[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16002]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE

  (Mr. BERRY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BERRY. Mr. Speaker, as millions of Americans struggle to get by 
making the lowest real value minimum wage in 50 years, Republicans in 
this body are preparing to adjourn the House for a 5-week summer 
vacation without providing them with any financial relief.
  Despite numerous attempts by the Democratic Members, Republicans 
still refuse to increase the minimum wage to a living wage. It is time 
for a new direction.
  Six million people who would benefit from an increase in the minimum 
wage deserve better than a Congress that rewards the wealthiest while 
punishing those who need assistance the most and are willing to work 
for it. Eighty-six percent of Americans support increasing the minimum 
wage, because they know, just as Democrats in this body know, that it 
is simply wrong for a full-time worker with a full-time job to live in 
poverty in this great Nation.

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