[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 7, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H1287]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                              {time}  0950
                              MINIMUM WAGE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Burton of Indiana). Under the Speaker's 
announced policy of January 4, 1995, the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. 
Hilliard] is recognized during morning business for 2 minutes.
  Mr. HILLIARD. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of increasing the 
minimum wage. Lately I have heard a lot of rhetoric which is both 
misleading and dead wrong.
  Just this Sunday I heard it stated that the only people who work 
minimum wage jobs are high school and college age kids. Mr. Speaker, 
this may be true in the wealthier suburban areas of this country, but I 
wish to tell you that in Appalachia or in the Mississippi Delta or in 
the Black belt of Alabama or in Watts, in Harlem, this is just not the 
case, and I wish to inform all of those persons who are misinformed 
that these are jobs that people work to live, and they are not living 
the American dream. They are having difficulties just living. They are 
having difficulties in many ways trying to find a decent place to live, 
because of the low wages that they receive. These are not people who 
are on welfare, but these are Americans. They are those who reject 
welfare. They are those who try to live within the system.
  Yes, they have a hard time living the American dream, but these are 
good Americans. They work minimum wage jobs in many instances, because 
there are no other jobs available in the communities where they live. 
These are hard-working Americans.
  Some of them have high school diplomas, and some who even went to 
college; many of them are too proud to take welfare, so they are stuck 
in these low-paying jobs.
  Mr. Speaker, we talk a lot about welfare reform, and getting many of 
our citizens off of welfare. I believe we owe it to these working 
Americans, these young adults who work minimum wage jobs, the working 
mothers and fathers, the seniors trying to make ends meet. Yes, we owe 
it to them who are in the job market to raise the minimum wage.
  This act may be the finest welfare reform bill which we vote on 
during this session of Congress.


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