That said (to gain a bit of traction should you actually get this!) I ask you to back the removal of the Capitol fence and limit standing Guard and federal officers. I’m sure many, in both parties in your newer district, echo that request.

The front-page picture taken during the January 6, 2021 riot illustrates the terror you and your fellow representatives felt -- almost as much as FDR’s classic “A day of infamy” could be updated.

As a newspaper guy who helped raise two Washington, DC, federal staffers for both parties (including chief of staff for Senator Murray of Washington state), I was a guest in the White House, Senate, and House chambers often. To see coverage of the fence and as The Washington Post notes, “the razor wire” looks more like a Third World capital than ours.

We all want you safe, but, please Jim, as Reagan said, “take down the wall.”

Even though we’re in different districts, thanks for your attention to this national problem.

Jim Marvin

Editor’s Note: Rep. Jim Costa served Kings County for many years as a California State Senator and State Assemblyman before his election to Congress. Jim Marvin was a long-time newspaper publisher and editor, which included a stint as editor of The Lemoore Advance.