Jim Costa: “At a time when Americans are struggling to afford groceries, housing, and gas, Congress should be focused on lowering…”

“At a time when Americans are struggling to afford groceries, housing, and gas, Congress should be focused on lowering the cost of living that Americans care most about and not renaming bodies of water. As Sergeant Friday used to say on the show ``Dragnet": Just the facts, ma'am. The facts during the first 100 days of Mr. Trump's administration are the following: The economy has shrunk; The stock market has taken a hit; 401(k)'s that are critical for a majority of Americans' retirement have declined; there has been a launch of a trade war that could cost the average family in America over $4,900 a year this year alone with no trade agreements in sight, threatening a recession. Rather than offering solutions, my Republican friends are at this time wasting this valuable effort on the floor by renaming the Gulf of Mexico. I think the Gulf of America Act is an absurd bill. It is political theater. The Gulf of Mexico has held that name for over 500 years. Spanish explorers from Spain chartered these waters hundreds of years before the United States ever existed. Let's call this bill for what it is. It is a vanity project. My constituents in California's San Joaquin Valley aren't asking me about the Gulf of Mexico. They are asking me about their healthcare, reducing inflation, and investing in our communities. That is what they care most about.…”