[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 20, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H4226]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       INCREASE THE MINIMUM WAGE

  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the House should be cited for 
dereliction of duty. Over the years, we have failed to raise the 
minimum wage. That is why Amanda and her two children can barely 
survive in Wisconsin, and why this headline says: ``States lead the way 
to raise minimum wage. Inaction in Washington has helped push this 
bipartisan effort.''
  Isn't it a shame that the Republican majority in this Congress 
doesn't get it? Although we have an amendment to raise the minimum wage 
in our Labor-HHS bill, there is rumor that it will be stricken.
  The minimum wage is the lowest in 50 years and hasn't been raised 
since 1997. At $5.15 an hour, you can only earn $10,700 a year, 
supporting a family of one, two, three, six and seven and others.
  This is a crisis. Americans who earn dollars invest back into our 
economy. We cannot make ends meet. Seventy-five percent of those who 
earn this are responsible for at least half of their family's income. 
If you can't raise your children on a middle-income salary, how can you 
do it on one-third the amount?
  Democrats believe in increasing the minimum wage, and we know that we 
will see the minimum wage increase. It is time for Republicans to wake 
up.

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