Committee assignments •
Committee on Education and Labor •
Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education (Ranking Member) •
Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness •
Committee on Financial Services •
Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises •
Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit •
Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology In
1992, Castle could not run again for Governor, due to constitutional term limits. The result was what became known as "the Swap." Castle ran for the seat of U.S. Representative
Tom Carper and Carper ran for Governor. Delaware's political leadership had quietly worked out the arrangement and retained the services of two very popular office holders. Both Castle and Carper won their races by large margins. Castle was first elected U.S. Representative in 1992, defeating former Lieutenant Governor
Shien Biau Woo. Later, he won election by wide margins eight times, defeating Democrats Carol Ann DeSantis in 1994,
Dennis E. Williams in 1996 and 1998, Michael C. Miller in 2000 and 2002, Paul Donnelly in 2004, Dennis Spivack in 2006, and Karen Hartley-Nagle in 2008. He suffered two minor strokes during the
2006 campaign, but fully recovered. Castle was the co-chair of several Congressional caucuses, including the Diabetes Caucus, the Community College Caucus, the Biomedical Research Caucus, and the Passenger Rail Caucus. He was also considered one of the most moderate Republicans in the U.S. House. In the wake of
Tom DeLay's indictment in September 2005, liberal columnist
E.J. Dionne named Castle as one of four lawmakers capable of leading an anticorruption reform of the Republican Party. Castle was a member of various
liberal Republican Organizations, such as
Republicans For Environmental Protection, The
Republican Majority For Choice,
Republicans For Choice, and
Christine Todd Whitman's Its My Party Too. He was
pro-choice and supported some
gun control measures. He voted against a
constitutional amendment that would have banned
same-sex marriage. The non-partisan
National Journal gave Mike Castle an ideological composite score of 59% conservative and 41% liberal. Castle's centrist positions served him well in a state that trended increasingly Democratic during his tenure in the House. Delaware had long been reckoned as a
bellwether, but has voted Democratic in every presidential election since 1992, due almost entirely to heavily Democratic
New Castle County. At the same time, his centrist record made him the target of conservative groups such as
Club for Growth, who ranked him the least conservative Republican in the U.S. House in 2008, and RemoveRINOs, who, in April 2010, named him the Ace of Spades on its most-wanted list. In February 2004, Castle sponsored H.R. 3831 to reauthorize the assault weapons ban of 1994. The bill was co-sponsored by 11 Republican colleagues and 129 Democrats. In June 2008, Rep.
Mark Kirk, R-IL, introduced H.R. 6257 to reinstate the ban, and Castle was one of the bill's four Republican co-sponsors. Both bills died in committee. Castle co-sponsored the
Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. The bill proposed expanding the number of
embryonic stem cell lines that are eligible for federally funded research, expecting that this funding would generate more research and ultimately greater progress in developing new treatments for a wide range of
medical conditions. After successfully passing both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House, it received U.S. President
George W. Bush's first presidential veto in July 2006. In December 2010, Castle was one of fifteen Republican House members to vote in favor of repealing the
United States military's "
Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on
openly gay service members. During his time in Congress, Castle was known for his interest in
numismatics. In 1995, he authored the legislation that created the
American Platinum Eagle platinum bullion coin. He later sponsored the legislation that created the
50 State quarters,
Sacagawea dollar,
presidential dollar coins, and
America the Beautiful quarters programs, and several
commemorative coins. His activity led the
Numismatic Guaranty Company to deem him "The Coinage Congressman." In November 2009, Castle's district was profiled by
Stephen Colbert in his segment "Better Know a District." ==2010 Senate campaign==