What Rep. Jim Costa says now about ethics investigation. ‘It was six years ago’

Rep. Jim Costa declined to provide any more details to The Bee into recent reports of being cleared by a congressional ethics investigation.

“There was a report, and the ethics committee said there was insufficient information, and they rejected the claim. They dismissed it,” Costa said.

The Fresno Bee talked to Costa May 22 during an event at the Fresno Yosemite International Airport.

Earlier this month, digital publication NOTUS reported on allegations made by a Washington, D.C. staffer that Costa behaved inappropriately during a function in 2020. The staffer alleged Costa made in appropriate advances.

Congressional ethics committees investigated Costa in 2023, but moved to dismiss the case, citing lack of evidence.

Costa’s office told The Bee and several other media outlets that he fully cooperated with the investigation.

Asked to describe his interaction with the staffer, Costa told The Bee, “I’m not going to go there. It was six years ago. It does not help the ethics committee, that we collaborated with for seven months, and they dismissed the investigation.”

Costa added that he stands by his earlier statement distributed by his office.

Costa secures $131 million for water project

Last week, Costa announced he secured $131 million in federal funding for several water infrastructure projects, including upgrades to the Friant-Kern Canal and O’Neill Pumping Plant. The money, Costa said, will help expand the San Luis Reservoir, adding 130,000 acre-feet.

“This was a continuation of efforts that we’ve been engaged in that follow the water blueprint to create the reliability in our water sources that we need for our Valley,” Costa said.

The money comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, a 2022 bill that provides $369 billion for climate projects.

According to Costa’s office, the money breaks down as follows:

• $65.8 million for the Friant-Kern Canal Capacity Correction Project
• $53 million for the O’Neill Pumping Plant Main Transformer Replacement Project
• $11 million for the O’Neill Pumping Plant Unit Upgrades Project
• $2 million for Fresno Irrigation District flow metering improvements expected to conserve approximately 840 acre-feet of water annually

Costa on Iran war

Costa remains skeptical about the United States military action in Iran.

“When the president decided to engage, he did not talk to the American public about why, in fact, this was necessary. He gave conflicting reasons on why we were taking military action,” Costa said.

Costa said President Donald Trump did not engage Congress, calling it “frustrating that we don’t learn lessons from the past.” He wants the president to make “a convincing argument to the American people on why continued military action is necessary under the Congress.”