Kathy Castor RSS Articles

Rep. Castor hires new staff for Tampa Bay district office

Thu, 16 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor recently hired Vito Sheeley and Tania Fernandez, who started this week as outreach coordinator and constituent services representative, respectively.

“My team is proactive on behalf of the families, veterans and small businesses in the Tampa Bay area, and Vito Sheeley and Tania Fernandez will play important roles as we work for broader economic opportunities for all,” Rep. Castor said.

As outreach coordinator, Vito Sheeley joins Rep. Castor’s office to partner with local organizations, individuals and small businesses to address community concerns. His most recent experience was working with Pinellas County Commissioner Ken Welch, former Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and former Florida State Sen. Kendrick Meek on volunteer recruitment, organizing phone banks and canvassing neighborhoods in Tampa and south St. Petersburg. Mr. Sheeley was born and raised in south St. Petersburg, and attended Lakewood High School. He replaced Victoria Kirby.

With nearly 20 years of customer service experience assisting neighbors throughout Tampa Bay, including Spanish-speaking clients, Tania Fernandez joins Rep. Castor’s office as a constituent services representative. In this capacity, she will directly assist District 14 residents on their matters relating to veterans benefits, immigration and other federal services. Most recently, she worked in Refugee Legal Services for Lutheran Services Florida. She replaced Belinda Allen, who is now at CDC of Tampa.

“Vito and Tania are joining the other talented and hard-working members of my district office as we ramp up an important outreach effort to educate our community on the Affordable Care Act,” Rep. Castor said. “Open enrollment on the ‘online marketplace’ where people can shop and compare benefits and prices begins Oct. 1. The new law provides financial help to low and moderate income Americans who don’t get insurance through their jobs to help them purchase coverage. The law also provides tax credits to small businesses that offer health insurance to their employees.”

Rep. Castor’s District 14 includes the greater Tampa area, as well as South St. Petersburg.

To contact Rep. Castor’s office, visit castor.house.gov or call 813-871-2817. Follow her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/USRepKathyCastor for the latest updates on how Tampa Bay residents may benefit from the Affordable Care Act.

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U.S. Rep. Castor’s remarks on House Republicans’ 37th attempt to repeal Affordable Care Act

Thu, 16 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

During today’s House proceedings, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL) highlighted how small businesses, young adults, seniors and children have already benefitted from the Affordable Care Act that Republicans want to repeal for the 37^th time:

- More than 360,000 small businesses throughout the country have taken advantage of tax credits they receive for offering health insurance to their employees; millions more are eligible.

- In Florida, 224,000 young adults have health insurance because they have been able to remain on their parent’s policies until age 26.

- In Florida, 1.3 million residents have received $124 million in rebates from insurance companies because of important consumer protection provisions in the law that require a larger portion of premiums go towards health care costs.

- Medicare is stronger, seniors are paying less for prescription drugs as the “donut hole” closes and children no longer face discrimination due to pre-existing conditions.

“To my Republican colleagues, lets come together to work on the economy and create jobs, rather than another déjà vu of repealing healthcare and wasting time,” Rep. Castor concluded.

Rep. Castor serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee, including the Health Subcommittee, and as a member helped to craft the Affordable Care Act. She has since staunchly championed the health care benefits of the Affordable Care Act, as well as the positive impact to jobs and the economy.

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U.S. Rep. Castor Discusses Sequester Cuts to Head Start on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews

Mon, 06 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

In her ongoing effort to highlight the harm caused by job losses and across-the-board federal budget cuts to important federally-funded initiatives, such as Head Start, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL) discussed the drastic sequester reductions today on Hardball with Chris Matthews. Last week, Rep. Castor and several Head Start parents held a press conference to bring attention to a $1.4 million cut to Hillsborough County Head Start. Rep. Castor explained that 70,000 Head Start 3-year-old and 4-year-old students across America would likely be cut from Head Start preschool because Republicans refuse to replace the sequester. Below is a link to the entire video clip and a transcript of the interview.

Chris Matthews: The well-known Head Start program, the federal program that helps preschoolers from low-income families be ready to start schools faces a $406 million cut, which would kick 70,000 kids out of the program. And, headlines across the country describe how local communities are already being hurt by these cuts to Head Start funding. Democratic Congresswoman Kathy Castor of Florida has met with Head Start families hurt by sequester cuts and wants children’s programs to get the same attention that travel delays has gotten. Ron Herndon is chairman of the Head Start Association. Congresswoman, tell me about what you have discovered with constituents and what the sequester cuts have done to those kids in the pre-k stages of life.

Rep. Castor: 70,000, 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds across America will lose access to the preschool Head Start classroom. Head Start is intended for students who don’t have every advantage of life, to ensure they are ready for elementary school. It’s also important because it ensures their parents are ready to work. 70,000 students across America, 2,000 in the state of Florida alone because the Republicans refuse to replace the sequester or sit down with us to negotiate a balanced plan.

Matthews: Mr. Herndon, I remember … Barbara Bush and the Bush family was very big on Head Start years ago. It's not a left-wing program. It's very respected and cherished because it takes kids who normally would have a hard time in first grade catching up and this gives them a real and equal chance …

Ron Herndon: That's absolutely true. And probably one of the saddest parts of the cuts is most people are aware that it will mean 70,000 children will not be able to participate in Head Start, but that also means that hundreds of thousands of nutritional meals that won’t be served, hundreds of thousands of dental follow-ups that won’t be made, hundreds of thousands of medical follow-ups that won't be made, literally, hundreds of thousands of home visits to parents to help them prepare for their children to do well in school that won't be made. That's probably the saddest part of all that we've snatched the rug out from under 70,000 of the most vulnerable children and families in this country.

Matthews: These kids will miss a step or two at age 6 and all through their school years, perhaps in some cases, they will never catch up.

Herndon: Not only that, there's a great deal that Head Start has been credited with lowering the childhood mortality rate in the entire country because of the emphasis that we put on health care and dental care. It’s almost as if we have discovered the … vaccine and we said, guess what, 70,000 of you will not get the … vaccine.

Matthews: Let's go into the halls of Congress, Congresswoman, I'm not advising, I’m not a political consultant, I'm just a talker. But I've always wondered, why don't you go to the floor right now with a proposal like they did with the air traffic controllers and say how about an exception and force people like Boehner, who is not a bad person, to vote against it? Why don't you jam them with this the way the air traffic controller issue was raised?

Rep. Castor: We did that very thing in the House Budget Committee with our Chairman Chris Van Hollen, we offered an amendment just on Head Start to replace the sequester when it came to these 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds. The Republicans said no. They said no unanimously, just like they did when we were talking about cancer researchers and medical innovation. Chris, they are not interested in real debt reduction. They just want these cuts, they want the sequester, but they are going to have to live with the fact that they are complicit in the … down of America and that 70,000 of our 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds are not going to have a “head start” in life. I was with parents and students last week in Tampa, I talked to one mother who said before Head Start her 3-year-old could not speak. After six months in Head Start, now that young boy can communicate. That means he's going to have a better chance at life.

Matthews: Mr. Herndon … are we going to get through this thing? You see the cutting edge to this thing. What is going to happen if this goes on?

Herndon : Families who are already very vulnerable in this country are going to suffer even more. In our program it means that we close Head Start a week, two weeks earlier, we’ll start two weeks later. That means that speech therapy that should be available for the young child that the Congresswoman described will not occur and, again, the folks who are already suffering the most will be asked to suffer even more needlessly. So we certainly do hope that members of Congress can get together. We are aware Head Start has received bipartisan support in the past. We hope that common sense will prevail. And, yes, most Head Start parents are not flying on airplanes, but we certainly do think their children should be given just as much consideration as the folks who were standing in line.

Matthews: Mr. Herndon and U.S. Congresswoman Kathy Castor, thank you … We’re going to keep being the squeaky wheel on these programs that are affecting real people.

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ONE-ON-ONE WITH U.S. REPRESENTATIVE KATHY CASTOR

Thu, 02 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Do you need assistance with Social Security, Medicare, Veterans benefits, or other federal issues? U.S. Rep. Castor and her staff will visit the Progress Village/Palm River area to meet with you one-on-one. Please bring copies of your photo identification and any documents or letters pertaining to your situation for review. This event provides the opportunity to sit down with you to discuss your concerns or any problems you might have with a government agency.

U.S. Rep. Castor, Head Start Parents Call on Republican Congress to Address Cuts to Head Start Students, Families

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Head Start parents and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL) today decried the impending harm to Hillsborough County Head Start students and families from the national “sequester” as Republicans continue to force “across-the-board” cuts and fail to examine any sequester replacement plan.

Nationally, Head Start could be cut by $398 million, serve 70,000 fewer children, and cause layoffs of around 14,000 personnel due to sequestration.

Florida could lose funding for almost 2,000 Head Start students, and Hillsborough County Head Start – one of the largest initiatives in the Southeast United States – is facing a $1.4 million cut that will eliminate playgrounds, reduce classroom supplies and bus services, cancel teacher training and reduce staff. If Congress does not act soon, Hillsborough County Head Start families will be dropped from the important early education initiative.

“Congressional Republicans are acting irresponsibly by following the path of nonsensical, across-the-board cuts rather than focus on job creation and a sequester replacement plan. Hillsborough already has a waiting list of 1,000 students, and Congressional Republicans will force more children to wait and leave families with no good options,” Rep. Castor said. “Last week, flight delays were addressed by Congress when Republicans finally realized the impacts of these draconian cuts and granted the U.S. Department of Transportation more budget flexibility. Congress must now stand up for our families and children who are also victims of these big budget cuts.”

Rep. Castor cosponsored an amendment to the Republican-proposed 2012 and 2013 budget that would turn back cuts to schools and Head Start. It was defeated by Republicans in the House Budget Committee on March 13.

“Research has consistently shown that only high-quality, pre-kindergarten programs have produced substantial positive outcomes – including school readiness, educational attainment and decreases in social problems,” Rep. Castor said. “But a national report released yesterday shows that state funding per pre-kindergarten child in Florida is severely lacking, and continued to decline last year, leading to poor quality standards. Hillsborough County’s Head Start is a nationally recognized program and its quality standards cannot be setback with unnecessary harmful cuts.”

The State of Preschool 2012 shows that pre-kindergarten resources per child in Florida dropped $219 last year to $2,281, less than half of the recommended $4,597 to meet quality standards suggested by industry experts. Florida Head Start per-child spending met the minimum recommendation and must meet quality standards to qualify for federal funding. The report was produced by the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University.

While in Congress, Rep. Castor has been a champion of Head Start and led the fight to increase funding for Head Start students, bringing nearly $5 million to Tampa Bay.

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Plant High School art student heads to U.S. Capitol to display artwork

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Plant High School in Tampa will be represented for the first time at the U.S. Capitol during the Annual Congressional Art Competition on June 26.

Hansel Rivera, a Plant HS senior, was announced winner of the U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor’s Congressional Choice Award. She visited Plant HS today to personally congratulate Hansel and recognize him among his peers, family and teachers.

As winner of the 14^th district’s Congressional Choice Award, Hansel’s artwork will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year and automatically entered into the national congressional art competition.

“Congratulations to Hansel, his art instructor and his family, as well as all of the participating artists,” Rep. Castor said. “The caliber of this year’s entries was remarkable. I am proud to host this competition and showcase the incredible talent in our community. We all look forward to the competition each spring – art teachers, our local museums and our local art advocates – all in support of fostering the talent of our budding artists.”

Hansel has been taking art classes throughout his nearly four years at Plant High School. It took him about two weeks to complete a portrait of his deceased grandfather, Rumaldo, using black and white charcoals. His art teacher, Ginger Goepper, challenged him to use a tinted background rather than a typical white canvass. Although he plans to pursue a business administration degree, he said art has been an important hobby for him since the third grade and will continue to be throughout his lifetime.

The annual congressional art competition provides an opportunity for Hillsborough and Pinellas County high school students to feature their creative works, including paintings, photographs or drawings. Local artists make up the judging panel.

This year, 58 entries were submitted into the competition and were on exhibit for several weeks at the Tampa Museum of Art in downtown Tampa until a reception was held April 14 to recognize participants and award winners. Last year, the Congressional Choice Award went to a student artist at Blake High School.

As a local sponsor, Southwest Airlines will provide Hansel with airline tickets to attend the national competition in Washington, D.C. Additional local sponsors of this year’s 14^th Congressional District Art Competition include: Arts Council of Hillsborough County, Tampa Museum of Art, Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, Cheap Joe’s Art Supply and the Florida Watercolor Society.

Below are all award winners:

Congressional Choice Award: Hansel Rivera, Plant High School

Museum Choice Award: Alexander Peters, Tampa Preparatory School

Overall

· Thipatai Arthan, Strawberry Crest High School

· April Showalter, Bloomingdale High School

· Amma Youmans, Strawberry Crest High School

Water Media Awards

· Ramses Abad, Spoto High School

· Alonzo M. Jackson, Blake High School

· Alessandra Marselli, Plant High School

Best 3D Piece: Gabrielle Steinig, Blake High School

Best of Photography: Cheyanne Fannon, Blake High School

Honorable Mentions

· Marclea Gonzalez, Alonso High School

· Lukas Harries, Lee Academy

· Nam Ho, Alonso High School

· Amanda Spartaro, East Bay High School

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$50K Federal Grant for Lights on Tampa

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

TAMPA -- U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL) announced today that Tampa is a recipient of a $50,000 federal grant to support Lights on Tampa.

“Lights on Tampa not only highlights bold lighted art projects, it’s a popular family-friendly downtown activity attended by thousands and welcomed by nearby small businesses,” Rep. Castor said. “Lights on Tampa commissions local, national and international artists, contributes to the revitalization of downtown Tampa and it’s the type of unique event that builds on this community’s diverse tourism industry.”

This funding is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts as a matching grant to support the creation and presentation of artistically excellent work.

Lights on Tampa is a biennial public art project between the City of Tampa’s Art Programs Division and Friends of Tampa Public Art to bring the work of major and emerging contemporary artists to downtown Tampa. Lights on Tampa has previously been held in 2006, 2009 and 2011. In 2010, Lights on Tampa was recognized by Americans for the Arts as one of the 50 most significant art programs in the United States in the last 50 years.

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Job Corps nationwide enrollment freeze lifted

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

In effect since Jan. 28 and scheduled through the end of the 2012 program, Job Corps’ nationwide enrollment freeze was lifted yesterday.

Since the enrollment freeze, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL) has worked with U.S. Rep. Bill Young (R-Pinellas County, FL) and other Congress members in urging the Department of Labor to reconsider the move. Rep. Castor especially expressed serious concerns on the negative impact the enrollment freeze would have on the Pinellas County Job Corps Center, which has capacity to serve more than 300 economically challenged students each year.

“Pinellas Job Corps is a vital resource in our area for students who otherwise might not have opportunities to advance themselves academically and professionally,” Rep. Castor said. “The nearly three-month enrollment freeze was an unnecessary setback for Job Corps, especially for the Pinellas location because it opened in 2010 and was still in the beginning stages of establishing itself. But as the economy continues to recover, it is welcome news for teens and young adults who seek the type of quality academic and technical training that leads to quality employment opportunities.”

Pinellas Job Corps welcomed its first class in November 2010, after a substantial taxpayer investment of $42 million.

“I expressed to the Department of Labor that after operating for a little more than two years, an enrollment freeze is not the message to send about efficient use of taxpayer dollars,” Rep. Castor said. “But most importantly, I have seen firsthand the positive impact that the Job Corps program has on students on local communities, with graduates becoming active residents and contributors to the Tampa Bay economy.”

Pinellas Job Corps provides career technical training for areas such as manufacturing, automotive, construction, carpentry, electrical, plumping and health occupations. Students without a high school diploma are automatically enrolled into its GED/high school program. In addition, Pinellas Job Corps provides courses in independent living, employability skills, and social skills in order to help students transition into the workplace.

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U.S. Rep. Castor sends letter to President Obama following visit to Cuba

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Upon her return from a fact-finding trip to Cuba, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor stated that she would share what she learned with President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry regarding modernizing the U.S.-Cuba relationship. Today she sent a letter outlining the changes, challenges and opportunities.

U.S. Rep. Castor statement on VA initiative to expedite compensation claims

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Today, the VA Department announced that it has implemented a new initiative to expedite compensation claim decisions for veterans who have waited one year or longer. See attached. U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL) released the following statement regarding this announcement:

“Although this may bring some relief for many veterans who fall into this category and have undeservedly waited way too long for their rightful benefits, the VA must develop an immediate, comprehensive plan of action that tackles the backlog so all veterans receive their compensation within a reasonable timeframe. With nearly 50,000 pending claims at the St. Petersburg VA Regional Office – the second highest in the country – the Tampa Bay area especially needs immediate, targeted attention to resolve this backlog issue. Our veterans deserve better and I will continue to press the VA Department until its backlog of claims becomes tenable.”

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