Media

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressmen Billy Long (R-MO-7) and Jim Costa (D-CA-16) introduced H.R. 5275, the Agricultural Certainty for Reporting Emissions Act, or ACRE Act, in the U.S. House of Representatives with strong bipartisan support. The legislation aims to rectify a widely-understood shortcoming with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), a law which has provided for the clean-up of severe industrial chemical toxic waste for over 30 years.

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Jim Costa (CA-16) released the following statement after President Trump signed new steel and aluminum tariffs which impose a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports and a 25 percent tariff on steel imports:

"California agriculture will likely feel the most intense and direct pain from these tariffs. California farmers and ranchers earned about $21 billion from trade in 2016, which was roughly 44 percent of their total revenue.

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Jim Costa (CA-16) continued his advocacy for securing Hmong and Lao American veterans recognition and honor for serving alongside American armed forces in the Vietnam War. Taking to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Costa called on his colleagues to support the Hmong Veterans' Service Recognition Act. Costa introduced this bipartisan legislation with Congressman Paul Cook (CA-8) to extend veterans burial benefits in national cemeteries to these Hmong and Lao American veterans.

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Jim Costa (CA-16), a senior member of the House Natural Resources Committee, called for bipartisan action to address the over $16 billion worth of public land maintenance projects currently backlogged due to lack of funding within the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Fresno, CA – Today, Congressman Jim Costa (CA-16) joined the Central Valley NMTC Fund, LLC in announcing a $55 million award to Central Valley NMTC through the federal New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program. The NMTC program is a federal economic development tool designed to encourage private investment into economically-distressed and underserved communities by providing tax credits for private investment in Community Development Entities. These investments help finance community development projects, spur economic growth, and create jobs for the local community.

Fresno, CA – Today, Congressman Jim Costa (CA-16) joined Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and Congressmen Jeff Denham (CA-10) and David Valadao (CA-21) at an agriculture town hall meeting at the World Ag Expo in Tulare, California. The town hall provided an opportunity for agriculture producers to ask questions and speak directly to officials about America's food policy, including setting priorities for the next Farm Bill.

Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Jim Costa (CA-16) voted in favor of the Bipartisan Budget Act, a bipartisan budget deal that will fully fund the military as well as domestic program priorities through Fiscal Year 2019. The legislation will provide the federal government with the long-term budget it needs to plan for more than weeks at a time and fully operate essential government programs, many of which directly impact industries and individuals across California's San Joaquin Valley.