Stephen Colbert testified before a Congressional subcommittee Friday morning during the “Protecting America’s Harvest” hearing–in character.
Colbert testified on the dependency of our agriculture supply on farm workers, and to dispel the myth that illegal immigrants who work on farms are stealing jobs from Americans.
Click to see more photos of Colbert at the hearing
Things got a little hairy when the Judiciary Committee chairmanRep. John Conyers, (D-MI) asked Colbert to leave, but thankfully the comedian did not listen.
And although the hearing was serious, Colbert got in some great comedic jabs:
“This is America. I don’t want a tomato picked by a Mexican. I want it picked by an American, then sliced by a Guatemalan, then served by a Venezuelan, in a spa where a Chilean gives me a Brazilian.”
“I’m not a fan of the government doing anything. But I’ve got to ask: Why isn’t the government doing anything? Maybe this Add Jobs Bill would help. I don’t know. Like most members of Congress, I haven’t read it.”
“Maybe the easier answer is just to have scientists develop vegetables that pick themselves. The genetic engineers over at Fruit of the Loom have made great strides in human-fruit hybrids.”
