Rob Andrews: “No bill more clearly captures the distorted values of the majority of the House than the bill before us right now.…”

“No bill more clearly captures the distorted values of the majority of the House than the bill before us right now. People who earn the minimum wage and work full time mostly live below the poverty level, and they have been waiting for a very long time for a raise in their pay. This bill says to those who wash dishes and launder laundry and clean houses, you got to wait just a little bit longer for that raise. You have to wait until the wealthiest people in the country are able to see their heirs pay little or no tax on the wealth that is passed to the next generation. Now, the idea of reducing or eliminating the estate tax may or may not have merit, and that idea deserves a free and separate debate on this floor, but so does the idea of raising the minimum wage for those at the bottom of the ladder in this country. This shows us who comes first. This bill says those that launder laundry and clean rooms and work in car washes will wait their turn until the wealthiest people in the country can pass off wealth to their heirs. They come first. This is a shameful distortion of the country's values. We should vote now and we should vote ``yes'' for an increase in the minimum wage, free and clear of this distortion of values for the estate tax. Vote against this bill.”