In January of 2007, Chairman Miller celebrated House passage of the Fair Minimum Wage Act, legislation he authored that was signed into law over three years ago. The law increased the federal minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour in three equal steps and has benefited millions of our nation’s most vulnerable workers during the economic downturn.
After the final minimum wage adjustment in the Fair Minimum Wage Act increased hourly wages from $6.55 per hour to $7.25 per hour in July 2009, the non-partisan Economic Policy Institute wrote that the increase was expected to significantly boost consumer spending across the country.
Today, Chairman Miller is standing up for the minimum wage as some Republican congressional candidates threaten the law. The Huffington Post reported:
Miller continued:
After the final minimum wage adjustment in the Fair Minimum Wage Act increased hourly wages from $6.55 per hour to $7.25 per hour in July 2009, the non-partisan Economic Policy Institute wrote that the increase was expected to significantly boost consumer spending across the country.
Today, Chairman Miller is standing up for the minimum wage as some Republican congressional candidates threaten the law. The Huffington Post reported:
“Rep. George Miller (D-Cali.), who led the effort in Congress to raise the minimum wage in 2007, is taking issue with Republican candidates' recent statements that the federal policy should be rolled back and hasn't helped improve the economic position of the country.
“‘Well, it [their statements] sort of shows two things," Miller told The Huffington Post on Tuesday. ‘One, how clearly they're captive of the billionaire boys club, and two, how disconnected they are from working people in this country, who are trying to get [ahead for] for their families.’
“Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller attracted national attention on Monday for saying that the federal minimum wage should be abolished. ‘That is not within the scope of the powers that are given to the federal government,’ he told ABC News. Late last week, Connecticut Senate candidate Linda McMahon was quoted as saying, in vague terms, that she'd be open to the idea of adjusting the federal minimum wage laws. West Virginia Senate candidate John Raese, who has long advocated that it be abolished, also said the federal law ‘hasn't worked’.”
Miller continued:
"When a national debate is over giving tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires, and these people think that it's people working at the minimum wage that's holding people back, it's an outrage."
