WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 12, 2006) U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, will be in Louisville this Friday, July 14, to discuss the need to raise the minimum wage.  Miller will be joined by U.S. Reps. Ben Chandler (D-KY) and Robert C. (Bobby) Scott (D-VA).

They will be joined by Kentucky elected officials, community leaders, workers, and others at a roundtable discussion on the minimum wage. Miller is the author of federal legislation to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour in three increments over roughly two years.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, 6.6 million workers nationwide – and

135,000 in Kentucky – would directly benefit if Congress were to raise the minimum wage to $7.25.

WHAT:          Congressional roundtable on minimum wage increase

                      &nb; sp; (Open to the public)

WHO:             U.S. Reps. George Miller, Bobby Scott, and Ben Chandler

                      &nb; sp; Speaker of Kentucky House Jody Richards

                      &nb; sp; State Senator Gerald Neal 

State Senator Dan Mongiardo

Wanda Mitchell-Smith, AFSCME representative

Reverend Alex Moses, Eastern Star Baptist Church

                        Peter Meyer, Professor Emeritus, University of Louisville

                      &nb; sp; Sheryl Wade, Louisville worker 

WHEN:           Friday, July 14, 2006, 10:00 a.m. ET

                      &nb; sp; ***TV crews should plan to arrive no later than 9:45 a.m. ET***

WHERE:        Jay’s Cafeteria

1812 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd.

Louisville, Kentucky

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