Lawmaker Profile

Rep. Kathy Castor

[D, FL-14]
In the 116th Congress, Castor was appointed by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the Chair of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, where she is leading her colleagues in bold action to confront the climate crisis and its escalating costs.  She also serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and is a member of the Subcommittees on Consumer Protection & Commerce, Health, and Oversight & Investigations.  She also co-chairs the following caucuses-  Academic Medicine Caucus, Air Force Caucus, Congressional Soccer Caucus, Special Operations Caucus and the Congressional Children's Health Care Caucus. In addition, she leads the bi-partisan Cuba Working Group steering committee.

In the 115th Congress, Castor served as the Vice Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  She was a member of the Subcommittees on Energy and Power, Health, and Oversight & Investigations. She also co-chaired the following caucuses-  Academic Medicine Caucus, Congressional Soccer Caucus, Special Operations Caucus, Fertilizer Caucus and the Congressional Children's Health Care Caucus. In addition, she led the bi-partisan Cuba Working Group steering committee.

In the 114th Congress, Castor served on the Budget Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  She was a member of the Subcommittees on Energy and Power, Health, and Oversight & Investigations. She also co-chaired the following caucuses-  Academic Medicine Caucus, Congressional Soccer Caucus, Special Operations Caucus, Fertilizer Caucus and the Congressional Children's Health Care Caucus. In addition, she led the bi-partisan Cuba Working Group steering committee.

In the 113th Congress, Castor served on the Budget Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  She was a member of the Subcommittees on Energy and Power, Health, and Oversight & Investigations.

For the first six months of the 112th Congress, Castor served on the House Armed Services and Budget Committees. In June 2011, Castor was reassigned to fill an open seat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and continued serving on the Budget Committee throughout the 112th session. 

In the 111th Congress, Castor served on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where she worked on health care reform, consumer protection issues and telecommunications priorities. She also was a member of the House Ethics Committee.

In the 110th Congress, Castor served on the Rules Committee, a rare but prestigious committee assignment for a freshman. The committee has jurisdiction over the rules and order of business in the House. 

Castor also served three terms 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.

Before Congress

Before her election to Congress, Castor served as a Hillsborough County Commissioner and chair of the Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission. As County Commissioner in 2005, she was the sole vote against a gay pride ban; this ban was finally repealed unanimously by the Hillsborough County Commission in 2013. In 2005, Castor was named as the Tampa Bay Business Journal's Woman of the Year in government.

Castor is a graduate of Tampa's Chamberlain High School, Emory University and Florida State University College of Law. Castor and her husband have two daughters. She is the daughter of former Hillsborough County Judge Don Castor and former University of South Florida President and statewide-elected Education Commissioner Betty Castor. She is the former President of the Florida Association of Women Lawyers and partner in a statewide law firm.