[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 5 (Wednesday, January 10, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H257]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     WORKERS IN NEED OF A PAY RAISE

  (Mr. SARBANES asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. Speaker, there are millions of workers in this 
Nation in desperate need of a pay raise. They work full time, 
struggling to make ends meet and support their families while bringing 
home a little more than $10,000 a year in pay. These workers are 
currently making the minimum wage, which has not moved from $5.15 an 
hour for almost a decade, making it the lowest minimum wage in 50 years 
when adjusted for inflation.
  This is a national embarrassment. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 
said: In this rich Nation, it is a crime that any American should have 
to work for starvation wages.
  Today we have an opportunity to come together and give American 
workers an urgently needed pay raise.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation is one of the most fair and necessary 
bills we will pass during this first 100 hours of the new Congress. It 
provides all of us an opportunity to help our most vulnerable 
constituents improve their quality of life.
  In America, we believe that if you work hard and play by the rules, 
you can make a decent living for your family. Let's demonstrate our 
commitment to that today.

                          ____________________