Sean Casten facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sean Casten
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Official portrait, 2020
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 6th district |
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| Assumed office January 3, 2019 |
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| Preceded by | Peter Roskam |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Sean Thomas Casten
November 23, 1971 Dublin, Ireland |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Kara
(m. 2000) |
| Children | 2 (1 deceased) |
| Relatives | Tom Casten (father) |
| Education | Middlebury College (BA) Dartmouth College (MSEM, MS) |
Sean Thomas Casten (born November 23, 1971) is an American politician and businessman. He currently serves as a U.S. representative for the 6th Congressional District of Illinois. This district covers parts of southwestern Chicago and many nearby suburbs. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
In 2022, due to changes in district maps, Mr. Casten ran against another Democrat, Marie Newman, in the primary election. He won this election on June 28, 2022. He then won the main election on November 8, 2022, beating Keith Pekau, the mayor of Orland Park.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Sean Casten was born in Dublin, Ireland, but his parents were American. He grew up in Hartsdale, New York. In 1993, he earned a degree in molecular biology and biochemistry from Middlebury College. After college, he worked as a scientist for two years. In 1998, he earned two master's degrees from Dartmouth College in engineering and biochemical engineering.
Business Career
Mr. Casten started his career at a company called Arthur D. Little. He worked on analyzing fuel chains for their chemical engineering team. From 2000 to 2007, he was the leader of Turbosteam Corporation. This company turned pollution from power plants into useful energy.
In 2007, Mr. Casten and his father, Tom Casten, started a company called Recycled Energy Development (RED). RED focused on taking wasted energy and turning it into clean, useful power. They tried to make money by capturing waste heat, which is a way to create electricity. In 2015, there was a disagreement with an investor, which led to a lawsuit. Mr. Casten resolved this issue and sold the company in 2016. He stated that the claims against him were false.
Mr. Casten also helped create the Northeast CHP Initiative. He was involved in writing the bill for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). This program in the northeastern United States uses market ideas to help reduce greenhouse gases.
Serving in the U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2018 Election
Mr. Casten announced he would run for the United States House of Representatives in Illinois's 6th district in September 2017. He won the Democratic primary election against six other candidates. This made him the Democratic nominee to run against Peter Roskam, who had been the Republican representative for six terms.
On November 6, 2018, Mr. Casten won the election. He defeated Mr. Roskam by about seven percentage points. This election was important because Democrats were trying to win back control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
2020 Election
Mr. Casten was reelected in 2020. He won against former state legislator Jeanne Ives by seven percentage points.
2022 Election
For his first two terms, Mr. Casten represented a district that covered parts of five counties in Chicago's western suburbs. After the 2020 census, the district maps were redrawn. The 6th district became smaller and moved more into Cook and DuPage counties. It also included a large part of the old 3rd district, which was represented by fellow Democrat Marie Newman.
Even though the new district was mostly new to him, Mr. Casten won the Democratic nomination. In the general election, he defeated Keith Pekau, the mayor of Orland Park, by eight percentage points.
What Sean Casten Does in Congress
As of 2023, Mr. Casten has often voted in agreement with President Joe Biden's plans.
Climate Change and Energy
Mr. Casten says his most important issues in Congress are energy policy and climate change. He is a member of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. He believes that people who understand energy and those who understand environmental science need to work together more.
He has introduced several bills about energy policy. These include the Climate Risk Disclosure Act and the End Oil and Gas Subsidies Act. He also proposed the Clean Industrial Technology Act of 2019. This bill would have encouraged new ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from factories.
Federal Energy Regulation
Mr. Casten has worked to make the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) more visible. FERC is a government agency that helps regulate the energy sector. In Congress, Mr. Casten has pushed for FERC to have more power to help with the move to clean energy.
Reparations
Mr. Casten supports the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act. This bill would allow history books to teach more about the challenges faced by African Americans. It would also create a group to study reparations for people whose ancestors were enslaved.
Voting Rights
Mr. Casten voted for an amendment to lower the voting age to 16.
Syria
In 2023, Mr. Casten voted against a resolution that would have asked President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.
Making Government More Fair
In the 118th Congress, Mr. Casten supported three bills to change how the U.S. government works. These bills aimed to make Congress and the courts more representative of the people.
- The Equal Voices Act would add more representatives to the House of Representatives. This would make each district about the same size as the smallest state.
- The Senate Reform constitutional amendment would add 12 new senators. These senators would be chosen by voters from across the whole country. It would also add 12 presidential electors who would vote based on the national popular vote.
- The Restoring Judicial Separation of Powers Act would change how federal courts work. This would make it harder for one political group to unfairly control the courts.
Israel
Mr. Casten voted for a resolution that supported Israel after the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. In March 2024, he also shared his concerns about how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was handling the situation, mentioning "utter disregard for Palestinian lives."
2024 Presidential Nominee
On July 19, 2024, Mr. Casten publicly asked President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 United States presidential election.
Committee Assignments
For the 118th Congress, Mr. Casten is part of these committees:
- Committee on Financial Services
- Subcommittee on Capital Markets
- Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion
- Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy
- Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
Groups He Belongs To
Mr. Casten is a member of several groups in Congress, including:
- New Democrat Coalition
- Congressional Freethought Caucus
- Sustainable Investment Caucus (he is a co-chair)
- New Democrat Coalition's Climate Change Task Force (he is a Vice-Chair)
- Rare Disease Caucus
- Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (he is a Vice-Chair)
Personal Life
Sean Casten and his wife, Kara, live in Downers Grove, Illinois.
On June 13, 2022, Mr. Casten's daughter, Gwen, passed away suddenly at age 17. He shared that she had been in good health.
Mr. Casten's father is businessman Tom Casten, and they have worked together.
Mr. Casten is one of the few representatives in Congress who does not identify with any religion.
Images for kids
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Official portrait, 2020
