Rep. Ellison: Let's Vote on Minimum Wage Increase

Statement

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) released the following statement today after Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY) introduced a discharge petition to bring a bill increasing the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote:

"Americans living on the federal minimum wage are working too hard for too little. Minnesotans working at the current minimum wage of $7.25 per hour have to work over 80 hours a week to pay for an average two-bedroom apartment in our state. That's twelve hours a day and seven days a week just to put a roof over your head. The situation is even worse for tipped workers like waiters and waitresses, whose minimum wage sits at $2.13 an hour.

"Increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour would lift 900,000 people out of poverty and increase wages for nearly 25 million people by 2016. A higher minimum wage puts more money in the pockets of hard working families, helps them put food on the table and clothes on their kids and speeds up our economic recovery.

"Paying Americans for the work they do is not a partisan issue. When Chris Christie was reelected governor in New Jersey with 60% of the vote, the state minimum wage was increased with 61% of the vote. 76% percent of Americans are in favor of an increase in the minimum wage. It's time for Republicans to put an increase in the federal minimum wage and the tipped minimum wage to a vote in the House of Representatives."

Source