[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 102 (Thursday, July 11, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H7269]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     MINIMUM WAGE IS A MORAL ISSUE

  (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, I rise today to urge my Republican 
colleagues to stop blocking action on the minimum wage. I have said it 
before and I will say it again here today: Raising the minimum wage is 
not just an economic issue, it is a moral issue; it is the right thing 
to do.
  The Republicans in this House tried to block an increase in the 
minimum wage and failed. The Republicans in the Senate tried to block 
it and failed. Having lost on the floor, Republicans now are holding 
the minimum wage hostage. The Republicans in Congress will do anything 
to deny hard-working people a small raise.
  Mr. Speaker, Mr. Majority Leader, I know you vowed to fight an 
increase in the minimum wage with every fiber in your being, but you 
cannot fight the will of the American people forever.
  One thing is for sure, come November, working people will remember.

                          ____________________