[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11871]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          A NEW DIRECTION FOR AMERICA--RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE

  (Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
address an ongoing moral crisis in this Congress and this 
administration.
  Through fiscal irresponsibility and corporate welfare, this Congress 
has eroded away at American values and standards; and decent, 
hardworking Americans are the ones paying the price.
  As Americans, we believe that anyone who works 40 hours a week, 365 
days a year should be able to afford basic necessities for themselves 
and their families.
  The reality is that there are millions of workers out there trying to 
support their families on $5.15 per hour, and I think my state has most 
of them. And as everyone knows, $5.15 does not buy you a lot nowadays.
  Each day, millions of minimum-wage workers are forced to choose 
between food, shelter, health care, or clothing. No American who works 
hard for a living should have to make those types of choices.
  Mr. Speaker, it has been an appalling 9 years since we have seen an 
increase in the Federal minimum wage. The Labor-HHS appropriations bill 
includes a provision to raise the minimum wage to $7.25, hardly a 
living wage. This was a chance for Congress to do the right thing, but 
the bill has not been sent.

                          ____________________