BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) has received financial support from a group lobbying to expand a visa program known to benefit Chinese nationals seeking entry into the United States, Federal Election Commission filings show.

Casey accepted a June 24 $5,000 donation from the Immigrant Investors Association/Invest in the USA PAC, which seeks to increase the number of available visas through America’s EB-5 immigrant-investor regional-center program.

Casey is the only 2024 Senate candidate to have accepted a campaign contribution from IIUSA PAC, per FEC filings.

EB-5 visas offer permanent American residency to foreigners who invest in “qualified job-creating projects,” the Wall Street Journal reported last year.

The program has led to “greater interest from wealthy Chinese seeking a way out of their country” as their economy struggles and their government grows more authoritarian, the WSJ noted.

Chinese citizens have historically constituted the largest nationality of those seeking visas through the EB-5 program.

Mainland Chinese nationals scored 6,125 out of the total 10,855 in fiscal year 2022. Hong Kong got another 142.

The State Department announced Friday it had reached the limit of EB-5 visas it could grant in fiscal year 2024. Dependents of lucky investors are also given residence.

Documents from Commonwealth Strategic Partners — a DC bipartisan lobbying firm — show Casey was at a June fundraiser hosted by one IIUSA PAC lobbyist and attended by another.

Both of the lobbyists, Commonwealth managing partners Keith Pemrick and George McElwee, have been involved extensively with EB-5 issues.

The revelation comes just days after The Post reported Casey has a three-cent stake in Chinese fentanyl manufacturer Yichang Humanwell through an index fund that’s part of a 529 Plan mutual fund for his family. He does not exercise direct control over the investment.

Casey’s opponent, GOP Senate hopeful Dave McCormick, blasted the incumbent as “the ultimate liar and hypocrite” for running ads about the Humanwell investments of McCormick’s former company while having a stake in it himself.

Connecticut-based hedge fund Bridgewater Associates — which McCormick led from 2020 to 2022 —  had a $1.7 million stake in Humanwell as of 2021.

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

The Biden administration’s new Title IX regulations went into effect Aug. 1. But 26 states have blocked it and some individual schools are exempt from implementation, thanks to a federal injunction.

A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Education said in an email that the department plans to update its own policy to reflect the new Title IX regulations that protect students from gender identity discrimination.

“The Shapiro Administration believes that all learners deserve a school environment free from harassment and discrimination, and Pennsylvania was one of the first states to develop a model policy under the It’s On Us program,” the statement said. “The Department will continue to communicate with the field regarding updated federal requirements and stands ready to provide any necessary technical assistance.”

The department also noted existing protections under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, and said “the Pennsylvania Human Resources Commission has specific information for school districts, students, and employees regarding prohibitions against illegal discrimination under state law.”

On Aug. 16, the Supreme Court ruled in response to an emergency request from the Biden administration that those injunctions still stand.

Here is everything you need to know about the new regulations and what the ongoing legal battle means for Pennsylvania students and their parents.

What are the new Title IX regulations?

The Biden administration’s new Title IX regulations build out the 1972 protections from sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs. The new regulations explicitly prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

Brian Dittmeier, director of public policy at GLSEN, a national advocacy organization that creates safe and affirmative learning environments for LGBTQ+ students, said the new regulations are “an important step forward in protecting LGBTQ students from harassment, bullying and discrimination at schools.”

Federal laws against sex discrimination have long been interpreted to apply to LGBTQ+ individuals, but the new regulations make that explicit, Dittmeier said.

“Title IX really plays a critical role in diagnosing when there is a hostile learning environment and taking steps to address that or to proactively prevent a hostile learning environment,” he said.

Dittmeier said 83% of LGBTQ+ youth have been victimized in school, but of that group, 62% have never reported an incident to school staff.

“And that says to us that there is not just a significant trend of underreporting, but a trust gap between students and their school administration,” Dittmeier said. “And so when Title IX expressly says sexual orientation and gender identity is considered within the scope of our non-discrimination mandate, that sends a clear message that students are protected and they can bring the problems that they’re facing to school administration, and that there should be steps taken to address that.”

Apart from naming gender identity and sexual orientation as protected categories, the new regulations expand protections for pregnant and postpartum students and outline new reporting procedures that mandate investigation of verbal or informal complaints, as well as written complaints.

Who is challenging the new regulations and why?

Pennsylvania is not one of the 26 states blocking the new regulations.

However, more than 100 schools in the state are exempt from the new regulations because of a July injunction issued by a Kansas federal judge. The judge ruled that schools in which students or parents are members of three conservative groups — Moms for Liberty, Young America’s Foundation and Female Athletes United — cannot implement the new regulations.

“What the DOE did in trying to redefine sex to include gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy-related conditions, what they did is unconstitutional,” said Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, which describes itself as a parental rights group.

Justice said that Moms for Liberty members oppose the new regulations that ensure students can use bathrooms that align with their gender identity, among other protections for transgender students.

Justice said an example would be a girl who reports she’s uncomfortable in the bathroom if there is a transgender woman or student in the bathroom.

“Under the DeVos rules with President Trump, it would be the other person that would be making her uncomfortable, and that would be what the Title IX complaint would be, that … she was being discriminated against and sexually harassed in her bathroom,” she said. “Under the new rules, it would be that if she spoke up, she could have a Title IX complaint lodged against her. She would be the problem.”

STORY: :: Kamala Harris implies Trump is a ‘coward’ at a campaign stop in Pennsylvania

:: August 18, 2024

:: Rochester, Pennsylvania

“This campaign is about a recognition that, frankly, over the last several years, there’s been this kind of perversion that has taken place, I think, which is to suggest, that the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down, when what we know is the real and true measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up. [AUDIENCE APPLAUDS] That’s what we see as strength. We know what strength looks like. That’s what strength looks like. Anybody who’s about beating down other people is a coward.”

“Let’s build community. Let’s reinforce community. You all as volunteers, what you know, and we’re going to spread the word is how you can look at the face of a perfect stranger and see in their face a neighbor. That we see in each other our connection, our interdependence, what we see in each other, which fortifies and reinforces that the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us. That’s what this campaign is about. Yes, it is about winning. And we will win. And we will win.”

The remarks came in a campaign appearance as she toured the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania with running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, before Harris heads to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which kicks off Monday (August 19).

She did not directly name Trump, who in a campaign appearance Saturday in eastern Pennsylvania referred to Harris as a “radical” and a “lunatic.”

Opinion polls have shown Harris bringing fresh energy to the campaign and closing the gap with former President Trump both nationally and in many of the eight highly competitive states including Pennsylvania that will play a decisive role in picking Democratic President Joe Biden’s successor.