Costa Statement on Bakersfield Federal Courthouse

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Jim Costa (D-CA) released the following statement regarding the U.S. courthouse currently under construction in Bakersfield, California:

"At the request of nine federal judges including Bakersfield's only federal judge, I submitted a bill to name the courthouse after a well respected judge who served Bakersfield and the San Joaquin Valley for more than 40 years. The Californian has raised a good point regarding former Governor and Chief Justice of the United States Earl Warren, a man who made important contributions to our nation and certainly to the community of Bakersfield. He and his legacy deserve to be memorialized, and I would be honored to assist in any local effort to do so.

"As a result of the input I received from Kern County citizens and a conversation with Congressman Kevin McCarthy, I decided it is best to remove the legislation from consideration in the House. This would allow the community to have a transparent process to name this federal courthouse, for which I fought hard to provide the funding to see it built. The process should involve the residents of Kern County and community leaders. The Bakersfield City Council, the Kern County Board of Supervisors, and our local press should also be in involved in this process."