Bruce F. Vento: “I support a raise in the minimum wage. The fact of the matter is that this is an issue on which we can no longer drag…”

“I support a raise in the minimum wage. The fact of the matter is that this is an issue on which we can no longer drag our feet. Each month that passes without a minimum wage increase means another paycheck that falls short of keeping hard working people out of poverty. However, there are some provisions in the Republican bill which concern me greatly. Therefore, I support both of the Democratic amendments being offered to this legislation which would rectify language I find troublesome. The first amendment would strike the provision of the bill that permits states to opt-out of any increase in the federal minimum wage above the current level of $5.15 per hour. The opt-out language included in the bill is simply an underhanded method of undermining an increase in the minimum wage. Hard working people can't 'opt-out' of living in poverty; states should not be able to effectively ignore this initiative by opting out of paying a decent wage. The second amendment would mandate that the $1 increase would take effect over two years rather than three. Let's be frank, raising the minimum wage by $1 is helpful, but still only restores the purchasing power of this wage to what it was in 1982. Making workers wait for three years rather than two to actually reap the benefits of this raise is almost adding insult to injury, working people need--and deserve--to see a prompt implementation of this legislation.”