[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 54 (Wednesday, April 24, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H3736]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN: RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE

  (Ms. VELAZQUEZ asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, the American people have spoken. The 
latest polls show that 85 percent of Americans are in favor of raising 
the minimum wage.
  I will say to my Republican colleagues, they have lost the battle in 
the court of public opinion.
  So what does the Republican leadership now plan to do? Instead of 
following the will of the American people, they are following the will 
of corporate America and the fat cats who have funded their campaigns. 
That is immoral.
  The latest Republican shell game will eliminate the earned income tax 
credit and then exclude workers without children from getting a raise. 
The rationale is to save $15 billion and give more breaks to big, big 
business. This ridiculous proposal takes working families one step 
forward and knocks them two steps back.
  My colleagues, if we want to help working families, we must insist on 
a clean minimum wage bill with no strings attached, and vote to raise 
the minimum wage without delay.

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