Kathy Castor Democrat – Florida, 11th Congressional District
OFFICIAL WEB SITE http://castor.house.gov/
Map of Florida 11th Congressional District
First elected to Congress: 2007 (110th Congress) The 111th Congress will be her second term in Congress
Voting record in 110th Congress (2007-2009) She voted with her party 97.8% of the time in this Congress (and cast 1800 votes) The average Democratic Representative voted with the party 92.3% of the time in this Congress The average Republican Representative voted with the party 86.0% of the time in this Congress Source: http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/
Biography (from her Congressional web site)
Kathy Castor is serving her second term in the U.S. Congress. She represents Florida’s 11th Congressional district, which includes Tampa and St. Petersburg and parts of Hillsborough, Pinellas and Manatee counties.
Castor serves on the influential House Energy and Commerce Committee and focuses on issues vital to Tampa Bay area families, including providing access to quality, affordable health care, creating new energy solutions and protecting consumers. She is working to build a stronger economy and ensure jobs are created and maintained in the Tampa Bay area and nationwide.
Castor is a member of the Health Subcommittee, where she will be instrumental in health care reform and improved access to affordable health care for families, veterans, seniors and children. She also serves on the Communications, Technology and Internet Subcommittee and the Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee.
Castor is also serving her second term on the Democratic House Steering and Policy Committee, which assigns fellow party members to other House committees and considers policy direction for the House Democratic Caucus.
Legislative accomplishments include increased financial aid to Florida students, port security and workforce improvements and expanded access to health care for children from hardworking families. Castor is an outspoken advocate on behalf of families struggling through the current economic downturn. She has worked to raise the minimum wage and extend unemployment benefits.
Castor has secured millions of dollars for the Tampa Bay area, including for projects at the University of South Florida and the Haley VA.
Other priorities include ethics reform, transportation solutions, education and housing. She has hosted several foreclosure assistance workshops designed to help homeowners stay in their homes.
In her first term, Castor served on the Rules Committee, a rare and prestigious committee assignment for a freshman. The committee has jurisdiction over the rules and order of business in the House. Castor also served on the House Armed Services Committee, an important assignment for her given MacDill Air Force Base’s location in her district.
Before her election to Congress, Castor was a Hillsborough County Commissioner and chair of the Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission.
Over the years, Castor has built a strong record on health care - working to stop seniors and other patients in Hillsborough County’s health care plan from being forced into HMOs. She has been an independent voice who has been willing to take on other powerful interests. She has stood up to big developers in her efforts to protect wetlands, and she has made developers pay their share of the cost of new roads and schools. She stood up to the utility companies to protect neighborhoods and has worked to pass stricter laws regulating lobbyists and special interest groups. In Congress, she helped lead the Florida delegation in successfully protecting Florida from offshore drilling.
Castor is a graduate of Emory University and Florida State University Law School.
Castor and her husband have two daughters, and she is the daughter of former Hillsborough County Judge Don Castor and former United States Senate candidate, University of South Florida President and Education Commissioner Betty Castor.
Her entry on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathy_Castor
