Lateefah Simon: “Mr. President, let me comment again on the amendment that is before the Senate. It is very easy to forget we are talking…”

“Mr. President, let me comment again on the amendment that is before the Senate. It is very easy to forget we are talking about people, real people who are struggling for a living when we talk about people who go on strike. I just have been going through some testimony given a couple of years ago by people who were struggling. I just this morning was with Senator Kennedy, who held an informal session with a number of people who spoke on the need for a minimum wage. Two people I remember particularly. One is--and I believe I have his name correctly--David Dow, who has two children, a daughter 2, a son 1. He and his wife went 1 year to college. Then their first child was coming along so they had to quit. They are struggling on the minimum wage. They cannot afford health insurance. They are paying $75 a month for their student loan, making that payment on the minimum wage. And he just told about the struggle he is going through. These are real people we deal with when we are talking about a minimum wage. It is not some theoretical thing.…”