David Thomas: “Come on, folks. The operative word in the gentleman from California's statement that he just spoke was ``was.'' He is…”

“Come on, folks. The operative word in the gentleman from California's statement that he just spoke was ``was.'' He is talking about yesterday. I know it is not useful sometimes, or even politic, to deal factually with amendments in front of us on this floor, but this is not the re-creation of a guest worker or Bracero program from 20 or 30 years ago. We can relive the problems, if my colleagues want to, in a kind of a nostalgic way and talk about Wilga, and talk about workers rights, but, come on. This is 1996. Let us take a look at what is the Pombo amendment actually requires. No. 1, we got to give preference to U.S. workers. Now, unemployment figures have been cited in various counties. Let me tell my colleagues unemployment figures and willing workers are two different things. Sometimes they are night and day. But if people are willing to work, they have got a job. We do not go without jobs. Our problem is we have difficulty sometimes finding willing workers, especially in peak harvest periods when, for example, in a 7-day period in Fresno County more than 50,000 people are needed to pull those what were grapes, now sun-dried into raisins, down onto the ground, put them on clean paper, and in a very short period of time prepare that product for market.”