Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I thank so very much Madam Chair for yielding to me and for her distinguished leadership on behalf of the American producers and farmworkers who are the subject of this important bill. I have a sense of how long she has worked on this. For too long, I have borne painful witness to the plight of our continent's migrant farmworkers, as well as the problems our growers are having. These hardworking migrant workers endure harsh working conditions at jobs that the American people simply are not interested in and won't do. These workers endure very harsh conditions to make sure that food gets to our tables, from farm to table. We could not feed this country without these workers. Many of these workers leave their families and journey to the United States in hopes of finding decent work at a respectable wage, yet far too often are subjugated to exploitative serfdom. That is why I stand heartened that the Farm Workforce Modernization Act has been brought forth to this House floor. This bill has strengths, as others have talked about: It regularizes the workforce; it addresses very serious issues. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. DeGette). The time of the gentlewoman has expired.”