Hoyer Calls on Congress to Raise the Minimum Wage

Hoyer Calls on Congress to Raise the Minimum Wage
Report Says 129,000 Workers in Maryland Would Benefit From Increase
Wednesday, December 14, 2005

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) today called on Congress to adopt legislation to increase the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 over two years.

"As we go into the holiday season, Democrats believe that Congress should act on the true meaning of Christmas - hope, generosity and good will towards others," Hoyer said.

"Unfortunately, our Republican friends seem to have forgotten the meaning of Christmas. Not only are they cutting programs that help the most vulnerable Americans while giving tax breaks to the wealthiest in our society - but they are refusing to raise the pay of the hard working Americans who earn the minimum wage," Hoyer added.

According to a report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, 129,000 workers in Maryland would benefit from an increase in the minimum wage.

"The Center's report shows just how hard this Christmas will be for minimum wage workers, including those in Maryland," Hoyer said. "With gasoline prices up 37% and home heating costs up 21.6% this year, they are falling even farther behind."

At the same time that Republicans refuse to raise the minimum wage, their budget cuts student loans by more than $14 billion - increasing the costs for the 91,317 student borrowers in Maryland and their families. It also slashes Medicaid funding by $10 billion, which would have a severe impact on the 752,065 children, seniors and others in Maryland who rely on Medicaid for their health care.

"The typical American family spends about $34,920 a year to purchase just the basics - meaning housing, groceries, healthcare, and childcare," Hoyer said. "Yet as minimum wage workers-earning $10,300 annually-find it more and more difficult to make ends meet, Republicans are cutting the very assistance they so desperately need."

Earlier this year, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation to increase the Maryland minimum wage by one dollar to $6.15, but that legislation was vetoed by Governor Robert Ehrlich (R-MD).

"Once again, Governor Ehrlich has shown he is in lockstep with the misguided priorities of Republicans in Washington," Hoyer said. "It is time to get beyond politics and do what is best for working families in Maryland."

The federal minimum wage, and consequently Maryland's, has been frozen since 1997. If Congress fails to enact a minimum wage increase by the end of this session, it will be the longest period that wages for these workers have been frozen.

Because of inflation, the failure to increase the minimum wage is not just a pay freeze, but a pay-cut. The real value of the minimum wage is near its lowest point in 50 years.If the minimum wage in 2005 was worth what it was in 1968, it would be $8.88 an hour -- not $5.15.

"This report shows what a difference an increase would make in the lives of those earning the minimum wage - and how it would brighten their holiday season," Hoyer said. "It is an issue of fairness and decency."

http://www.hoyer.house.gov/newsroom/index.asp?ID=556&DocumentType=Press+Release