at protecting our environment, addressing climate change, ensuring access to quality health care, and promoting education for all citizens. Congressman Casten released the following statement upon the passage of the bill:
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Sean Casten (IL-06) marked 100 days since being sworn into the 116th Congress. In the first 100 days, Casten and his colleagues have advanced legislation to protect those with pre-existing conditions, strengthened background checks on guns, and reauthorized vital legislation to advance women’s rights, including the Violence Against Women Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act. Since being sworn in, Casten has held five townhalls to hear directly from constituents.
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Sean Casten (IL-06) introduced an amendment last night, which was unanimously adopted in H.R. 1585, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, that would ensure campus faculty are trained to recognize victims of sexual or domestic violence. This legislation amends the bill to include “appropriate campus faculty, such as academic advisors or professionals who deal with students on a daily basis,’’ for grant training programs to recognize and respond to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Sean Casten (IL-06) took another key step toward keeping his pledge to support women’s choice and undo the discriminatory Hyde Amendment. The Hyde Amendment – named after anti-choice ideologue Henry Hyde who formerly represented the 6th District – has, since 1976, blocked the use of federal funding for abortion services. Casten cosponsored the pro-choice Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Woman Act, a bill to reverse the destructive Hyde Amendment.
Judie Caribeaux, executive director of the Family Shelter Service in DuPage County, was the guest of U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, D-Downers Grove, at the State of the Union address.
Caribeaux is a survivor of domestic abuse and has spoken publicly about the negative consequences of the government shutdown for abuse victims who depend on the federally supported aid the Family Shelter Service provides. Among Casten’s top congressional priorities is advocating for women’s rights and protecting women from domestic abuse.