Kathy Castor to kick off House Dems’ ‘Cost of Living Week’ at storm-battered Progress Village

Kathy Castor introduces legislation to expand affordable community solar projects for all residents.

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor will be on hand Monday afternoon to launch “Cost of Living Week,” several days of action aimed at spotlighting the ongoing affordability crisis.

Democrats are targeting President Donald Trump’s tariffs and what Democrats are describing as Trump’s “Big Ugly Bill,” a reference to the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” extending the Trump tax cuts and slashing certain safety net programs.

Tampa’s Progress Village is a historically Black neighborhood established in the late 1950s to provide affordable housing to Hillsborough County’s Black population. It was Tampa’s first affordable housing suburb and offered Black residents the opportunity to own their own homes.

Now, though, residents are facing rising costs at the same time they’re still recovering from back-to-back hurricanes last year.

The neighborhood has long experienced drainage issues. But during hours of sustained heavy rainfall last year during Hurricane Milton, residents saw what they had never before: water pouring into homes. Some residents had to be rescued by boat.

Castor plans to highlight how a higher cost of living — including grocery prices and rising electricity costs — is still plaguing the community. Some residents also face losses to food benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or health care as a result of Medicaid cuts.

“President Trump’s tariff war and the Big Ugly Bill slashes SNAP benefits and kicks more than 1.9 million Floridians off their health coverage — it’s clear that hardworking Floridians will pay the price of Congressional Republicans’ and President Trump’s political games, directly impacting the promise of affordability for Progress Village and communities across the nation,” a press advisory from Castor’s Office reads.

Castor is pushing a broader nationwide effort to engage with constituents about “Republican policies that have put Tampa Bay families in an economic squeeze.”

Castor will speak at 1:15 p.m. Monday at Victory AME Church in Progress Village, located at 5202 S. 86th St. in Tampa, along with Marlise Tolbert-Jones of the Progress Civic Association, Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign Lead Organizer Walter Smith, and Victory AME Church Pastor Michael Bouie.

Prices on average rose 2.7% year-over-year in July, according to the Consumer Price Index. While the seasonally adjusted increase for just the month was only 0.2%, lower than expected amid ongoing tariffs and tariff threats, consumer sentiment declined 5 percentage points in August, according to the University of Michigan’s preliminary index. Experts suggest sentiment is down largely due to concerns about inflation.

Castor, who is ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Energy Subcommittee, said she is committed to lowering food, health and utility prices for American families.

This isn’t the first time House Democrats have hosted a Cost of Living Week. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, along with Democratic Policy and Communications Committee Chair Debbie Dingell and Co-Chairs Lauren Underwood, Lori Trahan and Maxwell Frost, also hosted one in April.

That week of action included town hall meetings, roundtable discussions and local site visits.

But Democrats aren’t the only ones who have hosted such a week of action. Republican lawmakers in California in June also launched a Cost of Living Week, highlighting liberal policies they said were driving rising prices in their state.

With the economy, including consumer sentiment, being a huge political driver, partisans on both sides of the political divide are seeking to tie their opponents to rising costs. In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis is pushing to eliminate property taxes, a move he says would provide needed relief to residents.

But Democrats are spotlighting rising costs and tying them to Republican policies, especially from the President.

A CBS News price tracker shows food costs have been consistently rising since January 2022, up more than 17% as of July. Electricity is up 4 cents per kilowatt hour, from 15 cents to 19 cents. Clothing costs are up more than 4 percentage points since the start of 2022, while footwear costs are up nearly 3 percentage points. Some costs, such as furniture, bedding and household appliances are actually down, however.