WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Bill Delahunt today applauded the Massachusetts House of Representatives for doing what his Republican colleagues in Congress won’t do – raise the minimum wage to help working families.

"Far too many families are struggling to make ends meet, living paycheck to paycheck, and going deeper and deeper into debt," Delahunt said.

It’s been ten years since the federal minimum wage was last adjusted, the longest period of time which Congress has refused an increase.  During that time, the price for gas has skyrocketed a whopping 136%; health care costs for working families have jumped 97%; and the price of bread and milk has risen 25%.

Delahunt supports a proposal that would raise the federal minimum wage over two years for more than 15 million working Americans by $2.10 – from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour.  He is also an original cosponsor of HR 2429, the Fair Minimum Wage Act that would accomplish the same goal.

"It’s not about pain at the pump anymore," Delahunt said. "Now working families are feeling it in the aisles of the local supermarket or when they visit the drug store."

Delahunt and his colleagues have been using the GOP-crafted House rules against their opponents.  Supporters of the wage increase have tried six times since June to advance the proposal through a series of parliamentary motions that require a recorded vote of each Member’s position on the issue during debate on pending legislation. Each time, Congressional Republicans have gone on record and defeated efforts to increase the federal minimum wage.

HR 2429, the Fair Minimum Wage Act, has attracted the public support of 137 of his House colleagues.  The measure is currently stalled in the House Education and Workforce Committee, and it is unlikely that the Republican congressional leadership will ever allow it to come to the House floor for consideration.
 

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