[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 31 (Thursday, March 19, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H1303]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           RAISE MINIMUM WAGE

  (Ms. DeLAURO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, minimum wage workers in America make less 
today than they did in 1968 when inflation is taken into account. That 
really is outrageous and it is time to raise the minimum wage. You 
cannot raise a family on $5.15 an hour these days, even when you are 
working full-time. A minimum wage family earns $10,700 a year. That is 
just not enough.
  Republican Members, it is worth noting, made more money in the days 
when they shut down the United States Government 2 years ago than a 
minimum wage worker made in full that entire year.
  Democrats have a proposal to increase the minimum wage from $5.15 per 
hour to $6.15 per hour by the turn of the century, 50 cents a year. 
This body needs to recognize the importance of millions of Americans 
who get up every single morning and who go to work in our factories, in 
our office buildings and in our restaurants. We need to raise the 
minimum wage. I urge the Republican leadership to schedule that kind of 
a vote today and help working middle class families in this country.

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