Donald M. Payne: “If Mr. Evans missed it, I missed it because I don't believe the President mentioned it at all. Look, I mean, people who…”

“If Mr. Evans missed it, I missed it because I don't believe the President mentioned it at all. Look, I mean, people who are struggling in this country making $7 an hour, $8 an hour, $9 an hour, $10 an hour, it does not meet their essential needs. It is not enough money to live in this Nation, to have decent housing. Sure, you can make $7 or $8 an hour, but what are you going to be able to afford as a home? Sure, you can make $7 or $8 an hour, but what does your children's future look like in terms of saving money for education? You are using everything primarily to feed and to clothe them. It has been discussed over the past 5 to 6 years that a minimum of $15 is needed for people to survive in this country. So we need to get up off of this high horse that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle said: Well, just pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Those days are over. And we were never given the bootstraps to hold onto. There is always, always something in our way. Anytime an African-American family finds themselves in a position to move forward, the goalpost is moved and it is further away, the rules are changed. Every time we get to a point where there might be equality, somehow there are different issues which don't allow you to move forward as your counterparts in the majority population. It is wrong and it needs to stop. We need to continue to bring light to it as a Congressional Black Caucus.…”