A provision in the appropriations bill that would allow family members to more frequently visit their relatives in Cuba is a victory for families in the Tampa Bay area, Congresswoman Kathy Castor said. Our efforts will allow family members to visit Cuba once a year, rather than once every three years. The bill also reverses the Bush Administration regulatory impediments on the sale of food and medicine to Cuba. Read more »

President Obama inherited a deficit that tops $1 trillion and an economic catastrophe the likes of which we have not seen in generations. Recovery will not happen overnight, but President Obama’s bold plan for economic recovery will put our economy back on track. The Recovery Act, foreclosure prevention plan and new access to affordable health care will stabilize the pocketbooks of Tampa Bay area families. Bolstering our economy and creating jobs will continue to be our top priorities. Read more »

Congresswoman Kathy Castor and Moffitt director William S. Dalton said today that the cancer and research institute is well-poised to bring hundreds of much-needed construction and health care jobs to the Tampa Bay area from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act signed into law by President Obama on Tuesday. Read more »

“Responsible homeowners will have an opportunity to refinance. The thousands of Tampa Bay area families I have served at my foreclosure workshops have been looking for breathing room to stay in their homes and had trouble merely getting a lender on the phone. President Obama’s plan gives these responsible homeowners a fighting chance. Read more »

In the midst of the most significant economic collapse since the Great Depression, Congresswoman Kathy Castor hailed passage of the economic recovery plan. “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is a dramatic lifeline to families and businesses across Florida and the struggling Tampa Bay area,” Castor said. “President Barack Obama initiated a bold recovery plan of action upon taking office just as Franklin Delano Roosevelt did seventy years ago. Our neighbors and community now have better opportunities to stop the downward spiral of shrinking jobs, health care and savings.” Read more »

“With today's news about hundreds of thousands more Americans losing their jobs, we must redouble our efforts to pass the economic recovery package by President’s Day,” Congresswoman Kathy Castor said. “We must do everything we can to put people back to work as quickly as possible. Parents must be able to afford food for their children and health care for their families.” Read more »

In the 1990s, Florida Education Commissioner Betty Castor worked with then-Gov. Lawton Chiles on developing a health insurance program for Florida’s uninsured children. Florida Kidcare became the model for the national State Children’s Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP) which was enacted on the national level in 1997. Betty’s daughter, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, later took up the mantle and became a leading Florida advocate for families’ access to affordable health care under SCHIP. Rep. Castor was invited by President Obama to the White House to join him today as he signs the children’s health care expansion bill into law. Read more »

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor has written a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, outlining her recommendations to combat the housing crisis. Castor has held three foreclosure assistance workshops and has heard from more than 1,000 families about how the economic crisis is affecting them. Based on those conversations, Castor is urging more direct help to homeowners. Read more »

In the midst of the most serious economic downturn since the Great Depression, Congresswoman Kathy Castor voted to pass the $825 billion American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act one week after President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address to the nation and call for urgent action. The Recovery Plan creates and preserves much-needed jobs through infrastructure improvements, new energy technology, and health care and education initiatives. Read more »

Congresswoman Kathy Castor announced today that the city of Tampa will receive a nearly $4 million grant to hire more firefighters. “Homeland security is really hometown security,” Castor said. “We count on our first responders to keep us safe”. Read more »