[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 137 (Tuesday, October 25, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H9049-H9050]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, today I rise on behalf 
of millions of American working men and women who are in desperate need 
of a raise. It has been a disgraceful 8 years since Congress last voted 
to raise the national minimum wage which is stuck today at only $5.15 
an hour. A person making the minimum wage today would have to work for 
the better part of an hour just to afford a single gallon of milk or a 
gallon of gasoline. It was recently announced by the Kaiser Family 
Foundation that the average cost of health insurance premiums for a 
family of four has for the first time surpassed the annual income of a 
minimum wage earner. That means that if you work all year long at the 
minimum wage and you pay your health insurance premiums, you have no 
money left over for anything else.
  Last week, Democrats in the House and Senate sought to raise the 
minimum wage, but the Republican leadership in Congress defeated our 
efforts. Instead, Congress continues to deny America's most vulnerable 
workers the very basic wage necessary to help them support their 
families. Where is Congress' sense of decency and fairness towards 
those Americans who simply want, and need, to see work pay?
  Now, a major player in the world economy has said that it agrees that 
the national minimum wage must be increased. We welcome Wal-Mart to 
this debate. Wal-Mart's CEO said today that the minimum wage should be 
raised. Here is what he said:
  ``The U.S. minimum wage of $5.15 an hour has not been raised in 
nearly a decade and we believe it is out of date with the times. We can 
see firsthand at Wal-Mart how many of our customers are struggling to 
get by. Our customers simply don't have the money to buy basic 
necessities between paychecks.''
  Wal-Mart recognizes what most Americans have known, and Democrats in 
Congress have been saying, for years, that millions of Americans cannot 
afford even the most basic necessities of life on today's minimum wage. 
I don't see eye to eye with Wal-Mart on many important issues, but the 
company is right about the minimum wage and it deserves praise for 
taking this position and it deserves to be listened to in this case.
  I have introduced legislation to increase the minimum wage from $5.15 
an hour to $7.25 in three increments over a little more than 2 years. 
This legislation is sorely needed. People who work full time all year 
at $5.15 an hour earn just $10,700 a year, putting them $5,000 below 
the official poverty line for a family of three. Raising the minimum 
wage to $7.25 an hour would add another $4,370 to their income.
  An increase in the minimum wage would directly benefit 7.5 milllion 
workers. Of those 7.5 million workers, three-quarters are 20 years old 
or older. Roughly 44 percent of minimum wage workers work full time. 
Nearly two-thirds of them are women. They end up at the end of the year 
poor and below poverty.
  I welcome Wal-Mart to the table. I urge them to use the considerable 
power and influence it has to press hard for Congress to raise the 
minimum wage. Americans need a raise. Democrats know it. Most Americans 
know it. And now Wal-Mart knows it. When will the Republican leadership 
and President Bush finally get the message that it is time to treat 
these workers with some decency and to provide for an increase in the 
minimum wage?
  I include in the Congressional Record an article from today about 
Wal-Mart's CEO calling for a hike in the minimum wage.

                  Wal-Mart Calls for Minimum Wage Hike

                    [From CNN/Money, Oct. 25, 2005]

       Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott said he's urging Congress to 
     consider raising the minimum wage so that Wal-Mart customers 
     don't have to struggle paycheck to paycheck.
       Scott told Wal-Mart (Research) directors and executives in 
     a speech Monday that he believes ``it is time for Congress to 
     take a look at the minimum wage and other legislation that 
     can help working families.''
       ``The U.S. minimum wage of $5.15 an hour has not been 
     raised in nearly a decade and we believe it is out of date 
     with the times,'' Scott said. ``We can see first-hand at Wal-
     Mart how many of our customers are struggling to get by. Our 
     customers simply don't have the money to buy basic 
     necessities between pay checks.''
       Given increasing gas prices and other economic pressures on 
     Wal-Mart customers,

[[Page H9050]]

     Scott went on to say that Wal-Mart shoppers will further be 
     challenged to ``support themselves and their families.''
       ``While it is unusual for us to take a public position on a 
     public policy issue of this kind, we simply believe it is 
     time for Congress to take a responsible look at the minimum 
     wage and other legislation that may help working families,'' 
     he said.
       Wal-Mart maintains that it pays above the current $5.15 an 
     hour minimum wage to its employees.
       As the world's largest retailer and largest U.S. non-union 
     private sector employer with more than 1.3 million 
     ``associates'' in its U.S. stores, Wal-Mart has been a 
     lightning rod for criticism about its wage and benefits 
     policy as well as lawsuits alleging gender discrimination. It 
     continues to draw fire for allegedly stifling small 
     businesses and squeezing its vendors.
       Scott also discussed a new health-care package with lower 
     premiums for Wal-Mart workers.
       The new ``Value option'' plan, which will be introduced 
     Jan. 1 2006, offers insurance coverage of $23 a month ``and 
     kids covered for less than 50 cents per day . . . no matter 
     how many children,'' Scott said.
       ``We will offer this plan for $11 a month, with children 
     covered for less than 30 cents per day in some markets--and 
     we are working to offer these savings nationally,'' he said.
       Said Scott, ``We want to drive out as much as 25 percent of 
     the cost in the healthcare system through leading a coalition 
     of business, government and industry leaders in applying 
     standards and technologies for efficiency.''
       He also touted the retailer's efforts to present itself as 
     a more environmentally friendly company.
       Whether it is jobs, health care, product sourcing or 
     environmental impact, ``it is clear to me that in order to 
     build a 21st century company, we need to view these same 
     issues in a different light,'' Scott said in the speech.
       ``Our environmental goals at Wal-Mart are simple and 
     straightforward,'' he said. ``One, to be supplied 100 percent 
     by renewable energy. Two, to create zero waste. Three, to 
     sell products that sustain our resources and environment.''
       In energy-saving moves that will save Wal-Mart money, Scott 
     said the company plans to increase the fuel efficiency of its 
     truck fleet--among the largest in the country--by 25 percent 
     over the next three years and double it within ten years.
       ``If implemented across our entire fleet by 2015, this 
     would amount to savings of more than $310 million a year. 
     Compare that to doing nothing,'' he said.
       In addition, Wal-Mart said it will show preference to 
     factories in China that participate in a ``green company 
     program'' where the company will show preference to those 
     suppliers and their factories involved in such a program.
       ``We are also committed to reducing our solid waste from 
     U.S. stores and clubs by 25 percent in the next three 
     years,'' Scott said. ``We're replacing PVC packaging for our 
     private brands with alternatives that are more sustainable 
     and recyclable within the next two years.''
       Scott delivered the speech on the eve of the company's 
     annual two-day conference for analysts at its Bentonville, 
     Ark., headquarters.

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