[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15687]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 IN RECOGNITION OF CALIFORNIA STATE SENATOR JIM COSTA FOR TWENTY-FOUR 
                        YEARS OF PUBLIC SERVICE

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I rise today to bring to the 
Senate's attention the exemplary achievements and outstanding service 
of State Senator Jim Costa of Fresno, California.
  Senator Jim Costa will retire this year after twenty-four years of 
service in the California State Legislature. I am pleased to honor 
Senator Costa for his outstanding leadership and service and add my 
voice to the special recognition and the outpouring of admiration from 
throughout California.
  In his many years of public service, Senator Costa has been dedicated 
to serving the Central Valley. Senator Costa is also well known for his 
sense of honor, purpose and teamwork that made him so effective in the 
California State Legislature.
  I am honored to congratulate him on his many accomplishments over 
more than two decades of service. I wish Senator Costa the best in his 
future endeavors. I know he will continue to make outstanding 
contributions to the people of California. I ask that excerpts from the 
Fresno Bee Editorial from July 24, 2002 be printed in the Record:
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                  [From the Fresno Bee, July 24, 2002]

                          Calling it a Career


Jim Costa's valuable service in the state Legislature coming to an end.

       Democrat Jim Costa will make his political curtain call 
     next month at a testimonial dinner that is expected to draw 
     some of California's most powerful politicians. It will be a 
     fitting send-off recognizing a 24-year legislative career 
     that began with youthful exuberance and is ending with a 
     record of accomplishments that you'd expect from a seasoned 
     veteran.
       The dinner on Aug. 25 at the Fresno Convention Center will 
     bring together four of the state's five living governors, 
     along with San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, the former 
     speaker of the Assembly. Costa has worked with all of them, 
     gaining their respect even when they were at political odds. 
     Dinner proceeds will benefit the Kenneth L. Maddy Institute 
     at California State University, Fresno.
       Costa understands better than most politicians the 
     independent nature of Valley's voters. First in the Assembly 
     and then in the state Senate, he balanced the political 
     interests of the region as well as any legislator. He has 
     championed the needs of agriculture and has fought to improve 
     the Valley's business climate. He also battled to improve the 
     plight of the region's many impoverished communities.

                          ____________________