[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13705]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  CALLING FOR INCREASE IN MINIMUM WAGE

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to address the house for 5 minutes 
and to claim the gentleman from Illinois' time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentlewoman from Ohio 
is recognized for 5 minutes.
  There was no objection.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Thank you.
  Mr. Speaker, people who work full time should not live in poverty. 
Yet America's minimum wage has been set at $5.15 for the last decade, 
while the costs of housing, health care, education and gasoline have 
skyrocketed. This stagnant wage represents a decline in purchasing 
power for the working class, so great that it is at its lowest value in 
a half a century when adjusted for inflation.
  The Democrats have a proposal to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 over 
the next 2 years. The Republican leadership of this Chamber, however, 
saw fit to block this legislation from reaching the House floor for a 
vote. Ironically, that Republican majority then voted to raise their 
own pay.
  Last week, I voted once again to block the automatic pay raises for 
Congress, called cost-of-living adjustments. Don't those at the low end 
of the pay scale deserve more than those at the very top? Don't they 
deserve more attention? My office has been flooded with letters and 
emails urging the increase in the minimum wage. Some of my constituents 
write because they are struggling to pay their bills with minimum-wage 
salaries. Others are earning more than the minimum wage, but promote 
the increase, anyway, as they realize this is also a moral issue. Yes, 
people who work should not live in poverty.
  One of my constituents wrote me a series of questions that I believe 
my Republican colleagues who are opposed to increasing the minimum wage 
could benefit from hearing. One constituent asked: ``How do you 
distinguish between the working poor and their need for a raise and 
Congress' need for a raise?''
  Another: ``Do you ever decide not to go to an event because you have 
to make your auto's gas last until the end of the week?''
  Or: ``When your child is sick, do you look at your budget to see 
where the $20 copay for the prescription is going to come from?''
  Or: ``When I get an extra $50, I put it towards my running bill at 
the VA for my prescriptions. Basic needs. What are Members of Congress 
going to do with their raise?''
  The American people are asking.
  Frankly, they should turn them down and let them be given to those 
who need the help. Unfortunately, millions of Americans are faced with 
vital decisions daily, things too many Members of Congress take for 
granted. These Americans are among the working poor with full-time jobs 
earning $5.15 an hour. Millions fall into this boat, even more when you 
consider that the poverty line has not been adequately adjusted to 
reflect the true level of poverty in this country.
  My Republican colleagues who are against the minimum wage cannot 
identify with that struggle. Opponents argue the market should dictate 
wages. Well, Mr. Speaker, we know the market works very imperfectly. 
They favor those with capital and those who inherit it, even with no 
work of their own. A market where chief executive officers make 262 
times that of the average worker and 821 times that of the minimum-wage 
worker is not a market that is working well. And it is surely not 
working well enough to build a solid middle class.
  This same erroneous argument of letting the market dictate has been 
used to tout the value of flawed trade agreements like CAFTA and NAFTA. 
These lopsided agreements have been structured in a way to favor 
capital over workers across borders, outsourcing more of our jobs and 
putting a crushing downward squeeze on the middle class and on keeping 
the minimum wage at rock bottom.
  Trade agreements that do not have protections for workers are fueling 
the influx of immigrants into our country. These workers do not 
necessarily prefer America to their home country. It is just that these 
poor trade agreements have really wiped out their livelihoods, and they 
are fleeing to the United States. These workers are willing, due to 
dire circumstances, to work for sub-minimum wages which in turn 
depresses all wages in on our country.
  People who go to work every day and perform the services essential to 
keeping our economy functioning deserve to live above the poverty 
level. America is the richest nation in the world. It should be able to 
pay a living wage and build a middle class for those who hold the least 
in society. We need to reward work itself, or it will lose its value. 
The definition of opportunity in this country will lose its value. We 
should follow our conscience and raise the minimum wage.
  I ask those who are listening in this Chamber and elsewhere to write 
their Member of Congress and urge an increase in the minimum wage in 
our country from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour over the next 2 years. 
It is the right thing to do.

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