Eva M. Clayton: “Mr. Speaker, I want to say that I stand in strong support for increasing the minimum wage. We have an opportunity today…”

“Mr. Speaker, I want to say that I stand in strong support for increasing the minimum wage. We have an opportunity today in America, both Democrats and Republicans, to do something meaningful for millions of working Americans. I think it is important to note that both Republicans and Democrats are voting for this. This is not a new precedent. My understanding is that in 1990 they also voted together. So we are united in responding to the needs of the American people. Some who are in opposition, if we would listen to them carefully, we would think they are arguing for the continuation of welfare. They say if indeed we increase the minimum wage, people will lose these benefits. It seems to me that is a counterargument that they have been advocating all the time. We want to make work pay so that people are self-sustaining and not being dependent on the government itself. Some also say, well, raising the minimum wage certainly is not the only way. I would agree with them, raising the minimum wage is not the only way of raising people out of poverty, but it is one way. I want to suggest what my colleague, the gentlewoman from California, Representative Waters, said, and that is, 'That was then and now is now.' Now we have an opportunity to do something that is meaningful. We also can add to that a combination of things, raising the minimum wage as we do the earned income tax credit.”