Marcy Kaptur: “Thank you. Mr. Speaker, people who work full time should not live in poverty. Yet America's minimum wage has been set at…”

“Thank you. Mr. Speaker, people who work full time should not live in poverty. Yet America's minimum wage has been set at $5.15 for the last decade, while the costs of housing, health care, education and gasoline have skyrocketed. This stagnant wage represents a decline in purchasing power for the working class, so great that it is at its lowest value in a half a century when adjusted for inflation. The Democrats have a proposal to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 over the next 2 years. The Republican leadership of this Chamber, however, saw fit to block this legislation from reaching the House floor for a vote. Ironically, that Republican majority then voted to raise their own pay. Last week, I voted once again to block the automatic pay raises for Congress, called cost-of-living adjustments. Don't those at the low end of the pay scale deserve more than those at the very top? Don't they deserve more attention? My office has been flooded with letters and emails urging the increase in the minimum wage. Some of my constituents write because they are struggling to pay their bills with minimum-wage salaries. Others are earning more than the minimum wage, but promote the increase, anyway, as they realize this is also a moral issue. Yes, people who work should not live in poverty. One of my constituents wrote me a series of questions that I believe my Republican colleagues who are opposed to increasing the minimum wage could benefit from hearing.…”