Costa Hosts Sec. Vilsack in Valley, Says Valley Should Be Prioritized in Infrastructure Package

In his continued efforts to mitigate the impact of drought on agriculture communities of the San Joaquin Valley, Congressman Jim Costa (CA-16), Chairman of the Livestock and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee, hosted United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack on a tour of the valley where they met and spoke with ag leaders about impact of drought and the need for climate resilient infrastructure:

"I wanted Sec. Vilsack to see firsthand how sustained drought is hurting our farming communities and threatening the health of our economy," said Rep. Costa. "Modern farming techniques and repairing our aging water infrastructure will help us weather the impacts of climate change, but we need to act now to make it happen. Valley farmers feed the world and should be prioritized in the President's infrastructure package. I will do everything I can to make that happen."

On a tour of Terranova Ranch in Helm, both Rep. Costa and Vilsack learned about the farm's environmentally friendly farming practices, showcasing how agriculture operations can successfully adapt to the challenges of climate change. They also discussed the need to invest in modern, sustainable water storage. More than $5 billion dollars is allocated for this in President Biden's bipartisan infrastructure plan.

Helping farmers navigate the devastating impacts of drought and rebuilding aging water infrastructure is one of Rep. Costa's top priorities. This year he introduced legislation to address California's water supply and quality issues. Costa also said that California's State Water Resources Control Board must formulate a balanced approach towards municipal, agricultural, and environmental water use in any response to the state's worsening drought crisis.

Other stops on the tour included a discussion in Fresno with members of the United Farm Workers Union about immigration reform and the critical need to pass the Farm Workforce and Modernization Act. This legislation would provide a path to legal residency for nearly 250,000 California farmworkers, providing a reliable agriculture workforce. It's the right thing to do.

They ended the day hosting a roundtable discussion with minority and underserved farmers from the Valley on ways the USDA can modernize practices to provide better and equal access to Federal programs. The discussion continues Rep. Costa's efforts this year to provide increased support to minority farming operations and calling on Sec. Vilsack to make the USDA more user friendly.

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