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.
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Offshore drilling has no place in our oceans today. This week, Congress has an opportunity to protect our coastal beaches and communities from being subjected to a lifetime of dangerous offshore drilling. The communities we represent and others like them across the country are standing up to the Administration’s plans to open nearly all federal waters to oil and gas development. Now it is time for our colleagues in the House of Representatives to stand with us to ensure we don’t leave an environ...
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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.
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Legislation to ban oil drilling off the coast of Florida passed out of the House Natural Resources Committee this week and is now headed to the House floor. H.R. 205, the Protecting and Securing Florida's Coastline Act sponsored by U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor (D-Tampa, Fla.) and Francis Rooney (R-Naples, Fla.), is now headed to the House floor thanks to their bipartisan leadership to unite the Florida congressional delegation – Democrats and Republicans – to protect Florida’s coasts from oil and gas development. Earlier this year, the entire bipartisan Florida congressional delegation demanded that the Department of the Interior take formal action to prohibit drilling off Florida’s coast. And, the Florida congressional delegation prevailed again last night when the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan appropriations amendment to block oil and gas pre-leasing, leasing and related activities in the outer continental shelf planning areas around Florida.
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U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL14) announced today two federal grants awarded to the University area, continuing her work to lift up the families, students and businesses who live and work in this growing area of innovation. These grants, awarded to University Area Community Development Corporation Inc. ($300,000) and the University of South Florida ($7.5 million), will bolster the region’s economy and continue investment in research and innovation burgeoning from the USF area.
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Tomorrow will mark two years since Donald Trump announced his intent to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. However, the Trump Administration cannot formally withdraw until November 4, 2020. Earlier this month, the House passed H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act, which would prevent Trump from leaving the agreement.
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Congresswoman Kathy Castor of Florida, Chair of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, delivered the Weekly Democratic Address. In this week’s address, the Congresswoman highlighted the passage of H. R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act, which takes a bold first step to protect our planet by keeping us in the Paris Climate Agreement and laying the foundation for further innovative action.
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The U.S. House today voted 231 to 190 for the Climate Action Now Act (H.R. 9), a bill that would prevent the Trump Administration from withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement.
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Good news! Following a push championed by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL14) that included a bipartisan letter she led from U.S. Representatives in Florida, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced that it would list the Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whale as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
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U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL14) released the statement below following media reports today of a confidential plan under development by the Trump Administration to drill off of Florida's coast:
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