Burns Questions Barrow On Sincerity To Raise Minimum Wage
February-20, 2006
Burns Questions Barrow On Sincerity To Raise Minimum Wage
(SAVANNAH, GA) - Max Burns, former Congressman and candidate for Georgia's new 12th District, today questioned the sincerity of Athens Congressman John Barrow's discharge petition that would force a bill raising the minimum wage to be considered in the U.S House of Representatives. Mr. Barrow was in Savannah and Augusta touting H.Res. 614, a resolution he introduced that would provide for the immediate consideration of H.R. 2429, a bill raising the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour.
"If Mr. Barrow is so concerned about the minimum wage, why did he propose a discharge petition the same day he co-sponsored the legislation; nearly seven months after its introduction?" asked Burns. "If he wanted to make a difference for working families he would have been involved from day one trying to implement its passage. This is nothing more than a political ploy. One wonders if this is to reward the labor unions for their active support of his campaign."
The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2005, introduced by U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy and Congressman George Miller, would increase the federal minimum wage by $2.10 per hour over the next two years. The bill was introduced on May 18, 2005, while Barrow co-sponsored the legislation on December 15, 2005, the same day he offered his discharge petition.
The discharge petition, if signed by 218 members of the House of Representatives, is a special House rule that circumvents the normal legislative process by taking the bill out of the committee of jurisdiction and placing it on the House floor for immediate consideration. By removing the bill from the normal legislative process, it places limits on debate and improvements to the bill. It is an extraordinary procedure that is rarely successful.
"If raising the minimum wage is such a priority, why did Mr. Barrow abandon the committee and subcommittee of jurisdiction?" asked Burns. "Wouldn't it have made more sense to stay on the committee and work with the bill's sponsors, Congressman Miller and Ted Kennedy? Instead, he introduced this petition that will ensure this partisan bill's defeat."
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