Taking aim at unfair and deceptive credit card practices, aggressive billing tactics and exorbitant fees, Tampa Bay area Congresswoman Kathy Castor today helped pass the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights in the United States House of Representatives. The consumer-friendly legislation includes provisions pushed by Castor to guarantee that credit card applicants receive truth-in-lending information when applying for a credit card. Read more »

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 »

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 »

La Congresista Kathy Castor aclamó el paso de las provisiones que permiten a miembros de familia visitar a sus parientes en Cuba con más frecuencia. Las provisiones están contenidas en la propuesta de apropiaciones anual. "Esto es una enorme victoria para familias en la Bahía de Tampa," Castor dijo. "La dificultad innecesaria de estas restricciones pesadas finalmente ha sido levantada para Americanos cubanos y sus amados familiares. " 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 »

With President Obama’s housing plan and passage of the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, Congresswoman Kathy Castor expects a large, new wave of loan refinancings for Tampa Bay area families at her next foreclosure prevention workshop – her fourth since the onset of the economic crisis. “Families should not wait for the workshop but should take action now to refinance their loans under the new Obama plan by contacting their loan servicer or lender,” Castor said. Read more »

Congresswoman Kathy Castor announced today sizeable new investments for important local priorities that will spur jobs in the Tampa Bay area. The new resources were included in the 2009 appropriations bill, which was scheduled to pass in the House today. “Significant investments in the Tampa Bay area economy will preserve jobs and provide a shot in the arm to the local economy,” Castor said. Read more »

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 »

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 »

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 »