On the recordApril 15, 2015
I thank the gentleman for the fine points that he has made. I can speak from a personal perspective. I am one of four siblings, and my father was the bread earner and my mother was the woman who was taking care of our family. And he, indeed, did provide a good and wholesome living for his family. Madam Speaker, right now, tens of thousands of American workers in fast food and child care and home care and airport services, and even in professional positions in higher education, are not being paid enough to survive. And what that means, and I believe that my colleague did mention it, it becomes a drag on the economy. Our economy does rely on consumers buying products. They want not just products that they need. Spending is what gives companies, big and small, the revenue to expand and hire more workers. Ideally, it is also what gives companies the revenue to increase wages. But if you ask the workers who are fighting for $15 an hour, they will tell you that a wage increase has been nowhere in sight. Madam Speaker, I yield to my colleague from the great State of California, Congresswoman Lee.
