Frank Pallone: “I am here today to talk for 5 minutes about 2 issues that I think are really crucial to the American people and that…”

“I am here today to talk for 5 minutes about 2 issues that I think are really crucial to the American people and that have a real chance of passing in this House and in the Senate and be signed into law by the President, if only the Republican leadership would allow the legislation to be voted on in, to be brought to the floor and voted on in a fashion that most Members agree on, whether they happen to be Republican or Democrat. One is the minimum wage increase and the other is health care reform legislation that was originally sponsored in the Senate by Senator Kassebaum and Senator Kennedy, again on a bipartisan basis. The minimum wage hike is long overdue. I know that my colleague from California on the other side said, well, why did not the Democrats do it 2 years ago or why did not such-and-such do it whenever. I am not really concerned about the past. The reality is that we know there are an overwhelming majority in the House and in the Senate, both Democrats and Republicans, that would vote for this very simple minimum wage hike if they were given an opportunity to do so.”