Pelosi: Republican Minimum Wage Bill Is a Political Sham

30 July 2006

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi spoke tonight on the House floor in opposition to what she called the Republicans' sham bill that includes poison pills in a bill raising the minimum wage. Following is the text of her remarks:

"Mr. Speaker, the bill before us this evening is an insult to the intelligence of the American people. It is also an insult to the nearly 7 million Americans who depend on an increase in the minimum wage to live from paycheck to paycheck. It is a political stunt. It isn't a sincere effort to give an increase in the minimum wage.

"Republicans boast that they have held out for nine years, keeping the minimum wage at $5.15 an hour. That's their proud boast. Don't take it from me; it's in the public record. So for them to come to the floor tonight to try to give the illusion that they are sincerely trying to raise the minimum wage when they know that it is dead on arrival at the United States Senate is an insult to the intelligence and hard work of the American people.

"Just think of what it is to have a bill that says to minimum wage workers: 'We will raise your minimum wage but only if we can give an estate tax cut to the 7,500 wealthiest families in America.' This isn't about wealth; this is about super, super wealth. 'The only way you will get an increase in the minimum wage is if they can get a tax cut.'

"If there has ever been a values debate on the floor of the Congress, this certainly must be it. This should be part of the values agenda of Congress, to reward work, to pay a decent wage to people so they can raise their families. Democrats have a better idea. In our New Direction for America, we make raising the minimum wage a key part of that.

"Two wage earners working full time making $5.15 an hour bring home the sum total of $20,000 a year. They are below the poverty line. I almost hope that no children are listening to this tonight. We tell children about the work ethic, that it is important to work hard. It is important in their lives, it's important to our country's competitiveness, and it's important to our strength that the middle class is a part of our democracy and our country. That middle class must grow and be expanded instead of having a lid on what some people can aspire to in our country.

"Our better idea includes what Mr. Pomeroy offered a few weeks ago on the floor of the House. He wasn't allowed to introduce a motion here. They wouldn't even allow it to be heard, but we insisted on some of the debate anyway. That was a cut to the estate tax that affected 99.7 percent of all Americans who file for estate tax relief. This .3 percent, the 7,500 wealthiest families in America must have done something quite wonderful for the Republicans that they wouldn't even allow that to be debated on the floor and they hook it on to an increase in the minimum wage.

"It's a political ploy, it's a joke, it's a hoax, it's a sham -- it doesn't even rise to the level of that so low is its intention. A couple times in the last month, I have quoted from the latest Papal Encyclical, God Is Love. It was released April 2006 by Pope Benedict. I am drawn to it all of the time because it talks about justice. It talks about justice in a way that affects elected officials. In this Encyclical, Pope Benedict says: 'Saint Augustine wrote, 'A state which is not governed according to justice would be just a bunch of thieves.'' That's a Pope quoting a saint. The Pope goes on to write, because in this part of the Encyclical he is talking about the responsibility of elected officials and those responsible for governing. He says: 'How do you define justice, what is justice?' The Pope warns of the danger of ethical blindness caused by the dazzling effect of power and special interest. Does that sound familiar, my colleagues? Can you relate to that in this body? Is that not at work here tonight?

"One of our colleagues said this is about truth. Yes, this is a moment of truth. With all of these votes of this kind, we define ourselves as a Congress; we define ourselves as a country. As the American people listen in, we are either relevant to their lives or we are not. How out of touch the Republicans are with the middle class who are sweating it out this summer in more ways than one. Sweating out the price of gasoline at the pump, a bill borne of corruption in this body; seniors seating it out in terms of paying for prescription drugs at the pharmacy, where middle income seniors are paying more for their prescription drugs; sweating it out in terms of the college tuition they are going to have to put together to send their children to college, while the Republicans pass tax breaks to the wealthiest 7,500 families in America and freezes Pell Grants and also cuts billions of dollars out of student loan programs.

"We are robbing America's families who are struggling for a better future for their children in order to give a tax cut of $800 billion. Not only is this a burden for these low-income families, they are saying to them: 'Your children and future generations, and everyone alive and paying taxes today will be paying for $800 billion added to our national debt.'

"Values -- foisting that on to our children and the American taxpayers. Values -- putting in a sham bill to give political cover for the cowards who won't stand up and bring a clean bill to this floor to see where the choice would be. I have no doubt there are some right-thinking Republicans who would support a clean increase in the minimum wage. But we will soon find out when the motion to recommit is brought to the floor later this evening, which will have a clean increase in the minimum wage.

"It will also have the tax credit extenders. Interesting about the extenders. The Republicans are using them as an excuse to get votes for their political ploy here tonight. They have been expired for six months. They have needed to be extended for six months.

"My colleagues, this is deadly serious. We are here to get the job done for the American people. We are not here to transfer wealth to the wealthiest people in America. And who pays the price? The middle class. If we are going to survive as a healthy democracy that is a model to the world it is about time we understood that central to that democracy is a thriving, expanding middle class whose job we are here to do. Let's have tax cuts for them, not the wealthiest people in the country and send the tax bill to the middle class.

"Let's remember the words of his Holiness; let's promote justice, oppose this rule, oppose this bill, and let's get serious about helping the American people."

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