Jeff Denham: “Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity to talk on this not only in support of the rule, but in support of the bill.…”

“Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity to talk on this not only in support of the rule, but in support of the bill. This is something we went through in committee with very great debate, but it goes well beyond the debate of committee. We've debated this in the State of California for many, many years, if not decades now. To have Members from California come down to the floor and say that this is mindless, this is anything but mindless. These are jobs. When you go down to Dennis Cardoza's district and see 30 percent unemployment in the Los Banos area or down to Jim Costa's district and see 30 to 40 percent unemployment in Firebaugh or over in Mendota, and you call it mindless? Come down and talk to the people in our districts and tell them that their jobs are mindless, that their homes are mindless, that their cars that they're having to give up are mindless. These are farmworkers. These are individuals. These are farmers that are seeing their families destroyed right now. It is not mindless. They are certainly not special interests. Come down to these districts. We have invited the President, on a bipartisan basis, many times now to come to California. Don't just go to L.A. and San Francisco, but come see the Central Valley and the challenges that we have. See how, when the water is shut off, we see our farms destroyed. This absolutely has impact on the rest of the Nation.…”