Media

Washington, DC-Rep. Jim Costa urged the U.S. Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development and Veterans Affairs to prioritize Merced County in their consideration for grants to support homeless veterans. The Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program provides local housing authorities with critical funds to provide permanent supportive housing, case management, and rental assistance.

Washington, DC- Costa blasted the House of Representatives for allowing the Farm Bill to disintegrate into petty, partisan politics. H.R. 1947, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013, would have provided the certainty needed for Valley agriculture to thrive and continue producing the healthy, safe foods that American families put on their dinner tables every night. Instead, the House again passed the buck on reforming the nation's agriculture policies, which will hurt American families and farmers.

June 18, 2013

Fresno, CA- Rep. Jim Costa cheered the arrival of the F-15 fighter jet at the 144^th Fighter Wing in Fresno. Costa has been a key voice in urging the Air Force to approve the conversion from the older F-16 aircraft to the newer F-15 aircraft. In late May, the Air Force granted final approval for the conversion that would bring 18 F-15s to the 144^th Fighter Wing.

June 13, 2013

Washington, D.C.- Rep. Jim Costa announced today that Fresno, Merced, and Madera Counties has received more than $3.4 million under the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program as compensation for lost property tax revenue from non-taxable federal lands. Though the guaranteed funds for the PILT program expire this year, Costa has urged the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Conference Committee to extend the program. Fresno, Merced, and Madera Counties depend on these funds to help keep teachers, police, firefighters, and nurses on the job.

Washington, D.C.- Rep. Jim Costa announced that Central Valley Opportunity Center Inc. has been awarded $1.8 million to provide educational and employment training to farmworkers in Merced, Madera, and Stanislaus Counties. The U.S. Department of Labor released these funds through the National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP).

Washington, D.C.- With an overwhelming bipartisan vote, Congressmen Jim Costa and Doug LaMalfa's legislation that would protect consumers from utility fee hikes was approved by the House of Representatives by a vote of 423 to 0. The Public Power Risk Management Act of 2013 removes barriers that place municipal utilities, including irrigation districts such as Merced, Modesto, and Turlock Irrigation Districts, under restrictions that prevent them from taking responsible actions to hedge against price volatility in the energy market.

Washington, DC – This week, Congressional Victims' Rights Caucus (VRC) co-chairmen and co-founders, Reps. Jim Costa and Ted Poe, introduced legislation that would protect the Crime Victims Fund from budget sequestration which is threatening to severely reduce services for victims of crime. The fund is backed solely by criminal fines, forfeitures and other penalties, not federal tax dollars, and it has no impact on the national deficit.

Legislation Invests in Ending Homelessness among Veterans