Rashida Tlaib: “I thank my good colleague from New Mexico. It is truly an honor to be able to serve with her. Yesterday, she shared with…”

“I thank my good colleague from New Mexico. It is truly an honor to be able to serve with her. Yesterday, she shared with me a young student in her district sent her a beautiful letter. It was her first letter from a young child in her district, and I lovingly called the child Teresa's truth-teller. I hope it starts a trend in her community. Mr. Speaker, to many of my colleagues here, I ask them all to please come and tour my district. I lovingly call them 13th District Strong because they never stop fighting for justice even when many here across the country are always being asked to wait: wait for this, wait for change, wait for us to be able to tackle poverty wages. Those that can afford it, they wait, but our folks can't afford it anymore. Raising the Federal minimum wage to $15 per hour has never been more urgent for my residents, and it is long overdue. You see, I represent the third poorest congressional district in the country. I want you to think about that for one moment. I have an elderly couple who has to melt snow in a bucket so that they have the ability to flush their toilet because they can't afford water. Water has been increased by 400 percent in rates. I have a mother in my district who is pleading for me to find a place where her daughter can eat twice a day. More than half of my residents pay a third or more of their income for housing. Our economy is structured in a way to benefit the few over the many.…”