[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 57 (Tuesday, April 30, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H4135]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         THE TIME IS RIGHT TO DO RIGHT--RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE

  (Mr. LEWIS of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, the time is always right to do 
right. And raising the minimum wage is the right thing to do.
  This is not just an economic issue, Mr. Speaker, this is a moral 
issue. Hard working people deserve the right to earn a livable wage. 
The minimum wage is at a 40-year low. No one can live, much less 
support a family, on $8,400 a year.
  Mr. Speaker, stop playing politics with people's lives. Bring a clean 
minimum wage bill to the floor. Do not load it up and bring it down 
with your pet programs.
  Mr. Speaker, you have the ability, you have the capacity, you have 
the power to bring a clean minimum-wage bill to this floor and give 
people a livable wage.

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