Phil Gingrey: “We currently have no more requests for speakers at this time, so I am reserving for the purpose of closing. Mr.…”

“We currently have no more requests for speakers at this time, so I am reserving for the purpose of closing. Mr. McGOVERN. I am the final speaker on our side, so I will proceed. May I inquire how much time I have remaining. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman has 7 minutes remaining. Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I will urge all Members of this House to vote ``no'' on the previous question so that I can amend the rule and allow the House to vote on H.R. 2429, the Miller-Owens bill to increase the Federal minimum wage for the first time in nearly a decade. We have the time. According to the schedule, we are out at 2 o'clock today. The American workers deserve a pay increase. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment and extraneous materials immediately prior to the vote on the previous question. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Massachusetts? There was no objection. Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, my amendment provides that immediately after the House adopts this rule it will bring H.R. 2429 to the House floor for an up or down vote. This bill will gradually increase the minimum wage from the current level of $5.15 an hour to $7.25 after about 2 years. The amendment also phases in coverage of the Federal minimum wage for the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas. Mr. Speaker, how long are we going to wait before we start helping American workers and their families?…”