Chairman Miller: This Tuesday, After Ten Long Years, Minimum Wage Workers Will Finally Get a Raise

Friday, July 20, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC -- On Tuesday, July 24, the national minimum wage will increase by 70 cents – from $5.15 per hour to $5.85 per hour – the first increase in a decade, and the first of three increases due to take effect over the next two years. U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the House author of the legislation that Congress enacted earlier this year to raise the minimum wage, said today that the increase is a down payment on Democrats’ efforts to help all American workers and families get their fair share of the benefits produced by their hard work.

“After ten long years, minimum wage workers are getting the pay increase that they need and deserve. Thirteen million Americans will be able to better provide for their families because of action taken by this Democratic Congress to raise the minimum wage. Democrats promised a new direction for America, and this minimum wage increase is a down payment on that promise.

“In the wealthiest country in the history of the world, it is an outrage that anyone who works full-time would still wind up in poverty. Everyone who puts in an honest day’s work should receive a fair day’s pay. That’s why, as a first step, this minimum wage increase is so urgently needed.

“This is just the beginning of our efforts to help all American workers build a better life for themselves and their families. From making college more affordable to lowering energy and healthcare costs, we will keep working towards the goal of growing and strengthening America’s middle class."

BACKGROUND

• From 1997 to 2006, Republicans controlled Congress and blocked repeated Democratic efforts to raise the minimum wage. As a result, the purchasing power of the minimum wage reached a 51-year low in 2006. Miller’s legislation, the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, raises the minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour in three equal steps over roughly two years. For more information, click here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tom Kiley / Rachel Racusen
2181 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-226-0853