Chris Dodd: “let me begin by thanking, again, my colleague from Massachusetts and others who have fought so long and hard over the…”

“let me begin by thanking, again, my colleague from Massachusetts and others who have fought so long and hard over the last decade to have an increase in the minimum wage in our country, from the $5.15 that was adopted about a decade ago, to the suggestion today that we raise it by $2.10. To many, $2.10 is nothing more than a cup of coffee at a high-priced coffee shop today or a few sodas or a sandwich along the way, but it makes a difference, Mr. President. An increase in the minimum wage of $2.10, after nearly a decade, will add some $4,400 to the incomes of people who are depending upon the minimum wage to provide for themselves and their families. Remember whom we are talking about. The overwhelming majority of minimum wage workers are not teenagers, but are adults--working people trying to raise families, 60 percent of whom are women, many of whom are raising children on their own. So this $2.10 increase after nearly a decade, an additional $4,400 per year, means a great deal. We are told by those who do the math on all of this that the increase could buy as much as 15 months of groceries for that families, 8 months of rent, 20 months of childcare--an issue that I worked with our colleague on many years ago--the importance of having a decent childcare program. As you are saying to these people, you have to stay at work and you have young children, where do the children go? The average cost of childcare rises all the time for people in this country.…”