[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 33 (Thursday, February 27, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H2012]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
                             A LIVING WAGE

  (Mr. KILDEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I signed a discharge petition in 
an effort to force an up-or-down vote on legislation that I have 
cosponsored, and that is H.R. 1010, the Fair Minimum Wage Act, which 
would increase the Federal minimum wage to $10.10 over the period of 
the next few years, giving up to 25 million Americans a well-deserved 
pay raise.
  Many Americans who work at the minimum wage live in poverty; and I 
know that there are some in this body, particularly on the other side, 
who fundamentally don't even believe that there ought to be a minimum 
wage. That is a minority view.
  Republicans and Democrats across the country believe that not only 
should we have a minimum wage, but that it ought to be increased. A 
recent poll showed that 71 percent of Americans favor an increase in 
the minimum wage.
  So for those who believe that there ought to be a wage that is a 
living wage, it has to be a wage that does not put people in poverty. 
For that reason, I urge my colleagues to sign the discharge petition, 
and let's have a vote to give Americans the raise that they deserve.

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