‘Reward Work’: House Members on Raising the Minimum Wage

by Mike Hall, Jan 11, 2007

AFL-CIO  President John Sweeney  joins Gina Walters, a minimum wage worker, at a Capitol Hill press conference following House passage of the minimum wage increase.

For the first time in 10 years, the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday voted to increase the federal minimum wage. We’ve extensively covered the long fight and myriad of roadblocks that had to be overcome to get to yesterday’s simple “yes” or “no” vote on a minimum wage bill that wasn’t loaded with giveaways to business and the wealthy.

Here, in their own words from the Congressional Record, is what some lawmakers had to say on the floor of the House before the vote.

Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee:

This is more than just the dollars and cents per hour. This is about the morality of this country. This is about the ethics of this body on whether or not these people who have been stuck at this wage for 10 years are entitled to have this modest, modest increase, and I would hope that the House would overwhelmingly support this clean vote on the minimum wage increase over the next 2 years to $7.25.

For 10 years, we have struggled to have this vote, and now we are finally going to have it. We have had a lot of excuses why we couldn’t have it. We have had votes hijacked, and we have had votes pulled off the floor, but we could never have this vote. Today, the beginning of the 100 hours, we are going to have this vote. We are going to have this vote, because this is a major concern. This is a major concern to the American society.

What so many of my colleagues made clear today in the debate is that after you have stalled this vote for 10 years, this goes way beyond the dollars and cents of the minimum wage. It goes to the core values of America and economic justice and social justice and fairness and whether or not every American is going to get to participate in the American economic system and also be able to provide for their children and their families.

What is it you don’t understand about being poor? What is it you don’t understand? You are stuck at $5.15 in today’s world. You can’t buy the gasoline to go to work, the bread to put on the table, the milk out of the refrigerator. Your utilities are going up. The rent is going up.

Rep. Michael Michaud (D-Maine), a member of the United Steelworkers (USW):

I come to this floor as a proud union member after working 28 years at a paper mill in Maine.…I am here to say we need to pass this legislation. The salaries of members of Congress have increased by $31,600 since 1997, while the minimum wage continues to earn just $10,700 a year. Today, the average CEO earns more before lunchtime the very first day he goes to work than the minimum wage earner earns all year long. What kind of priorities are these?

We sometimes forget the face of the minimum wage worker. They aren’t the corporate giants. They aren’t the special interests. They are the hardworking men and women of this country, and they deserve a raise.

Rep. Linda Sanchez (D- Calif.), a member of the Electrical Workers (IBEW):

Shouldn’t having a job raise you out of poverty, instead of trapping you in it? The minimum wage has stagnated since 1997, but wages have soared for those highest on the income scale. The average CEO of a Standard & Poor’s 500 company made $13.5 million in 2005. The average CEO makes 821 times as much as a minimum wage worker. With salaries like these, it is clear why an average CEO earns more before lunchtime than a minimum wage worker earns all year.

The average CEO is doing just fine looking out for himself. But America’s most vulnerable families need somebody who is looking out for them.

Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), elected to his first term in November:

Our families have been squeezed: an increase at the gas pump, an increase at the grocery store, an increase in health care and an increase in child care. It is time that we give back. As a part of Congress, we should be an example. We shouldn’t always be following our states, as my great state of North Carolina has increased the minimum wage. We should be leading by example.

That is why it gives me great privilege to support this bill. It is our moral commitment to the families of this country, and that is why I strongly support this measure.

Rep. Corrine Brown (D-Fla.), vice chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus:

Helping the poor is a theme that is stressed throughout the Bible, but it is our responsibility as members of Congress to help raise the standard.

This bill is not about students and part-time workers. No, it is about the nearly 13 million full-time workers, many with families to care for, who earn the minimum wage. In my state of Florida, the increase would directly benefit over 200,000 workers and have a positive effect on over a half million people.

I hope the Senate passes this clean version as soon as possible so that we can provide immediate relief to our nation’s workers.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), speaker of the House:

With the passage of this crucial legislation, we will reward work, paying America’s workers a decent wage so they may join in our nation’s prosperity…. House Democrats will continue to work to increase prosperity, opportunity, and security for all Americans, not just the privileged few.

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), House majority leader:

There is simply no reason not to support this legislation.

In the United States of America, the richest country on earth, you should not be relegated to poverty if you work hard and play by the rules.

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