The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 created a minimum wage for all workers to ensure a livable wage. However, it has been over a decade since the last increase of the Federal minimum wage, the longest period without any raise since the minimum wage was established. Sadly today, $7.25 an hour forces many Americans to work two, many times three, jobs to make ends meet. Someone living in my district making minimum wage must work 112 hours a week to afford a two-bedroom apartment for their family. That is 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. That is two shifts with no day off. 181,000 workers in my district would receive a pay raise by increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Raising the minimum wage would help many hardworking Americans rise out of poverty and reach financial stability that, right now, is simply out of reach. We must increase the minimum wage. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of us to vote for the minimum wage bill tomorrow. ____________________
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