[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 120 (Wednesday, July 17, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H5983]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1915
                        RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE

  (Ms. GARCIA of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 
1938 created a minimum wage for all workers to ensure a livable wage. 
However, it has been over a decade since the last increase of the 
Federal minimum wage, the longest period without any raise since the 
minimum wage was established.
  Sadly today, $7.25 an hour forces many Americans to work two, many 
times three, jobs to make ends meet.
  Someone living in my district making minimum wage must work 112 hours 
a week to afford a two-bedroom apartment for their family. That is 16 
hours a day, 7 days a week. That is two shifts with no day off.
  181,000 workers in my district would receive a pay raise by 
increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
  Raising the minimum wage would help many hardworking Americans rise 
out of poverty and reach financial stability that, right now, is simply 
out of reach. We must increase the minimum wage.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of us to vote for the minimum wage bill 
tomorrow.

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