Zoe Lofgren: “I will start with my near neighbor, who has served since 1993. He came in in a special election, and that is Congressman…”

“I will start with my near neighbor, who has served since 1993. He came in in a special election, and that is Congressman Sam Farr. He has honorably represented the central coast of California for more than 40 years and here in Congress for the last 23. Sam was born and raised in the Monterey County area. Before his service here in the House, he early on served in the Peace Corps in Colombia, and his wonderful fluent Spanish is a product of his Peace Corps service in Colombia. To this day, he has a special soft spot for that country. As the ranking member on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, he has championed safe and nutritious food for consumers, farmers, and producers. He has made sure that the need of getting fresh food into school lunches has never been far from our thoughts, and he has had remarkable success there, which has served the health of children across the country. After serving in the Peace Corps, Sam represented his constituents on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors for 6 years. As a member of the Board of Supervisors, he continued to fight for environmental issues and for people who were disadvantaged. After that, he served in the California Legislature. Sam founded the bipartisan House Oceans Caucus and authored the Oceans Act, which created the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy.…”