Transcript (en)

This is about getting enough workers. Congressman, with all due respect, I'm from South Dakota, an agriculture state. I come from a ranching family and I deeply resent the narrative that family farms and ranches must rely on illegal aliens otherwise they won't be able to survive. There are a variety of reasons why our farmers and ranchers are perhaps struggling right now. I would love mandatory country of origin labeling. You mentioned foreign products. I certainly agree with you on that point. But to insist that we simply need to have illegal aliens that are willing to work for less, undercutting the American worker and the American farmers and ranchers and helping hands that could make a good living doing this, if not for the influx of illegal aliens on these farms and ranches. I'm sorry, but I deeply resent that. What do you say to the family farmers and ranchers who have a legacy of doing it the right way, who don't hire illegal aliens and find your comments to be a THEM IS A LITTLE OFFENSIVE TO THEM. WELL, FIRST OF ALL, YOU'RE THE FIRST PERSON THAT'S MET THAT EVER STATED THAT. THE BOTTOM LINE IS WE HAVE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF JOB OPENINGS RIGHT NOW IN THE STATE OF TEXAS. WE CANNOT FILL THEM. IT IS HARD WORK. IT IS GETTING UP AT 4 O'CLOCK. AND IT'S LIVING IN THE RIGHT AREAS. CONGRESSMAN, AMERICANS ARE WILLING TO GET UP AT 4 A.M., SIR, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT. OKAY. I'M GOING TO TURN IT TO MY COLLEAGUES NOW. ASSERTIONS, THE FACT THAT THE ASSERTIONS ARE GOING TO BE