Political Quotes

“I thank the gentlewoman from Michigan for bringing forward her commitment and leadership on these important issues and sharing her support for the Raise the Wage Act, which this body will be considering later this week. Just before we started this Special Order hour, one of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle came up and talked about the negative impact of raising the Federal minimum wage. It is so interesting that CEOs for the 350 largest U.S. companies on average were paid $18.9 million in 2017, which is a 17 percent increase from the previous year. Meanwhile, wages for the average U.S. worker grew by 0.2 percent during that time. How is it okay that CEO pay can go up 17 percent, and the average CEO for the 350 largest U.S. companies can, on average, be paid $19 million, and we can't afford to give America a raise? On average, controlling for age, gender, and education, Black workers are paid 16.2 percent less than White workers. According to the Census Bureau--which is why it is so important for people to participate in the Census, so that we have this vital data--in 2016, the average household income for a White family was $80,720. For a Black family, that number sat at $38,555, less than half of what an average White family took home. That affects every aspect of that family's life, from their ability to afford housing to healthcare to being able to put food on the table and put gas in the car so that they can make it to their work.…”