U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL14) rallied with Gonzalo Valdes from Sierra Club Florida and Yaritza Perez from Ecomadres (Green Latinos/Moms Clean Air Force) to outline the steps needed to ensure a healthier future for all as temperatures climb and risks escalate – no matter what zip code you live in. Read more »

Today, U.S. Rep Kathy Castor (FL14), Tampa Bay AARP, JDRF and local residents highlighted the urgent need to lower prescription drug prices for Floridians. Castor announced that she is cosponsoring the Lower Drug Costs Now Act (HR 3) that would provide much-needed relief for Florida seniors and families who depend on medication whether they are covered by Medicare, private insurance or are uninsured. The bill will allow Medicare to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs and extend the lower costs to families who rely on private insurance. Currently, an estimated 98,000 uninsured individuals in Tampa Bay pay higher prices for prescription drugs than patients in other countries. Read more »

Today U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL14) released the following statement: “The House is proceeding in a deliberate manner to gather the evidence of corruption and of obstruction of justice by the president and his associates. At least six congressional committees are investigating ethical and criminal violations, including review of financial records that were not covered in the Mueller investigation. The American people deserve to understand the depth and breadth of Trump’s ethical and criminal violations. Read more »

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL14) introduced a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives to recognize September 24, 2019 as National Voter Registration Day. Read more »

Florida and coastal states across the country declared a victory today with the passage of H.R. 205, the Protecting and Securing Florida's Coastline Act. Protecting Florida’s beaches and coastal resources has been a part of U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor’s (D-Tampa, Fla.) life work and she sponsored the bipartisan bill with U.S. Rep. Francis Rooney (R-Naples, Fla). The landmark bill protects Florida’s way of life and America’s national security by making the moratorium on oil drilling in federal waters off Florida coasts permanent. The moratorium is set expire in 2022. While the Trump administration has worked to open areas in the Gulf of Mexico and coastal areas to drilling, the Democratic-led House of Representatives acted to stop the unneeded and unwanted expansion. Read more »

Today U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL14) urged Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet, in their role as the Power Plant Siting Board, to make a thorough review of Tampa Electric Company’s (TECO) Big Bend project as required by Florida’s Power Plant Siting Act. Read more »

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL14) released the following statement after a federal judge ruled in favor of the Trump administration’s expansion of the sale of short-term junk health insurance plans that do not meet standards set in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), could leave Americans on the hook for costly medical bills and discriminate against neighbors with preexisting conditions: Read more »

Today, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL14) led her colleagues in passing the Raise the Wage Act, landmark legislation to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. According to independent economic analysis, the bill would increase pay for up to 33 million American workers including 129,600 neighbors in Tampa and Hillsborough County. Read more »

Today, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL14) helped lead the U.S. House of Representatives in passing the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA provides for a 3.1 percent pay raise for military service members and a strong and a smart national defense strategy. U.S. Rep. Castor championed several important provisions in the bill that directly help MacDill Air Force Base service members and families, including tackling the mold problem in base housing and a new Tenants’ Bill of Rights. Read more »

Today Republicans, with the unfortunate support of our own State of Florida, pressed in court to destroy affordable health care coverage for millions of Floridians and Americans. If the GOP and President Trump prevail in Texas v. U.S. in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, coverage for preexisting conditions and other consumer protections will end. Read more »