Congresswoman Kathy Castor hails the passage today of the Federal Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which will ensure that hate crimes based on sexual orientation will be treated the same way as hate crimes committed on the basis of race, religion and national origin. I Read more »

Florida Congresswoman Kathy Castor applauded President Barack Obama today for the decisive and necessary actions he took to lift travel restrictions to Cuba so families can more easily visit their loved ones and send money to their relatives. Read more »

Congresswoman Kathy Castor announced that $72 million in Recovery Act dollars was released today for Tampa Bay area schools. The money will immediately help save jobs in our schools while improving educational opportunities for thousands of students. Read more »

Congresswoman Kathy Castor announced today that Tampa Bay area community health centers are receiving approximately $2.7 million through President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This money will preserve and create jobs in the health care industry and will enable Tampa area community health centers to see thousands more patients. Read more »

Congresswoman Kathy Castor announced today that the Tampa Housing Authority will receive more than $10.5 million through the Recovery Act to upgrade and renovate existing housing units. This funding will enable the housing authority to make critical capital improvements, such as repairing roofs, fixing windows, upgrading heating systems and painting while creating jobs. Read more »

Congresswoman Kathy Castor announced today that Tampa International Airport will receive $8 million through President Obama’s Recovery Act, enabling projects at the airport to be expedited and leading to the creation of hundreds of well-paying jobs in the Tampa Bay area by this summer. Read more »

Congresswoman Kathy Castor announced today that Hillsborough Community College will receive a $1.68 million grant to train students in auto collision repair and auto mechanics, an initiative that will create 300 jobs. “This will enable HCC to train our students with the most modern, up-to-date technology so they can graduate and obtain well-paying jobs as auto mechanics,” Castor said. “With the facilities this will make possible, there’s no better place than HCC to receive this training.” Read more »

Congresswoman Kathy Castor said today that the University of South Florida’s initiative to bring electronic prescribing to the Tampa Bay area will bring much-needed and well-paying health care and information technology jobs to the region. “PaperFree Tampa Bay is exactly what was intended by the economic recovery plan,” Castor said. “It’s going to create the high-wage jobs of the future.” PaperFree Tampa Bay is a guaranteed job creator as intended by the Recovery Act, creating more than 130 in the Tampa Bay area. Read more »

Congresswoman Kathy Castor hailed the passage of provisions that allow family members to more frequently visit their relatives in Cuba. The provisions are contained in the annual appropriations bill. “This is a huge victory for families in the Tampa Bay area,” Castor said. “The unnecessary hardship of these burdensome restrictions has finally been lifted for Cuban-Americans and their loved ones.” Read more »

Congresswoman Kathy Castor announced today certain Recovery Act dollars that will be directly targeted to the Tampa Bay area community as early as the end of this month. “Education dollars will be allocated to Florida by the end of the end of March,” Castor said. “This money will immediately flow directly into the hands of our school districts and the private sector vendors they partner with, helping to create and preserve jobs and educate our students. This funding will especially help students with disabilities, students from low-income families and students needing help paying for college.” Read more »