A conversation with U.S. Representative Greg Casar (D-Austin), moderated by professor of practice and Texas Tribune co-founder Evan Smith.
Congressman Greg Casar represents Texas’s 35th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, which runs down I-35 from East Austin to Hays County to the West Side of San Antonio.
Congressman Casar was sworn into office in January 2023 and serves as the Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, composed of more than 100 members of Congress standing up for progressive ideals in Washington and throughout the country. A labor organizer and son of Mexican immigrants, he is fighting to raise wages for millions of American workers, expand immigrant rights, restore abortion rights and voting rights, protect veterans and seniors, and tackle the climate crisis.
Prior to being elected to Congress, he served on the Austin City Council for seven years. There, he championed and passed progressive policies including protections for renters from corporate abuse, bold affordable housing programs, and paid sick leave ordinances in Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio.
In the U.S. House, Congressman Casar has pledged to build a government that works for working people. In his first term in Congress, Congressman Casar successfully pushed for the introduction of the first-ever federal heat rule, which will protect over 30 million American workers facing extreme heat on the job. Additionally, he authored legislation to connect the Texas grid to neighboring power grids that would save billions and prevent future mass blackouts.