Washington,
DC -- As part of the first 100 hours agenda of the new
Democratic-controlled Congress, Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) today
helped the House pass the first increase in the federal minimum wage in a
decade. The bipartisan measure will increase the minimum wage to $7.25 an
hour over the span of two years.
"During the last 10 years with
Republicans in control of the House, Congress never increased the minimum
wage. Now, less than a week after taking control of Congress, Democrats have
passed a $2.10 increase that is long overdue and will help millions of
Americans, including 314,000 New Yorkers, pay for food, housing, health care,
and other critical expenses," Hinchey said. "The gap between the rich and poor
is growing at an alarming rate. When the average CEO of a company earns more
before lunch than a minimum wage worker makes all year, the system is broken.
No American who works full-time and year-round should ever have to live in
poverty."
The measure the
House approved today will increase the minimum wage by $2.10 - from $5.15 to
$7.25 an hour over two years. The bipartisan bill raises the minimum wage to
$5.85 60 days after enactment; to $6.55 one year later; and to $7.25 one year
after that. Increasing the minimum wage to $7.25 would result in an
additional $4,400 per year for a family of three, equaling 15 months of
groceries or more than two years of health care -- helping them to keep up
with rising costs.
"While I'm pleased
that Congress finally acted and raised the minimum wage to $7.25 over the next
two years, we must do more," Hinchey said. "I recognize that we had to take a
pragmatic approach and pass a $2.10 increase over the span of two years
because it was more palatable to some members of Congress. Now that we've
passed this increase, I'm going to be fighting for separate legislation that
would further increase the minimum wage to ensure a better standard of living
for all Americans. America should not be a country where people who work hard
and honest have to struggle so hard to get by because pay is so low. That's
not what this country is about."
In
October 2006, more than 650 economists, including five Nobel laureates and six
past presidents of the American Economics Association release a statement in
support of increasing the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour. The
minimum wage issue must now be addressed by the Senate, which is expected to
do so in the coming weeks.
