U.S. Representative — California's 21st District
Jim Costa
Democrat · California
Democrat U.S. Representative for California's 21st congressional district. Member of the 119th Congress in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Legislative Record
Recently sponsored bills (50 on record)
- H.R.7609 — Rural Development Modernization Act (Introduced, Feb 20, 2026)
- H.R.5875 — COWS Act of 2025 (Introduced, Oct 31, 2025)
- H.R.5796 — BUILD Act (Introduced, Oct 21, 2025)
- H.R.5747 — Preventing Illegal Laboratories and Protecting Public Health Act of 2025 (Introduced, Oct 14, 2025)
- H.R.5728 — Rural Homeownership Continuity Act of 2025 (Introduced, Oct 10, 2025)
- H.R.5677 — RIDE FAST Act (Introduced, Oct 3, 2025)
- H.R.5355 — Ian Kalvinskas Pediatric Liver Cancer Early Detection and Screening Act (Introduced, Sep 15, 2025)
- H.R.5259 — Permanent OPTN Fee Authority Act (Introduced, Sep 10, 2025)
Recent floor votes (100 on record)
- Voted Yea on H.R.8884 — Removing Barriers to Work for Disabled Americans Act (Passed, Jul 23, 2026)
- Voted Yea on H.Con.Res.89 — Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran (Passed, Jul 23, 2026)
- Voted Nay on H.Con.Res.113 — Establishing the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2027 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2028 through 2036 (Passed, Jul 22, 2026)
- Voted Nay on H.R.7008 — Stop Insider Trading Act (Passed, Jul 22, 2026)
- Voted Yea on H.R.7008 — Stop Insider Trading Act (Failed, Jul 22, 2026)
- Voted Nay on H.R.8800 — National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 (Passed, Jul 22, 2026)
- Voted Yea on H.R.8800 — National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 (Failed, Jul 22, 2026)
- Voted No on H.R.8800 — On Agreeing to the Amendment (Failed, Jul 22, 2026)
Recently cosponsored bills (12 on record)
- H.R.9929 — To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4640 Cass Street in San Diego, California, as the "Mary Wilding Memorial Post Office Building". (Introduced, Jul 23, 2026)
- H.R.5973 — Stop Excessive Force in Immigration Act of 2025 (Introduced, Jul 22, 2026)
- H.R.5168 — Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act (Introduced, May 15, 2026)
- H.R.2913 — Ukraine Support Act (Introduced, May 13, 2026)
- H.R.3805 — Protecting Community Television Act (Introduced, May 12, 2026)
- H.R.8567 — UNLEADED Act (Introduced, May 7, 2026)
- H.R.4696 — Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929 (Introduced, Jul 23, 2025)
- H.R.4708 — Spotted Lanternfly Research and Development Act (Introduced, Jul 23, 2025)
Voting analysis
Jim Costa is among the ten most frequently defecting Democrats in the House, and his departures point almost uniformly in one direction: toward bills Republicans were carrying.
A consistent direction
He voted to pass a disability employment bill, an economic measure, a bill on aid to non-existent students, an expansion of veterans benefits, a cashless bail reporting requirement, a violent offenders measure, and a farm and national security act — each against most of his caucus, and each of which passed. Only a handful of his departures run the other way.
A record like this is not a series of independent judgements. Twenty crossings in the same direction describe a member positioned to the right of his caucus and voting from there consistently.
| Roll call | Date | Outcome | Their vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| H.R.8884 Removing Barriers to Work for Disabled Americans Act On Passage · roll call 283 | Jul 23, 2026 | Passed | Yea (party: Nay) |
| H.R.6955 Main Street Act On Passage · roll call 271 | Jul 21, 2026 | Passed | Yea (party: Nay) |
| H.R.8800 On Agreeing to the Amendment roll call 261 | Jul 21, 2026 | Failed | Aye (party: Nay) |
| H.R.8800 On Agreeing to the Amendment roll call 260 | Jul 21, 2026 | Agreed to | Aye (party: Nay) |
| H.R.8595 On Agreeing to the Amendment roll call 243 | Jul 15, 2026 | Failed | No (party: Yea) |
| H.R.7892 No Aid for Ghost Students Act On Passage · roll call 217 | Jun 10, 2026 | Passed | Yea (party: Nay) |
| H.R.6047 Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act On Passage · roll call 191 | May 21, 2026 | Passed | Yea (party: Nay) |
| H.R.5625 Cashless Bail Reporting Act On Passage · roll call 171 | May 14, 2026 | Passed | Yea (party: Nay) |
| H.R.6260 Keeping Violent Offenders Off Our Streets Act On Passage · roll call 169 | May 14, 2026 | Passed | Aye (party: Nay) |
| H.R.7567 Farm, Food, and National Security Act On Passage · roll call 154 | Apr 30, 2026 | Passed | Yea (party: Nay) |
Above a very large delegation
California's Democratic House members form the biggest single-party state group measured anywhere here, wide enough to contain most of the party's range. Costa sits above its internal average, which for a group this size takes real distance.
Among the 42 Democrats in the California delegation, the average rate of voting against the party majority is 3.7%. Jim Costa is above that average at 9.3%.
What he legislates on
He is ranking member of the agriculture subcommittee on livestock, dairy and poultry, and health and agriculture lead his classified filings. The bills are Central Valley concerns: rural development modernisation, a dairy measure, a building act, prevention of illegal laboratories, and rural homeownership continuity.
Sponsored bills carry the Congressional Research Service's own subject classification. Jim Costa's cluster into: Health (12), Agriculture and Food (10), Commerce (5), Water Resources Development (4), Government Operations and Politics (3), Public Lands and Natural Resources (3).
Of the 50 most recent of those, 49 currently sit at Introduced.
Tenure and attendance
He has served since the middle of the two-thousands, which places him among the veterans, and misses few votes.
First elected in 2005, now serving across 11 terms. Jim Costa falls in the veteran cohort.
By the numbers
In the 119th Congress, Jim Costa has 187 bills sponsored, 3938 cosponsored, 100 recent floor votes recorded.
Committee assignments
- House Committee on Agriculture
- House Committee on Foreign Affairs
- House Committee on Agriculture: Forestry and Horticulture
- House Committee on Agriculture: Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry (Ranking Member)
- House Committee on Foreign Affairs: Europe
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