Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, as the cofounder of the Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus, I rise today to continue talking about the crisis of rising poverty devastating families in every single congressional district all across our country. Mr. Speaker, I also rise today to recognize Linda Lee and Geraldine Matthew. These two extraordinary women are among a group of farmworkers who spent their lives working in the swampy fields bordering Lake Apopka in Florida. Their backbreaking work helped to provide the bulk of the winter season produce on the eastern seaboard. In the early 1990s, a settlement was negotiated with the large farming corporations where 20,000 acres of land were sold for roughly $100 million. A negligible amount of 200,000 was allocated for the 2,500 farmworkers, and most were simply given pink slips, despite decades of service on the farm. For years, these workers were exposed to a chemical mixture of carcinogens and other contaminants as planes crop-dusted the fields. Now these workers are suffering from an array of diseases that have been linked to long-term pesticide exposure. Their children suffer from defects cause by prenatal exposure to harmful contaminants. These women have worked for over a decade to bring attention to their cause, while many of their former colleagues, unfortunately, have passed away. Although these women are desperately seeking some relief and good health, what they ask for more than anything else is their dignity.…”