[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 15677-15678]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE

  (Mr. AL GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to address the

[[Page 15678]]

House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today I speak for the least among 
us. And in speaking for them, I remind us that it is time for us to 
raise the minimum wage. That is ``raise'' as in r-a-i-s-e, not raze as 
in r-a-z-e, because there are people in this country who would raze, 
who would decimate, not elevate, who would decimate the minimum wage.
  Mr. Speaker, these people are not among those 37 million who are 
living in poverty. They are not among the millions who make $5.15 an 
hour. They are not among those who suffer and languish in poverty with 
no way out.
  Mr. Speaker, those who make $5.15 an hour work through Christmas. 
They work through Easter. They work through Thanksgiving. And they 
make, at the end of the year, $10,712.
  Mr. Speaker, it is time to raise the minimum wage. I speak for the 
least, the last, and the lost.

                          ____________________