U.S. Congresswoman Kathy Castor

President Trump’s 2021 budget landed with a thud on Capitol Hill this week. It showers more tax cuts on big corporations and the wealthy while slashing investments in working families, Medicare, affordable health care, and environmental protection. The Trump budget would hurt students, National Institutes of Health (NIH), affordable housing, innovative clean energy research, and cut grant initiatives that previously supported USF, Tampa Bay Wave, the City of Tampa and other local partners. While the budget is “DOA,” it reveals the administration’s failure to address aging infrastructure, skyrocketing health care costs and needed innovation in a competitive world.

My Committees

My Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce held a hearing entitled, "Autonomous Vehicles: Promises and Challenges of Evolving Automotive Technologies" and today, my Subcommittee on Health held hearing entitled, "Protecting Women's Access to Reproductive Health Care." Almost 50 years after Roe v. Wade and 55 years since laws outlawing contraceptives were struck down, many states and the Trump Administration are adopting medically unnecessary restrictions on reproductive health services including abortion. The administration also is fighting to end protections for preexisting conditions and health insurance coverage for contraceptives. It’s dangerous, unsafe and wrong. The testimony of Holly Alvarado captured the harsh impact of such barriers to medical care for women and families.

Votes This Week

H.J. Res. 79 - Removing the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA): Virginia recently became the 38^th state needed to ratify the ERA, which would finally affirm gender equality in our Constitution, making women equal to men under the eyes of the law. It’s past time for basic and fundamental rights to be guaranteed for all Americans!

H.R.1980 - Smithsonian Women's History Museum Act: This bipartisan bill would establish a Smithsonian museum dedicated to women’s history on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Women’s history is American history, and this museum would enshrine our nation’s long road to gender equality and serve as an inspiration to the next generation of young girls. Special thanks to Tampa historian Doris Weatherford who has been an advocate for a women’s history museum for years and to all trailblazing Tampa women for providing such inspiring stories to tell.

H.R. 2546 - Protecting America’s Wilderness Act: This bill would permanently protect 1.3 million acres of public lands and more than 1200 river miles. This package includes protections for the Wild Olympics in Washington, the central coast and the redwoods in California, and wilderness throughout Colorado.

Thank you to Moms Clean Air Force and the National Black Nurses Association for visiting my Washington office! We discussed environmental justice, clean air and the importance of affordable health care. I’m proud to partner with these outstanding folks to serve our neighbors in our Tampa and beyond!