My team and I are excited to get to work in the new Congress on lowering costs, boosting hurricane recovery, investing in education, protecting access to affordable high-quality health care, and building a more sustainable community.

Tampa Bay area residents have high standards for responsiveness and effectiveness and we will do our best to serve you.

This week I was thrilled to cheer President Biden’s announcement that offshore drilling is banned along Florida’s Gulf Coast! After years of advocacy by many Floridians, President Biden answered our call in a monumental decision that safeguards our coastal economy, environment and way of life. I sponsored the bipartisan Florida Coastal Protection Act to ban drilling off the Florida coast, but oil and gas companies never stopped trying to block it.

Protecting our beautiful beaches and gulf waters was a key reason I ran for Congress, and I’m proud to see this fight rewarded with action. Read more about this historic step here.

We all know neighbors who went above and beyond to care for others in the aftermath of the hurricanes. Today I recognized Courtney and Brad Stein of Riviera Bay and Matt Thorn and Kevin Bartdorf of Shore Acres as “Hurricane Heroes”. They were nominated by neighbors for their tireless efforts —providing supplies, organizing volunteers, meals, housing and coordinating with officials— all critical to their communities’ resilience.

Thank you for your selfless actions!

H.R. 29 – Laken Riley Act: Laken Riley’s tragic murder shouldn’t be exploited for partisan purposes but unfortunately the GOP brought a bill that politicizes her tragedy and goes too far in authorizing detention and deportation for legally present immigrants like Dreamers and TPS holders, even if arrested mistakenly. Republicans refused any opportunity to amend the bill. I strongly support current federal law that provides for deportation of immigrants convicted of a crime AND stronger border enforcement and resources for law enforcement, which this bill did not provide.

H.R. 23 – Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act: The GOP also did not allow any opportunity to amend this over-broad bill that proposes sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC), all of its personnel, support staff, and any person or ally that interacts with the court including U.S. allies and partners across all aspects of its work. The over-broad nature of the bill would likely cause the ICC to end contracts with U.S. technology companies and push them into the arms of Chinese tech companies instead.

Great news! A record-breaking 4.6 million Floridians have already signed up for affordable, high-quality health coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) during Open Enrollment.

If you missed the deadline due to the holiday rush, don’t worry—there’s still time! Visit healthcare.gov and sign up by January 15^th for health coverage in 2025. I will be vigilant in standing up to GOP plans to gut affordable health insurance and make life more expensive for my neighbors. The ACA works and it is a godsend to millions of Floridians.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has stopped fact-checking content, creating a dangerous environment for misinformation. Mark Zuckerberg’s decision prioritizes profits over safety, exposing users to harmful algorithms, hate speech, and disinformation.

We deserve better. Learn more about these changes and how they may impact you here.

My office is here to help you cut through the red tape of these agencies. You can call (813) 871-2817 or (727) 369-0201 for assistance.

Thanks and see you soon, 

Kathy Castor