Frank Pallone: “I listened to what my colleagues from Arkansas and from Wisconsin said on the other side, and I am amazed how little…”

“I listened to what my colleagues from Arkansas and from Wisconsin said on the other side, and I am amazed how little understanding they seem to have about the person who is affected by the minimum wage. As my colleagues know, I heard statements about how, well, we will deal with the earned income tax credit, or we will make adjustments with food stamps or other government programs. What are we talking about? A lot of the people that work on minimum wage, they do not even necessarily apply for food stamps. They do not even necessarily apply for the earned income tax credit. Many of them even do not have the knowhow or ability or even want to get involved with the Government bureaucracy. If we are talking about Washington and thinking about how we do things here, I would venture to say that my colleagues on the other side are too Washington oriented; they do not understand what the average person has to deal with on a daily basis. If they are getting a set salary now based on the minimum wage and we increase that salary somewhat under this very modest proposal, then they will see an actual increase in their wages. Mr. Speaker, we cannot look at the bureaucratic procedures that they are talking about here. I think the earned income tax credit is great. I think people need food stamps. But a lot of people do not even apply for them who are on minimum wage. They just do not understand on the other side what it is like for the little guy on a daily basis.”