G. K. Butterfield: “House Republicans have a chance to give more than 6 million Americans a much-deserved pay raise. Would you believe that…”

“House Republicans have a chance to give more than 6 million Americans a much-deserved pay raise. Would you believe that the minimum wage has not been increased in 9 years? It is the second longest amount of time that hardworking Americans have had to go without a pay raise, resulting in the hourly wage being at its lowest level in 50 years. House Democrats want to expand economic opportunity for all Americans. We want to increase the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25. It is only fair. These workers play by the rules every day. All they want in return is to make a living wage. Do my Republican colleagues really believe that $5.15 an hour is still a living wage? House Republicans claim that the only people who make the minimum wage are teenagers. Wrong. Mr. Speaker, 75 percent of minimum wage workers are either the sole or one of two breadwinners in the family. House Republicans also like to claim that if we increase the minimum wage, jobs will be lost. Wrong again. Today in the States that mandate a higher minimum wage, job growth has actually gotten higher. No more excuses. ____________________”