[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 54 (Wednesday, April 24, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H3733-H3734]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE

  (Mrs. CLAYTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, there are 117,000 minimum wage workers in 
North Carolina. Those workers are not just numbers, they are people 
with families and children. They are day care providers, farmers and 
food service workers, mechanics and machine operators. They are in 
construction work and sales, health and cleaning services, and a range 
of other occupations.
  Their families helped build America, and they can help rebuild it. 
They do not need charity, they need a check--a check that includes a 
reasonable increase in the minimum wage, as proposed by the President.
  Work should be a benefit, it should not be a burden. Work is a burden

[[Page H3734]]

when, despite an individual's best efforts, living is a daily struggle. 
Work is a benefit when enough is earned to pay for what we need.
  Reward work, and pass the minimum wage increase.

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