Michael Bennet: “I say to my colleague from Wyoming that I disagree with him on this issue, but I do agree wholeheartedly with his…”

“I say to my colleague from Wyoming that I disagree with him on this issue, but I do agree wholeheartedly with his observation about the importance of training people for this 21st century economy, and I have enjoyed working with him so much on the HELP Committee. I am on the floor today to talk about the minimum wage bill that is before us this week, and once again to have the opportunity to come here and say that Washington, DC, is absolutely decoupled with the conversations people are having in Colorado, whether they are Republicans, Democrats or Independents. We had another example of that here today during this debate--if you can call it a debate--because once again there are people in the Senate who are using their prerogatives as Senators to keep us from debating a bill fully and to keep us from actually having an up-or-down vote on a bill that the vast majority of Americans support whether they are Democrats, Republicans, or Independents. There is a reason why America supports this legislation. If you work 40 hours a week in the United States of America--the greatest country in the world--at a Federal minimum wage, you barely make over $15,000 a year. If you work 40 hours a week--week after week after week--you make $15,000 a year. A worker in this country with a spouse and two kids, a family of four--a typical family in this country--depending on the single minimum wage paycheck is in deep trouble.…”