[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 27 (Monday, March 13, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E287]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. PATRICK J. KENNEDY

                            of rhode island

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 9, 2000

  Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Speaker, we are here because America 
needs a raise. For too long, many Americans have been working too hard 
for too little. They work more and more but take home less and less. 
This isn't the American way.
  In America an honest day's work deserves an honest day's pay. That's 
what the minimum wage is all about.
  Today, pay is not keeping pace with expenses. The work day is still 8 
hours. Workers still punch the clock 5 days a week. The same work still 
needs to get done. And the same job is done--but at the end of the 
week, when it's time to go through the bills, the pay check doesn't go 
as far as it used to.
  The Traficant-Martinez substitute that we will have a chance to vote 
on later today, will help working families' wages go farther. The 
substitute will increase the minimum wage by 1 dollar over 2 years. In 
two incremental steps it will raise the total wage to $6.15. This 
modest increase will provide a higher standard of living for 12 million 
low-income working families.
  Many of us do not realize the face of today's minimum wage worker. 
When we last increased the minimum wage, we found that nearly 60 
percent of workers who benefited were women and 71 percent of those who 
were lifted up by the wage increase were adults.
  In my district in Rhode Island, it is families like the O'Neill 
family who could use an increase in the minimum wage. The O'Neill 
family is headed by a single mother with three children who works 
fulltime as a child care worker. Despite her hard work, Ms. O'Neill 
barely makes ends meet.
  Her weekly salary barely covers the rent, food, utilities, clothing, 
and a student loan that was taken out so that Ms. O'Neill could learn 
emergency medical training and become a better day care worker.
  The Traficant-Martinez substitute will help families like the 
O'Neills. It may not help them to have a new car or a 2-week vacation, 
but it will help them to make ends meet.
  Again, the Traficant-Martinez substitute is the only way to bring a 
wage increase to deserving families without delay and I urge my 
colleagues to support it.

                          ____________________