29 Facts About Jim Costa

Jim Costa served in the California State Assembly from 1978 to 1994 before he was elected to the California State Senate from 1994 until 2002.

Jim Costa, who chaired the Blue Dog Coalition in the US House of Representatives, chaired the Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture during the 117th Congress.

Jim Costa's grandparents emigrated from the Azores in the early 20th century.

Jim Costa graduated in 1970 from San Joaquin Memorial High School, a private Catholic school, and obtained a bachelor's degree in political science from Fresno State in 1974, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

Jim Costa worked as a Special Assistant to Congressman John Krebs and as Administrative Assistant to Assemblyman Rick Lehman.

Jim Costa is Roman Catholic, and has been described as a liberal Catholic who favors abortion rights.

Jim Costa was elected to the California State Assembly in 1978.

Jim Costa represented part of Fresno County in the state legislature for 24 years, serving in the State Assembly and the State Senate.

Jim Costa was a sponsor of the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, a bill signed into law in 1995 that prohibits rent control on single-family homes, condominiums, and any rental unit constructed after February 1,1995.

In 2004, Jim Costa entered the Democratic primary for the 20th district, which was opened up by the retirement of its seven-term incumbent, Cal Dooley.

The Democrats won control of the House in that election, and Jim Costa became chair of the Natural Resources Committee's Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee.

Jim Costa is a member of the House Agriculture Committee.

Jim Costa was challenged for reelection by Republican nominee Andy Vidak.

In February 2012, Jim Costa announced that he would run in the newly formed 16th district, a much more compact district that included most of Fresno as well as most of Merced.

In November 2011, the League of Conservation Voters ran a series of television ads in Jim Costa's district criticizing his environmental record.

Jim Costa faced an unexpectedly close race against Republican Johnny Tacherra, a dairy farmer from rural Fresno County.

Tacherra's lead narrowed as counting continued, and Jim Costa ultimately defeated him by 1,319 votes.

On June 7,2016, Jim Costa was the sole Democratic candidate in the 2016 "top two" primary, and was ahead on June 28, with 50,917 votes.

Jim Costa voted for the Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act, which would protect individuals crossing state lines who are seeking safe and legal reproductive healthcare, including those traveling with them, from criminal prosecution.

Jim Costa co-sponsored the bipartisan Agricultural Certainty for Reporting Emissions Act.

In January 2015, Jim Costa was one of 28 House Democrats to vote to build the Keystone XL pipeline.

Jim Costa was one of five House Democrats to voted to continue selling arms to Saudi Arabia and to support the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.

In February 2023, during the Russo-Ukrainian War, Jim Costa signed a letter advocating for President Biden to give F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.

Jim Costa was reportedly a holdout vote on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, in March 2010.

Jim Costa is an original co-sponsor of the American Dream and Promise Act, which provides a pathway to citizenship for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients.

Jim Costa was instrumental in crafting the bipartisan Farmworker Modernization Act, which would give undocumented farmworkers and their family members a path to legal immigration status.

Jim Costa has advocated creating a high-speed rail system that would go up and down California as well as across the nation at speeds of 225 miles per hour.

Jim Costa has introduced many bills supporting these rails; so far, none have passed.

In December 2017, Jim Costa introduced legislation to allow some Hmong- and Laotian-American veterans to be buried in US national cemeteries.