[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 103 (Friday, July 12, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H7511]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair must interrupt to repeat her 
earlier admonition concerning reflections on the Senate.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I just wanted to, if I could, in the time 
that remains to me, point out that the minimum wage right now is $4.25 
an hour, which adds up to about $8,800 a year. It is a disgrace that 
someone in America can work a 40-hour week for 52 weeks a year and only 
earn $8,800. How can we as a country that was founded on principles 
that we all have the same opportunity to improve our quality of life to 
pull ourselves up from bootstraps only to deny those dreams to our 
working poor.
  Every day that the Republican majority delays the vote to increase 
the minimum wage, another American dream is essentially shattered. The 
Republican leadership has talked about family values for many years, 
but I think its mere rhetoric when it comes to minimum wage. Minimum 
wage workers are forced to leave their families far beyond the 8-hour 
day just to provide a balanced meal for their children.
  If a minimum wage earner worked a 16-hour day, they would only earn 
$68 for that day. Under the Democratic proposal, which again is really 
a bipartisan proposal, they would take home over $82 a day for their 
efforts, an extra $14. That means that maybe they can go out and buy a 
meal for their children or a healthier meal.
  Right now many who live on the minimum wage do not have health 
insurance. They do not have the ability, basically, to provide for 
their family. My point is that if we increase the minimum wage, we make 
it possible for a lot of these people to not be so dependent upon 
government subsidies.
  Again, there is going to be a bill coming to the floor next week on 
welfare reform. I think most of us on a bipartisan basis would like to 
see some kind of welfare reform. How can you have welfare reform if you 
do not have an increase in the minimum wage? You have to provide an 
incentive for people to get off of welfare, for people to not need 
government assistance.
  If they do not make a fair-share wage that will not be possible. I 
want to point out that in my own State, on a State level we passed a 
minimum wage increase a few years ago somewhat similar to the one 
proposed on the Federal level. The result was that more jobs were 
created.
  There was a study done by two Princeton University economists 
recently for New Jersey and basically what it pointed out was the 
minimum wage workers take that extra money and they go out and buy 
things, whether it is food or whatever it is that they need as basic 
necessities of life. That creates more jobs. It actually helps the 
economy. I know some have suggested that raising the minimum wage is 
going to lose jobs, but that is not the case. It actually increases 
economic activity. I urge that this bill move in both Houses and go to 
the President.

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