In the News
During Tuesday's State of the Union address by President Barack Obama, central San Joaquin Valley Reps. Jim Costa and David Valadao wore lapel pins signifying they are part of a bipartisan congressional movement.
The efforts of Near East Relief, the unprecedented American campaign of international humanitarian assistance which saved and sustained hundreds of thousands of Armenian Genocide survivors from 1915 - 1930, was spotlighted this week at a Capitol Hill briefing hosted by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
The efforts of Near East Relief, the unprecedented American campaign of international humanitarian assistance which saved and sustained hundreds of thousands of Armenian Genocide survivors from 1915 - 1930, was spotlighted this week at a Capitol Hill briefing hosted by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
An additional $80,000 in Department of Housing and Urban Development money will help Merced County provide an extra 15 housing vouchers for veterans, according to Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno.
Since 2012, the program has provided 25 homeless veteran vouchers locally through the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program, and the county will be able to add more vouchers with the new cash.
February 19, 2013
Last week, the U.S. Senate took a major step in finishing what the last Congress left undone when it voted on a wide bipartisan basis to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. This previously enacted legislation that has now expired helped bring domestic violence out of the shadows and allowed our nation to address an issue far too many victims and survivors have battled alone.
Fresno Unified financial aid workshops begin Friday.
Wednesday, Feb. 06, 2013
Impoverished or middle-class students and their parents should know that college dreams can be realized despite tuition hikes and a sluggish economy.
If a student gets good grades and graduates from high school, financial aid will be there to attend college.
This is the message that Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, is sending to students, particularly those in Fresno Unified School District.
Costa top Dem on livestock panel
by Michael Doyle on January 22, 2013
The House of Representatives continues to shape itself up for the 113th Congress, with Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, now taking the top Democratic position on the House Livestock, Rural Development and Credit subcommittee.
Governor's budget funds Fresno veterans home
By John Ellis and Eddie Jimenez / The Fresno Bee - The Fresno Bee
Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013 | 04:47 PM
Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed budget released Thursday includes $27 million for veterans homes in Fresno and Redding, which a local lawmaker said should fully fund the Fresno facility.
Assembly Member Henry T. Perea, a Fresno Democrat, said it's unknown how the money would be split between the two homes, but Fresno "would get the lion's share because it is a bigger home."
Farm bill extension offers little help for Kern growers
BY JOHN COX Californian
January 3, 2013
Kern County dairies benefited some but local growers of specialty crops such as grapes and nuts received little direct help from Congress' vote this week to extend the 2008 Farm Bill until Sept. 30.
Central Valley congressman blasts Congress
WASHINGTON, D.C.
January 1, 2013 10:05pm
• Says partisanship has trumped putting the country first
• "I am happy to now say goodbye to the 112th Congress"
A veteran of the halls of Congress, Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, has few kind words for where he works.
"Far too many of those serving in this institution lack the will to put the country first and partisan interests last," he says.
California lawmakers met Monday with Central Valley immigration advocates and community organizations to discuss concerns about immigration enforcement, detention facility conditions and access to legal services following an unannounced visit to an ICE detention facility in Kern County.
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and U.S. Rep. Jim Costa made an unannounced visit Monday to Golden State Annex in McFarland, saying they wanted to inspect conditions inside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility amid what they described as a surge in immigration enforcement across California.
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Rep. Jim Costa and several California lawmakers have sent a letter to Acting ICE Director David Venturella seeking greater transparency about ongoing immigration enforcement operations they say have been carried out across the state.