Thank you very much Mr. Chairman. Thank you for your indulgence and I similarly perhaps am going to offer an alternative perspective on this debate. This has been very instructive for me. I was particularly struck by the comments regarding welfare benefits from our government officials and the fact how we tried to bend over backwards to demonstrate that there were undocumented workers pay corporate income tax in this state because when they are consumers they are paying and being passed along the cost of corporate income tax because that's what businesses do. They pass along the cost to their customers. So, we have to remember they also pay for roads when they pay tolls. And when they are paying sales tax and property tax and corporate income tax they are paying for schools and hospitals, as I said transportation in the state of Florida, but they are also doing something else that sometimes not recognized, they are the nannies that are caring for the children, they are the folks that are picking the fruits and vegetables, they are the folks that are mowing the lawns, fixing the roofs, changing the bedpans, washing the dishes in the restaurants and cleaning the toilets and making the beds in the hotels. These are for the most part undocumented workers.
Every year I go to homeless shelters in my district and try to go to Thanksgiving and Christmas for example and I live in a district that is predominately Hispanic, have many people that speak for most part Spanish and English but also Spanish alone but I have never found an illegal or undocumented worker in a homeless shelter and I think the reason and I try to find them, I really do try to find them but they speak perfect English and I ask them if they are illegal or undocumented, I never found one and I think the reason is, because many people come here, they come to work, nobody comes to the United States to be homeless.
Republicans believe in market forces, I'm a Republican, I believe in market forces, I believe illegal aliens are like illegal drugs and just as the U.S. is the largest consumer of illegal drugs in the world, we are also the largest consumer of illegal workers or undocumented workers. We love to have our cheap labor and until we cut the demand for that cheap labor we will have an abundance of supply just as we, some, are addicted to drugs some are addicted to cheap labor and illegal aliens. If we want to get serious let's go after the agriculture sector, let's go after the construction sector, the hospitality sector, the restaurants, the hotels and let's shut them down for hiring illegal workers. let's go after their occupational licenses. If we really want to end illegal immigration, let's go after those industries. Now those industries tell me they would collapse if we were to do that. That the agriculture sector they can't find workers to pick the fruits. The Citrus Mutual, the lobbyist for the citrus industry in this state. They have told me and they have shown me the U.S. Dept. of Labor surveys that over 50% of farm workers have said themselves, they are illegally in this country. And since U.S. workers will not work in those occupations, they can/will not replace those workers. Right now fruit and vegetables are not being picked and are dying on the vine because the agriculture industry cannot find enough workers.
So, let's look at the global immigration problem and the population. Let's look at the contributions. Let's look at the pros. Let's look at the cons. Let's look at the source of the problems. U.S. businesses and U.S. consumers and the thirst for illegal aliens and undocumented workers, just as we should never make any apologies, never should we apologize for people acting illegally and coming here illegally, we should not apologize for U.S. businesses and the U.S. government deficiencies in enforcing immigration laws. We've already seen that the federal government has had failures to enforce laws with respect to corrections. But let's not place the blame anywhere else. If we do, if we forget about our thirst in this country for undocumented workers, then we are simply deluding ourselves.
Thank you Mr. Chairman.