[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 20335]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE

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                             HON. TOM UDALL

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 24, 2007

  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Madam Speaker, the last time Congress raised 
the minimum wage, gas prices hovered around $1.33 a gallon, Enron 
wasn't even in business and America had never heard of the iPod, much 
less the iPhone. Since then, the cost of living has risen 26 percent, 
while the real value of the minimum wage has been eroded by inflation 
to its lowest level since 1955.
  Thirteen million American workers will get a pay raise thanks to the 
minimum wage increase that begins today. That means an estimated six 
million children will see their parents' incomes rise, an increase of 
$2.10 an hour that will give families an additional $4,400 a year to 
meet critical needs. That's 15 months of groceries, over two years of 
health care, 19 months of utilities, or 20 months of child care.
  I wish I could say it took great political courage to back this wage 
increase. However, it did not. More than 85 percent of Americans 
support raising the minimum wage. The American people have been ready; 
what was missing was the Congressional leadership. For more than nine 
years, the Republican-controlled Congress refused to raise the minimum 
wage. The new Democratic leadership raised it in just seven months. For 
four years, the old Congressional leadership let Pell Grant values 
stagnate. Last week, Congress passed the biggest investment in college 
aid since the GI Bill. And for almost four years, Republicans in 
Congress gave President Bush a blank check to fight a misguided war in 
Iraq. Since January, Congress has told the President again and again 
that it's time for a change.
  The new Congressional leadership has shown that it will do what the 
old Congressional leadership would not; it will fight for America's 
working families. Today's wage increase is just one sign of changed 
priorities in Washington. Congress has begun to deliver real support to 
those who need it most.
  With all of the talk in Washington, we can lose track of what 
politics means in the everyday lives of Americans. Anybody who claims 
that it does not matter who controls Congress should go talk to a 
worker who just took home a larger paycheck. That larger paycheck was 
only possible because of a new Congressional leadership and a new 
Congress. I am proud to serve in that Congress.

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