Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I started, like many folks did, working when I was a young man. People have different reasons for seeking employment. I needed to get out of the house, as some things were happening at the house, but I didn't have any skills. I rode my bike to a nearby farm, and I picked fruit. I didn't make minimum wage because I couldn't pick fruit fast enough, because I didn't have the skills to do that when I was 13 years old, but I learned to show up on time with a good attitude. That is a valuable thing. That is where we start out. That job wouldn't have been available if this minimum wage of $15, enacted from the Federal level, would have forced that employer to make a choice whether they hired me or hired somebody else. I didn't want to make the minimum wage. I wanted to make the maximum wage, but I had to have some skills. The next job I got still wasn't minimum wage, but I worked hard. Now, I had the skill of showing up on time with a good attitude. I kept on doing better and better and better for myself because the jobs were available. Mr. Speaker, if this legislation is enacted, young people and people at the bottom of the economic spectrum that we are trying to help are not going to have that opportunity. That is what this is really about in America, having opportunity. A minimum wage requirement from the Federal level doesn't draw any distinctions between Los Angeles and Gratz, Pennsylvania, a great little town that I am privileged to represent.…”