CONTACT: Ellen Gedalius

(813) 871-2817

Dec. 11, 2008

            Speaker Pelosi Places Castor at the Heart of Health Care Reform

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Congresswoman Kathy Castor was appointed last night to the exclusive House Energy and Commerce Committee. The committee directly focuses on issues vital to Tampa Bay area families, including providing access to quality, affordable health care, new energy solutions and consumer protection.

Castor and the Energy and Commerce Committee will work with President-Elect Barack Obama, Speaker Pelosi and Health and Human Services Secretary-Designate Tom Daschle to shape policy and expand access to quality, affordable health care for families, veterans, seniors and children.

“All parents should be able to take their children directly to the doctor rather than resort to the emergency room for care,” Castor said. “The time is now to improve access to quality, affordable health care.”

With a seat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, Castor will dedicate herself to bringing much-needed jobs to the Tampa Bay area. She will work to protect the vital tourism industry in Florida and improve interstate commerce to vitalize ports in the Tampa Bay area.

In addition to health care and the economy, the committee focuses on consumer protection, energy, the environment, and travel and tourism.

Castor is uniquely suited for the Energy and Commerce committee. She practiced environmental law for a decade and, as a Hillsborough County commissioner, chaired the Environmental Protection Commission. She took the lead on energy issues throughout the past two years and organized new congressional members to promote better gas mileage for automobiles, a provision that was included in the landmark 2007 energy bill.

As a county commissioner and again as a congresswoman, Castor has been at the forefront pushing for quality, affordable health care. She has championed bills on Medicare reform, providing resident physicians to treat more working class and poor families and children’s health insurance. Rahm Emanuel selected Castor to be the lead for the Health Care Policy debate at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

Castor, first elected to the House in 2006, served two years on the powerful Rules Committee and the House Armed Services Committee. Castor looks forward to bringing her expertise and experience to the Energy and Commerce Committee during her second term in office and working with Speaker Pelosi and President-Elect Obama on these critical issues.