Frank Pallone: “yesterday, when I spoke on the floor I was encouraged by the fact that the Senate was finally taking up the minimum wage…”

“yesterday, when I spoke on the floor I was encouraged by the fact that the Senate was finally taking up the minimum wage hike; and I was hopeful that a crippling amendment that would have delayed implementation for 6 months and exempted many small businesses so that half the people on minimum wage would not benefit from the hike would not pass. Fortunately, that amendment did not pass; and so now I am hoping that somehow we are going to get this minimum wage to the President's desk. But what we have found out today is that the Republican leadership in the Senate as well as in the House continues to want delay. They do not want the minimum wage to pass. They are saying they are not going to appoint conferees, and they will only appoint conferees to work out the differences on the minimum wage bill if the health care reform bill also moves. What we are seeing again is an effort by the Republican leadership to stop the minimum wage hike just like they are trying to stop health insurance reform. They are going to let this drag on between now and November so that this Congress once again will be the Congress of inaction. Nothing happens here. It is not happening because the Republican leadership does not want it to happen.”