Lujan Calls for a Vote in the House to Raise the Minimum Wage

Press Release

Washington, D.C. -- Congressman Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico's Third District joined a number of his Democratic colleagues today at a press conference highlighting their efforts to force a vote in the House of Representatives on an increase in the minimum wage.

"At today's minimum wage, many full-time workers and their families still live below the poverty line. As a nation, we can and we must do better if we are going to provide people with opportunities to pull themselves up and out of poverty with hard work and determination," Congressman Luján said. "Raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 for all workers would benefit 28 million workers and lift nearly 1 million people out of poverty. In New Mexico alone, approximately 147,000 workers would be impacted -- almost 19 percent of the workforce. It will put more money in the pockets of workers who will spend that money in our communities and in our small businesses, helping them grow. That is why more than two-thirds of small business owners support an increase in the minimum wage."

Despite significant public support, House Speaker John Boehner has refused to allow a vote on a minimum wage increase. House Democrats have introduced a discharge petition that would require an up or down vote on legislation raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour when a majority of the House, 218 members, sign on to the petition. Luján signed the petition this afternoon.

More than 600 economists, including seven Nobel Prize winners, recently signed a letter to the President and Congressional leaders expressing their support for raising the minimum wage. They highlighted recent research into the effects of a higher minimum wage, stating that "increases in the minimum wage have had little or no negative effect on the employment of minimum-wage workers, even during times of weakness in the labor market."

"It has been almost five years since Congress acted to increase the minimum wage, while inflation has pushed up the cost of everyday goods since that time. It's time for Congress to act and give America's workers a raise," added Luján.

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