[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 61 (Monday, April 28, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E589]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               RECOGNIZING DENNIS CARDOZA FOR HIS SERVICE

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                             HON. JIM COSTA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 28, 2014

  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize my friend and 
former colleague, Dennis Cardoza. Dennis served as the U.S. Congressman 
for the 18th Congressional District of California. He has truly led a 
life dedicated to public service, and his efforts deserve to be 
commended.
  Dennis grew up in Atwater, California where he attended Atwater High 
School followed by California State University, Stanislaus. He later 
transferred to the University of Maryland College Park where he earned 
his Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1982. He was the first member of his 
family to graduate college. Dennis' first taste of public service came 
in 1979 when he spent a summer in college interning on Capitol Hill.
  After graduation, Dennis returned to the San Joaquin Valley where he 
ran a successful small business and served as a city councilman for 
Merced and Atwater. In 1996, he was elected to the California State 
Assembly where he served as Chairman of the Rules Committee and 
cofounder of the Moderate Democratic Caucus.
  In 2002, Dennis was elected to his first term in Congress. He had 
many legislative accomplishments that truly made a difference in his 
district. Dennis was an unwavering advocate for issues impacting Valley 
residents such as water, agriculture, unemployment, and poverty. Dennis 
lobbied to bring Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar and Secretary 
of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack to the Central Valley. Their visit 
influenced the decision by the Department of Agriculture to declare 
Merced, Stanislaus, and San Joaquin counties as natural disaster areas. 
Also, Dennis was an active member of the Blue Dog Coalition. He proudly 
cosponsored H.R. 2166 the ``Fiscal Honesty and Accountability Act of 
2009'' to extend Pay-As-You-Go spending through 2014 in order to 
strengthen Congress' commitment to fiscal responsibility and 
accountability. In 2007 Dennis joined the House Rules Committee where 
he assisted the victims of the Valley's home foreclosure crisis by 
securing language in H.R. 1728, the ``Mortgage Reform and Anti-
Predatory Lending Act'', that established a federal database to track 
foreclosures across the country. In the 110th and 111th Congresses, 
Dennis served as Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee's 
Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture, which had a 
prominent role in the formation of the 2007 Farm Bill.
  Dennis believes that one of our greatest responsibilities as a 
society is to leave our nation a better place for our children and 
grandchildren. Dennis worked diligently to ensure that the University 
of California's 10th campus would be in Merced, California. In 
addition, one of Dennis' proudest legislative accomplishments was the 
language he introduced in the ``Fostering Connections to Success and 
increasing Adoptions Act'', which ensures that children in the foster 
care system receive necessary medical attention until the age of 21. 
Dennis has been an advocate on behalf of children and adoption not just 
as a legislator but also as a parent, raising two adopted children in 
addition to his one biological daughter.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the 
leadership and public service of Dennis Cardoza. His contributions to 
the Central Valley, the State of California, and the future generations 
of this nation ennobled this body of Congress with his presence.

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