On the recordFebruary 5, 2014
The reason we are here today is we have heard talk for long enough. We have seen negotiation after negotiation, and the last one that we are asking to go back to happened in the mid- nineties. There was an agreement made that allowed water to go for the environment and for agriculture, and now we are not even getting that. What we are asking for is for a little attention. Many of the viewers probably don't find this interesting. It is just a bunch of trees, but these trees are dead. They have been pulled out of the ground. That probably doesn't mean a lot to the Chair or to a lot of other people in this room, but these are trees that grow crops. Those crops create jobs. The people that do those jobs are these people right here. We hear so many people talk about unemployment insurance. These people want to work. They want to earn a paycheck. They want to go home at the end of the day with their money in their pocket and be able to buy food that is grown around them, natural, good, wholesome American food. These people do not like standing in line and do not like waiting for government handouts. They want to work and be productive members of today's society. I know that a lot of people watching today will think, well, this is just a California problem, but this is the food grown in California: 99 percent of the almonds; 99 percent of the artichokes; 99 percent of the figs; 99 percent of the olives; 99 percent of the pistachios.…
