Joe Morelle: “On Monday, the Rules Committee met and reported out a rule, House Resolution 492, providing for consideration of H.R.…”

“On Monday, the Rules Committee met and reported out a rule, House Resolution 492, providing for consideration of H.R. 582, the Raise the Wage Act, under a structured rule. The rule provides 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the Committee on Education and Labor. The rule makes in order one amendment, debatable for 10 minutes. Mr. Speaker, the Raise the Wage Act gradually increases the Federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025, thereby fulfilling a promise to the American people that with hard work comes, at a minimum, a livable wage. Not a wage with eroded purchasing power or a wage that keeps workers from providing for their families, but a minimum wage that empowers Americans and gives them a fighting chance at economic mobility. It has been over a decade, the longest stretch since the establishment of the Federal minimum wage, since this body voted to increase the minimum wage. This is a great disservice to the American people, and I am thankful to Chairman Scott for making a gradual increase of the Federal minimum wage a top priority of his Committee on Education and Labor, of which I am a proud member. In my home State of New York, we have one of the highest minimum wages in the country.…”