[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 7, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H1292]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         A HIGHER MINIMUM WAGE

  (Mr. GUTIERREZ asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I know that to many Members of Congress, 
another 90 cents is nothing more than pocket change.
  But to Americans making minimum wage it is not pocket change--it is 
real change.
  A change from worrying about paying the rent, or food, or buying new 
shoes for their kids.
  A change to a life with some economic security.
  It amazes me that our opponents say ``yes'' to a book deal that is 
worth more than four and a quarter million, but ``no'' to anything over 
four and a quarter an hour for the people who will print, pack, ship, 
and sell that very book.
  Well, I want to speak to everyone earning $4.25 today. If your wage 
is not $5.15 an hour when that book hits the shelves, I say, ``don't 
buy it.'' Because I think our Speaker should read a book about the 
hopes and dreams of America's working families rather than the other 
way around.
  So I say to our opponents--you defend your millions and we Democrats 
will defend ours. Your millions, of course, are the millions of dollars 
earned on a book, and our millions are the millions of Americans trying 
to earn a decent livable wage.

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