[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21831]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE, NOT CONGRESSIONAL PAY

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                             HON. MIKE ROSS

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 10, 2003

  Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to voice my opposition to the pay 
increase that Members of Congress voted to grant themselves during the 
debate on the Treasury and Transportation spending bill.
  Every year, Congress votes on this pay raise, and every year that I 
have been a Member of this body, I have stood against it. It's simply 
not right for us to give ourselves more money when there are so many 
people waiting for an increase in the minimum wage.
  Many of my colleagues feel the same way about the Congressional pay 
raise, but unfortunately the House leadership did not allow us to vote 
for this specific item, because it was included within a broader 
spending bill. Voting against this bill would mean voting against 
billions of dollars for our roads and other worthwhile projects. 
Rather, we were forced to voice our opposition in the form of a 
procedural vote, and I did so.
  There are thousands of people in my district who hold minimum wage 
positions, people I was elected to serve. I would only be serving 
myself if I voted to raise my salary, and that is not why I'm here.
  I will continue to vote against congressional pay raises until the 
minimum wage is increased for working families.

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