Casar, age 35, is seeking a second term representing a Central Texas district that includes parts of Austin and San Antonio. He serves as the whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Before being elected to Congress he served on Austin’s City Council.
Hear from the candidate
Please tell voters about yourself.
My name is Greg Casar, and I’m your U.S. Congressman for TX-35. My district spans from Austin to San Antonio, and while my house is in Austin, I’ve learned to love San Antonio as a second home. I received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and started my career as a labor organizer, working alongside construction workers and service workers to raise wages.
Our government should work for working people. As your U.S. Congressman, my office has helped deliver hundreds of millions of dollars to communities from Austin to San Antonio — all while fighting to expand Social Security, protect workers, care for our veterans, and restore basic rights for everyone.
What three issues do you consider to be most pressing for your district and how would you address them?
As housing costs skyrocket and wages fail to keep up, working families in San Antonio are struggling to pay the rent or the mortgage. In Congress, I’m working to preserve and expand affordable housing for working people. I support ending the Faircloth Limit and building public housing, expanding renters’ rights, growing overall housing supply and housing options, stopping predatory mortgage lending, ending discriminatory housing practices, and fighting gentrification.
To help working families make ends meet, we must fairly tax multi-millionaires and make sure big corporations pay their fair share of taxes. With a fair tax system, we can fully fund health care, child care, retirement, schools, and good jobs for all Americans. I’m a co-sponsor of the For the 99.5 Percent Act, which would close tax loopholes and guarantee fair taxes for billionaires. We can drive down prices by ensuring these big corporations not only pay their taxes, but also we must ensure that they end price gouging and monopolistic practices. And we must ensure Americans have good jobs, not dead-end jobs. This means passing the PRO Act, giving everyone union rights, and raising the wages and benefits across the board so that workers throughout TX-35 can pay the rent, put food on the table, and take care of their families.
How would you approach Congress’ ongoing gridlock on numerous issues including spending bills?
Former Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich is the godfather of breaking the Congress, and he would openly talk about “giving gridlock a good name.” Unfortunately, Republicans have continued their commitment to breaking government, threatening shutdowns, and leading the most unproductive Congress in nearly a century. Democrats are ready and willing to work in a bipartisan way, but we cannot throw working families under the bus in the process. In my two years in Congress, House Republicans have continuously tried to slash government funding for Social Security, veterans benefits, and food for kids — all to increase corporate tax breaks.
Congress could get so much done — pass the Women’s Health Protection Act to restore abortion rights, reinstate the ban on assault weapons to protect our kids, pass the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to protect women’s rights and the rights of our LGBTQ+ neighbors, and so much more. We just need a handful of Republicans, three to five, to sign on. These are common sense measures that the majority of Americans agree on, and Congress should be following the lead of our constituents.
Describe your approach to being an effective lawmaker in order to best serve the needs of voters in your district?
My job is to deliver and fight for our district. I’ve worked to secure millions in federal funds for San Antonio’s Migrant Resource Center, affordable housing for the West Side, the restoration of Martinez Creek, and more. My office has been able to deliver millions of dollars directly to San Antonio residents in backpay, veterans benefits, and Social Security benefits.
How do you solicit input and feedback from residents in your district?
As your member of Congress, I’ve been able to connect with hundreds of thousands of constituents through our community events, mail program, in-person town halls, and constituent services. My favorite new way to connect to constituents though is through our telephone town halls, where hundreds of folks are able to join and ask live questions. The feedback I’ve received the most is that people are frustrated by the state of Congress, and San Antonians want to see their government work for them. My hope and goal for this election cycle is that we win back a Democratic House majority and then quickly pass legislation for more freedom in elections, freedom in your workplace, and freedom to live how you’d like.
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