Political Quotes

“I rise as a longtime advocate of raising the minimum wage, as someone who supports the McKeon-McCrery alternative because it is balanced and provides incentives for investment and small business and job creation. As someone who worked 10 years ago for the last increase for the minimum wage, working very closely with my then colleague Mr. Quinn of Buffalo, we were able to achieve that. Today, we have an opportunity to raise the minimum wage, but because of the procedural restrictions we face on the floor some are going to be left behind and that is particularly disappointing. While H.R. 2 will provide a $2.10 raise for American workers, sadly, it fails to take into account many Americans with disabilities who are in our workforce. These are disabled Americans who receive SSI disability benefits who are active participants in the workforce and maintaining jobs that give them great satisfaction. Unfortunately, they are left behind because, currently, SSI beneficiaries are limited to $900 per month in order to remain eligible to receive benefits. If the wage hike under consideration today goes into law without raising an earnings limit for people on SSI, Americans with disabilities engaged in full-time employment would either potentially lose their benefits or have to cut back on their hours. That is a decision they shouldn't have to make.”