[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 7, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H1294]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                            THE MINIMUM WAGE

  (Mrs. CLAYTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, the distance between low- and high-income 
families is growing. We must act now to close that gap. If we do not 
act, the cost of basic necessities--housing, food, and clothing--may be 
unaffordable for these families. Those costs are rising. Earnings for 
low-income families are falling. An increase in the minimum wage, as 
proposed by the President, will help to close the gap. With no minimum 
wage increase, those with little money end up with less money.
  An increase in the minimum wage will not provide plenty, but it can 
raise working families out of poverty. In 1993, high-income families 
averaged $104,616 in earnings. Low-income families averaged $12,964. 
Between 1980 and 1992, income for the top 20 percent in America 
increased by 16 percent while income for the bottom 20 percent 
decreased by 7 percent. An increase in the minimum wage will help low-
income families, but it will not hurt high-income families. The growing 
income gap hurts the economy. The best welfare reform is minimum wage 
reform. Low-income workers are helped. The economy is helped. No one is 
hurt. If we want to help people, we should help them and not hurt them.

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