Speech #910086014

In Collier County. Fla.. county officials repeatedly refused to participate in the commodity program. ignoring their citizens pleas for participation and ignoring the overwhelming need for such a program. In a county where there are often as many as 22.000 migrants in residence. the attitude of these local officials was best expressed by one commissioner. who told the select committee that the county had no responsibility for its migrants. since. as he put it: The migrants themselves are Federal people. They are not Immokalee people. They are not Collier people. they are not Florida people. They are Federal people. and if there Is free food. these people will come early and stay late. We will have them in town all year long. He went on to say that he thought it was illegal to provide food to the hungry migrants and farm workers in his county. He is not unusual in this respect. nor is this an unusual county. The figures I am about to introduce will show that this is not a localized problem. not a Southern problem. it is a national problem. and it exists throughout this country.