Opinion Pieces

  • Making Life Better for our Defenders
    May 31, 2010  - By KATHY CASTOR Special to the Tribune On Memorial Day we are reminded of the brave sacrifice our troops have made for America. We remember those who have died defending our great nation, leaving behind mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters, husbands and wives. We also salute t... More
  • Strengthening Medicare - Tampa Tribune
    Mar 19, 2010  - Our parents, grandparents and neighbors throughout the Tampa Bay area and across America will see their Medicare coverage improve when landmark health reform passes. That's correct. Contrary to opposing claims, not one guaranteed Medicare benefit is cut. Here are the facts: •Effective immediately... More
  • New Housing Law Is Ray Of Hope For Tampa Area's Gloomy Market
    Aug 5, 2008  - New federal help for the big mortgage lenders and first-time homebuyers could help revive Tampa's housing market. The quicker markets stabilize, the less taxpayers will have to pay in the complex bill with an unknown price tag. President Bush signed it last week, but we don't blame him for doing... More
  • Floridians Should Not Be Panicked Into Sacrificing Their Coast
    Jul 11, 2008  - Big oil interests are using big lies to promote oil drilling off Florida's coast. Trying to capitalize on the public's dismay over high gas prices, the drill-everywhere crowd is misleading citizens about the likely consequences. Drilling, they say, represents no threat. Keep the rigs out of sigh... More
  • Declaring Independence From Big Oil
    Jul 4, 2008  - Hardworking Tampa Bay area families are being squeezed by the rising costs of health care, housing, property insurance and, of course, gas prices. Many reformers have been standing up to the White House and urging them for years to change direction and focus on long-term solutions to our energy chal... More
  • Core Of Energy Bill Promotes Conservation And Independence
    Dec 10, 2007  -   The energy bill just passed by the U.S. House is far from perfect, but it would give the nation a hearty push toward energy conservation, a push Congress has avoided for too long. The most important features would, by 2020, raise vehicle fuel-economy standards to 35 miles per gallon and req... More
  • Castor On The Fast Track
    Sep 2, 2007  -   Congresswoman Kathy Castor returned to Tampa for the August congressional recess glad to be home and eager to discuss what she's been up to since leaving for Washington in January. She's a particularly busy freshman. She appears to be a favorite of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and with the De... More
  • Warriors Home in Washington
    Apr 7, 2007  -   The House has acted swiftly to deal with some of the shameful conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan were discovered foundering in slum-like billets and bureaucratic neglect as outpatients. A measure creating a stronger system of case... More