Dear friend, 

I have good news for parents, families and everyone who has been urging Congress to act to protect kids online and safeguard their privacy! I introduced bipartisan landmark data privacy and social media design legislation that will be heard in committee next week. Online apps and tech companies are exploiting our kids and profiting off the harm they cause. It is urgent that the Congress pass laws that protect the personal privacy of Americans, especially young people. After listening to heartbreaking stories about the manipulative and dark practices of Big Tech platforms and learning about the incessant surveillance and devious designs that addict kids, I introduced:

The bipartisan Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) to update youth privacy protections online. COPPA 2.0 builds upon current law to strengthen protections related to the online collection, use and disclosure of personal information of children and minors up to age 16. This bill will address the excessive collection and surveillance of youth, ban harmful targeted advertising and prompt Big Tech platforms to provide young people and parents with the tools needed to navigate the online world; and

The bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) to provide young people and parents with the tools, safeguards, and transparency needed to keep children and teenagers safe online and hold Big Tech companies accountable. KOSA outlaws online practices such as manipulative marketing, amplification of harmful content, and damaging design features that threaten young people online.

It is time the Congress help Americans regain control of their personal, private information—especially that of their children. Read more about the bipartisan, bicameral legislation here.

House Republicans, led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, delayed floor action and fueled more chaos this week. The GOP infighting is delaying vital national security legislation, a bipartisan border agreement, aid for Ukraine, and more. Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida urged Congress to continue to lead in defense of democracy and freedom around the world together with allies. It was a not-so-veiled message to aid Ukraine at this perilous time and provide humanitarian assistance in collaboration with freedom-loving nations.

The Energy Subcommittee conducted a good bipartisan general hearing on nuclear waste which is vital to deal with as carbon-free nuclear energy plays a key role in our safe climate future.

April 11-17 is Black Maternal Health Week. 

In Congress, I work diligently to pass legislation and secure funding to ensure all women and babies have equitable access to high-quality, affordable care and to eliminate the gap in positive health outcomes. Last year, I announced a $2 million federal grant to Evara Health in St. Peterburg to confront the Black maternal health crisis and improve health outcomes for Black mothers and babies. In the United States, Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than White women due to significant disparities in quality of care, underlying chronic conditions, structural racism, and implicit bias, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Read more about the grant here.

Read more about my work to address the maternal mortality crisis here.

As the news broke from the extremist Florida Supreme Court upholding the six-week abortion ban, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jefferies and I and members convened in Fort Lauderdale for a field hearing on the threats to reproductive freedom in America. 

Making the decision to start a family is one of the biggest decisions someone will make in their lifetime. This decision should be up to you and your doctor, not politicians. The extremist MAGA agenda is dangerous and cruel, putting women’s lives at risk to women and doctors.

My Democratic colleagues and I will continue to fight every day to claw back our freedoms and establish lasting protections to stop the extreme MAGA agenda.

Thanks to the Biden Administration and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, we are making our communities safer by clarifying when someone can get their license and run background checks and ensuring that gun show and online sale loopholes no longer exist. Our neighbors deserve to live in a world free of unnecessary gun violence.

As always, you can call my office at (813) 871-2817 or (727) 369-0201.

I hope to see you soon!

Sincerely,

Kathy Castor

Member of Congress