Jim Costa

The emphasis must remain on providing in-kind donations, such as these food products, whether they be fruits, vegetables, dairy products from my district, or other parts of the country

The United States established itself as one of the global leaders, and we have led for decades, in international food aid.

Today I rise with a heavy heart to convey my thoughts, prayers, and support for the students, the faculty, and the staff of the University of California at Merced in my district, one of the rising stars and the newest university in the…

Next week Americans throughout the country will celebrate Veterans Day. In cities and towns and hamlets, which all of us come from, we will take the time to thank and to honor those men and women who have served our Nation so nobly, to…

This is a work in progress. We obviously need to address a number of other issues with the Senate. I remind my colleagues, this is important. It is about jobs, the economy, and providing alternatives of energy to Russia and Iran, and that…

This Congress is making a habit, unfortunately, of acting in crisis mode, which is irresponsible and does a disservice to the fate and the trust that the American public has placed in us as their elected representatives, and this has a…

I want to thank my Ranking Member, Congressman Peterson, who is always on top of these issues.

From a layperson's perspective or for a poultry farmer who may be facing this or for a local region where you have a television station that is covering this and they are making the report--and I see that Dr. Clifford, you are anxious here…

So how close are we or where are we, would you estimate, scientifically from developing a vaccine?

I would suggest that maybe the Subcommittee considers, if there was some interest to submitting a bipartisan letter to the Appropriations Committee.

As you know, we are concurrently undergoing negotiations for the TPP effort with many of these Asian nations and also with Canada.

We need to do more to provide a vaccine for high-path avian influenza, and there needs to be more research and funds dedicated to that.

We have had a number of poultry farmers and processors that have been impacted, some in my home district, where the first reported cases of avian influenza took place.

Timing is all about what we do. And the time for this hearing is today because the avian flu that has taken various regions of this country is serious, and it is dramatic.

I thank the gentlewoman from Wyoming for yielding the time. Mr. Chairman, I am opposed to this amendment not because it provides additional water for reclamation and reuse, which I support. I am opposed to this amendment because it…

And the ranking member, since the early 1990s, the Federal and State lawmakers and regulators have made a number of policy choices to implement the Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act and the Central Valley Project Improvement Act…

I rise for an amendment that is before the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Page 92, after line 19, insert the following: SEC. 611. REPORT ON RESULTS OF WATER USAGE…

I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, this is a very legitimate concern that my colleagues are dealing with in terms of how funds are being spent by the restoration programs and how we provide support for the efforts to provide…

I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time. Mr. Chairman, as my colleague mentioned, this amendment updates the bill to be consistent with the memorandum of understanding between the Bureau of Reclamation and the Sites Joint Powers…

I want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. McNerney) for offering this amendment. Water hyacinth is a significant problem that has impacted the operations of both the Central Valley water project as well as the State Water Project…

I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time. Mr. Chairman, while this amendment does make technical changes that were agreed upon in committee, it speaks to, I think, a much larger question, which is the debate we have been having here…

I thank the gentlewoman. It provides additional flexibility to increase our water supply. We have to use all the water tools in the water management toolbox, and that includes increasing storage capacity, and it is about time that we began…

I thank the gentleman from California for yielding me 2 minutes. I strongly urge my colleagues to support the Western Water and American Food Security Act that we are debating here today. Yes, we are debating this issue, and this is not…

This is an important program, and we have seen successes in in-kind commodities.

But I think it is far more worthwhile and productive to provide the food, and there is a much greater assurance that that food is going to get in the hands of the people who need it the most.