[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 20061-20062]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE

  (Mr. PASCRELL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, when is House Republican leadership going 
to allow a vote on the minimum wage bill to come to this floor? A clean 
minimum wage bill? As health care, grocery, and energy costs skyrocket 
for average consumers, House Republican leadership would rather help 
their CEO friends than average Americans who are just trying to make 
ends meet.
  The fact is that the median annual household income has actually 
increased by $1,700 after inflation during the course of the Bush 
administration. The fact is that today, full-time workers who earn the 
minimum wage are bringing home a paltry $10,700.
  This is simply not fair. House Republican leadership have refused to 
allow a clean minimum wage vote. Close to 15 million Americans will be 
affected if we did this. Do Republicans really expect a family to live 
on less than $11,000 a year?

[[Page 20062]]

  Contrary to what the President and Republican leadership would have 
you believe, everything is not coming up roses when it comes it our 
national economy. There are more poor, more uninsured than ever before.
  Mr. Speaker, no congressional pay raise until minimum wage is 
increased, period. It is time we pass a minimum wage bill so that 6 
million Americans get a much-deserved pay raise.
  Mr. Speaker, if I may, I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 2429, 
and I know what you are going to say, but I ask it anyway.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the guidelines consistently issued by 
successive Speakers, as recorded on page 734 of the House Rules Manual, 
the Chair is constrained not to entertain the gentleman's request until 
it has been cleared by the bipartisan floor and committee leaderships.

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