[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 20007-20008]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, tomorrow we will celebrate the first 
increase in the minimum wage in 10 years--in 10 years. That will be the 
first increase in the minimum wage. It will be increased to $5.85 an 
hour, followed by an additional 70 cents one year later, and an 
additional 70 cents one year after that.
  This will mean new hope and opportunity for 13 million men and women. 
Primarily women, because almost 60 percent of minimum wage workers are 
women. It will benefit some 6.4 million children because more than half 
of the women who will benefit from the increase have children. So it 
will benefit the children. This means hope is on the way.
  It has been a long time, Mr. President. We have heard those who say: 
Well, the increase in the minimum wage is going to cost jobs, and it 
will work a hardship on these people. Of course, that is what they have 
said on every increase there has been. This is the 10th increase in the 
minimum wage, and they have been wrong each and every time. Currently, 
the second largest economy in Western Europe is Great Britain--they are 
paying $10.97 as a minimum wage. They have lifted almost a million 
children out of poverty. At the present time, Ireland also has one of 
the strongest economies in Western Europe and their minimum wage is 
$11.25 an hour, and they have

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the strongest economy in all of Western Europe. They have reduced child 
poverty by 40 percent, and their economy is strong. So $5.85 in this 
great country at this time is just a statement that many of us believe 
that work should pay, and that people who work 40 hours a week, 52 
weeks of the year, should not live in poverty.
  So tomorrow will be an important day, Mr. President, and it is 
appropriate that the Senate be reminded of it.

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