the American Dream and Promise Act, which provides a pathway to citizenship for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. He was instrumental in crafting the bipartisan Farmworker Modernization Act, which would give undocumented farmworkers and their family members a path to legal immigration status. Costa supports strong border security, and has voted to authorize funding for improved border security. He said, "Over my congressional career—through three presidents from both parties—I have continually voted to improve border security, including authorizing construction of physical barriers where appropriate." Infrastructure and transportation In August 2021, Costa joined a group of conservative Democrats, dubbed "The Unbreakable Nine", who threatened to derail the Biden administration's $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package meant to tackle the nation's infrastructure. High-speed rail 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. He has introduced many bills supporting these rails; so far, none have passed. Miller compared rail projects to Eisenhower's highway expansion and pleaded to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and President Barack Obama for help in with this project. In April 2008, Costa wrote a piece in Capitol Weekly calling for high-speed rail in California. Military National cemetery burials In December 2017, Costa introduced legislation to allow some Hmong- and Laotian-American veterans to be buried in U.S. national cemeteries. The legislation applies to Hmong and Laotian veterans who fought alongside the U.S. against North Vietnamese forces in the 1960s and 1970s. The bill, which does not allow for burials at Arlington National Cemetery, applies only to veterans who pass away on or after the bill's enactment. The bill was enacted in March 2018 as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018. Honors Commander of the Order of Merit, Portugal (June 8, 1996) References External links Congressman Jim Costa official U.S. House website Jim Costa for Congress campaign website |- |- |- |- |- |- |- 1952 births 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians American people of Azorean descent American people of Portuguese descent Democratic Party California state senators California State University, Fresno alumni Living people Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California People from Fresno, California