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Costa Supports Bipartisan Spending Bill

December 18, 2015

Washington, DC — Today, Representative Jim Costa (CA-16) released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a spending bill that will keep government funded for the current fiscal year.

"From repealing the Country-of-Origin-Labeling requirement for pork and beef to making over $3 billion in non-tax payer money available to crime victims, the spending bill passed today by the House has several wins for California's San Joaquin Valley," said Rep. Costa. "Responsible governance requires compromise, and this legislation is the result of Democrats and Republicans working together for the greater good of our country."

Costa continued saying, "I am pleased that provisions in the Dams Accountability, Maintenance, and Safety (DAMS) Act, legislation introduced by Congressman Valadao and me, are part of the spending bill passed today. The measure will authorize the Bureau of Reclamation to update and modernize our nation's federal dams when critical safety work is being performed, and increase storage capacity of San Luis Reservoir. While long-term solutions like the DAMS Act are necessary to fixing California's broken water system, we desperately need to pass legislation that will help in the short-term. My hope was to get language in the spending bill that would provide short-term solutions, and unfortunately, that did not happen. I am optimistic that the House and Senate will come together and pass California water legislation at the beginning of the new year. Failing to do so would be a disservice to all Californians, and is both unacceptable and avoidable."

The spending legislation includes the following provisions:

  • $100 million for drought relief.
  • Funding for early learning, primary, and secondary education.
  • Funding for medical research at National Institute of Health.
  • $500 million for TIGER grants which are used across the country to repair infrastructure and contribute to economic growth.
  • Funding for law enforcement, including $187 million COPS hiring grants, $80 million for the Community Policing Initiative, including $22.5 million for body-worn cameras and $15 million for Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation grants.
  • Funding for specialty crop pest detections.
  • Funding for critical nutrition programs, including SNAP and WIC.
  • Repeal of Country-of-Origin-Labeling (COOL) for pork and beef. If Congress did not pass a measure to repeal COOL, the U.S would have faced over $1 billion in harsh trade retaliations by Canada and Mexico. Preventing the implementation of these retaliatory tariffs was imperative to ensure that irreparable damage was not done to the agriculture and manufacturing industries and to the overall economy.
  • Language from the Dams Accountability, Maintenance, and Safety (DAMS) Act.
  • Over $3 billion for services and compensation for crime victims.
  • Repeal of the ban on crude oil exports. New technologies have provided the United States with an abundance of domestic crude oil production and expanding our export opportunities to include crude oil, in addition to gasoline and natural gas products, will further stimulate our economy and create jobs.
  • Three year reauthorization of Land and Water Conservation Fund.

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