Rosa DeLauro

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. The Republican leadership continues to try to score points with these political ploys.

Ms. DeLAURO. Be happy to yield.

Ms. DeLAURO. The gentleman has his own time, which is coming up, so the answer to that question is no.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California. I would like to really close with what a great American President Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican President of the United States said. I quote, ``No man can be a good citizen unless he has a wage more than sufficient to cover, to bear cost of living so that after his day's work is done, he will have time and energy to bear his share in the management of the community to help in carrying the general load.'' Theodore Roosevelt, a great American President, said this. He was not a revolutionary but he did, in fact, understand progress and what it means. I just finish by saying that it is time to assist working men and women in this country. Bring the minimum wage vote to this floor. Make it a clean vote and let people do what they sincerely believe ought to be done as to whether or not we ought to raise or not raise the minimum wage in this country. In my view, it needs to be raised.

Ms. DeLAURO. Repealing the alternate minimum tax, which is something that they would like to do.

Ms. DeLAURO. I would just make the point that the Members of this Congress made more money when they shut down the Government during the Christmas holidays than a minimum wage worker makes in a full year. I think that that speaks volumes as to where some of the folks in this body are. One of the other comments that has been made in the last few days is that what we need to do is to have hearings, again one more way in which to delay the process of this. The revolutionary Republican leaders last week wanted to rewrite the Constitution of the United States without a single hearing. We have called for $270 billion that they have called for in cuts in Medicare where they have had one hearing, $168 billion in cuts in Medicaid and no hearings. We do not need any hearings. What we need to do, this is a no-brainer. Bring up the minimum wage as this body wants, 84 percent of the American public wants to see an increase in the minimum wage. That is what we need to be doing, bring it up for a clean vote, a vote that says that we recognize what hard-working Americans are doing every single day in this country and that we need to recognize what they do instead of just talking about it, when we are sent here by them and that card that they give us, which allows us to vote here, which is what we are supposed to do, is vote on the minimum wage, when there is clamoring in this country to do that and when we have one party that will just hold it up except for a few who split off, and I welcome their participation, I am not sure that they are welcome in their own ranks. But we welcome them because what we need to do here is in fact what the public has asked us to do, is to represent their interests. I will tell you what some of my constituents say to me these days, why are you arguing back and forth. I will tell you that I think there is a fundamental difference in people who stand in this well, those people who believe we ought to have an increase in that minimum wage to reward hard-working Americans and those who truly do not believe that they should. There is some fear in that belief and the debate and the issue is worth fighting about. That is what this Nation stands for, what its values and what its priorities are. And its values have to do with working middle-class family values of work and personal responsibility and rewarding people to do that and not fighting it with every fiber of their beings and not saying that these families do not exist in this nation.

Ms. DeLAURO. Regular order, Mr. Speaker.

Ms. DeLAURO. Regular order, Mr. Speaker.

Ms. DeLAURO. In 40 years.

Ms. DeLAURO. I want to thank the gentleman from California for his eloquent remarks, and for pointing out that in fact what this is about is a basic and fundamental--these words are accurate. These words are accurate. There are those in this body who feel the same way about resisting a minimum wage increase with every fiber in their beings, which is what this is about in terms of bringing up a program that will try to borrow from an earned income tax credit, set some folks adrift. One of the most interesting commentaries we have heard in the last few weeks on this issue is that the Republican Presidential nominee said recently he wanted to use the issue of the minimum wage increase to pass some things, quote, that the Democrats might not be so crazy about. Those kinds of threats represent political posturing that in fact sells the American people short, as you were pointing out. Instead of trying to stick it to Democrats, what the Gingrich-Dole Congress should be doing is to do something for working Americans, not just talking about it when it becomes a political albatross.

Ms. DeLAURO. Thank you very much. Before I recognize the gentleman from California, let me just say there are going to be other people out here tonight trying to talk about statistics and the fact that this increase in the minimum wage is going to lose jobs. I will set the record straight. One hundred and one economists, Nobel prize laureates in economics, public statement they signed. ``We believe that the Federal minimum wage can be increased by a moderate amount without significantly jeopardizing employment opportunities.'' Mr. DeLay will say that if you are on a minimum wage, you receive the earned income tax credit in food stamps. Reminder: They wanted to cut the earned income tax credit by $23.2 million. They will shred the Food Stamp Program. Also the crowd that brought you a $245 billion tax break for the wealthiest Americans at the expense of those who are today on Medicare. So just to set the record straight a little bit, and, also, final point. Who are the minimum wage workers? Who are these $4.25 an hour folks who do exist in every single Member's district? And if you close your eyes to them, you do it at your peril in this body. Two-thirds of minimum wage workers are adults, 60 percent are women, 40 percent are the sole bread winners in their family. So that what you have here is the opportunity to lift these households up so that they can raise their families. We could lift up 300,000 families out of poverty in this country, 100,000 children who are currently living in poverty. Again, just to set this record straight. I want to recognize the gentleman from California, Mr. Miller, and thank him for all of his efforts in this area.

Ms. DeLAURO. I am sorry, you will have your own time in a few minutes.

Ms. DeLAURO. I want to thank my colleague from New York. You are absolutely right. This is a move, it is called rehabilitation here, to talk about how we are going to try to help working families. These are from the same crowd that just not too long ago wanted to cut $23.2 million from the EITC, take 14 million families in this country and say, and these are people working, remember, this is Earned Income Tax Credit, not someone on welfare, Earned Income Tax Credit. They were willing to set adrift 14 million families, not too many months ago, by cutting that Earned Income Tax Credit. Now, so that they can delay and they can stall and they can stonewall on the opportunity to vote on a minimum wage and to raise that minimum wage a mere $.90, they are going to come up with all kinds of bells and whistles and tricky programs here. We must recognize it for what it is, a stalling tactic and an unwillingness to bring before this body the opportunity to vote on the minimum wage yes or no, with no fancy language, just a plain and simple vote. That is what the American public wants to hear. I thank my colleague for joining this conversation. Let me recognize the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Pallone].

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Texas for her remarks and for participating this evening. When the gentlewoman holds up a chart that has someone in this body who truly believes that middle class America's salary range is somewhere between $300,000 and $750,000 a year, and literally believes that, and then we have someone who says that such families do not really exist, families that make $4.25 an hour, roughly about $8,500 a year, once again it emphasizes how truly out of touch that some Members and Members in the majority are in this body with the people that we represent. We took this special order tonight really to urge our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, Speaker Gingrich, the Republican leadership, really to stop their cynical effort to stiff working Americans. Bring to this floor legislation to raise the minimum wage. Do not do what the public believes we do all of the time, and that is to cloud the issue of minimum wage with a variety of other pieces that will kill a 90-cent increase in the minimum wage. My colleagues and I know that hard-working American families are scrambling just to make ends meet. They scramble to put together the money that they need to pay their bills every week. These families have done the responsible thing to raise their families. They work hard every day. They try to feed their kids. They try to pay their bills. They work and they struggle. They pay taxes that seem always to be going up but their salaries do not go up. These are good citizens who want to know that they are going to be rewarded for a lifetime of work, and that is that they have taken the personal responsibility in their lives to do the right thing, and that that needs to get recognized by those of us who serve in this body. Plainly, working Americans need a break. They are working harder and they are working longer hours and they are working for less and less. The rewards of all of this hard work just do not meet the needs of today's families. All the while, our country has forgotten workers struggle and they scramble, and countless working Americans find themselves the victims of downsizing. The stock market booms to record the highs and the corporate executives line their pockets with outrageous compensation. Since 1990, the salaries of corporate CEO's have surged by 9 percent a year, yet the minimum wage is at its lowest level in purchasing power since Dwight Eisenhower occupied the Oval Office. In fact, last year, the median income of corporate executives in this country was $2 million--$2 million. That is over 200 times the annual salary of a minimum wage worker. The Nation's minimum wage today is a paltry $4.25 an hour, and I am really proud to join my Democratic colleagues and President Clinton to sponsor legislation to boost this wage to $5.15. That is 90 cents. A mere 90 cents, while we have individuals in this country who are making on average $2 million a year and some much more than that, sometimes $40 and $50 million a year, which does not include their stock options. We have people who serve in this body who make a very good salary, over $130,000 a year, the people who have gotten up and who have said that families that make $4.25 do not exist and that middle class Americans are making $300,000 to $700,000 a year. What are we going to do? Again, another quote from the majority leader, the majority leader of the House of Representatives, let me tell the Members what his quote is. His quote is: ``The minimum wage is a very destructive thing. I will resist a minimum wage increase with every fiber in my being.'' This from the House majority leader. It is truly unconscionable and disingenuous for people to stand here and say these kinds of things and purport to represent working men and women in this country. Mr. Speaker, I see my colleague on his feet here, the gentleman from New York [Mr. Owens]. Please go ahead and join the debate.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his comments, which are just incredibly accurate about what we want to try to do in getting people off of welfare, to work. With regard to the comments by your colleague and my colleague, the gentleman from Texas [Tom DeLay] I might add, he is the third ranking member of the Republican hierarchy in the House of Representatives, and his commentary is ``Emotional appeals about working families trying to get by on $4.25 an hour and hard to resist. Fortunately, such families don't really exist.'' This is the same gentleman. Let me tell the Members about his comments earlier this year during the Government shutdown. He said, and I quote: I am not a Federal employee. I am a constitutional officer. My job is in the Constitution of the United States. I am not a government employee. I am in the Constitution. These were his comments, which is why he would not support suspending congressional paychecks during the Federal Government shutdown in December of 1995. One of the architects of this shutdown says that he is not a government employee, he should not give back his paycheck during the Government shutdown, someone who makes over $130,000 a year. Now he has the nerve just today to say that families who are struggling on $4.25 an hour, roughly about $8,500 a year, do not exist. This will give us a little bit of a taste of what we are dealing with in this body, and how out of touch some of our colleagues are with the people that they purport to represent in this body. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield now to my colleague from Texas [Ms. Jackson-Lee] and thank her for joining us this evening.

Ms. DeLAURO. If I can continue. Rather than trying to lend a hand----

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. To quickly respond to my colleagues who spoke about Medicare, the congressional Republicans in this body do not want to fix Medicare. They, in fact, want to destroy Medicare. They proposed a $270 billion cut in Medicare to pay for a $245 billion tax break for the wealthiest Americans. Do not let us let them get away with it. Mr. Speaker, on the front page of today's Washington Times, a Republican Senator says of congressional Republicans, ``We have no agenda.'' Mr. Speaker, in the spirit of bipartisanship, I want to offer some assistance to my Republican colleagues. For starters, the Republican leadership can schedule a vote on raising the minimum wage in this Nation. Most families are working harder in a mad scramble to pay their bills every single week. They need a raise, and we should raise the minimum wage. Today the minimum wage is at a 40-year low. Democrats have proposed boosting it by a mere 90 cents, but the Republican leadership continues to block any effort to bring forward a vote on the minimum wage. Let us do it, let us give hard-working Americans the raise that they need to take care of their families.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, this Saturday, April 20, 1996 the Varick Family Life Center will celebrate its official opening. The Center is a multi-service resource and support center for children and families in the Dixwell Avenue neighborhood of New Haven. It is with great pleasure that I rise today to commend this wonderful organization. The Varick Family Life Center adheres to the Old African proverb ``It takes a whole village to raise a child.'' The proverb encapsulates one of the main goals of the Center which is to make already existing services more available to the residents of the neighborhood. Parents will be guided through the use of family services and have an advocate as they seek the resources they need. Effectively bringing parents into contact with community resources will go a long way toward making parents feel connected to the community and neighborhood. The second goal of the Center is to provide families with the tools to become self-sufficient. I believe that this dual focus of family and community will be the cornerstone of the Center's success. By integrating the many human services and programs available in New Haven neighborhoods, the Center hopes to insure that all the needs of the family are attended to and that no family slips through the cracks. By truly coordinating family services, the Center will make vital community resources more available to the families that need them. The Center will maintain its focus on families by appointing four neighborhood residents and training them to act as Family Resource Specialists. These specialists will focus on the social, health and financial concerns of needy families. I believe that this is the most crucial aspect of the Center. The Family Resource Specialists will work with parents to help them become more proactive rather than reactive in situations that affect their lives and families. Economic and financial concerns are addressed by the Center through job training and educational programs in the areas of budgeting and money management. By providing parents and families with these valuable tools we are enabling them to become more self-reliant and independent. We are giving them a chance to make a difference in their own lives and to feel that they have some control over their life's course. This is ultimately the most important and best solution to the problems and challenges faced by the residents of the neighborhood. I commend the congregation and leadership of the Varick Memorial AME Zion Church for their amazing dedication to this worthwhile project. They have every reason to believe that their vision and hopes for the project will be realized. The Center is a wonderful community resource that should serve as a model for other cities and towns in Connecticut and in the Nation.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Hawaii for his comments. It just makes good sense, and he is absolutely right. The money that is earned stays in the community. The purchases are made in the community, and it helps that local economy to succeed. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. minimum wage increase beneficial to all americans

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I come tonight to the well to talk about an issue really of great importance for working middle-class families in this country. Mr. Speaker, America needs a raise. I call on Speaker Gingrich to take a pause from the Republican revolution and allow the people's House to vote on raising the minimum wage now. The Nation's minimum wage today is a paltry $4.25 an hour. I am proud to join with my Democratic colleagues and President Clinton to sponsor legislation to boost this wage to $5.15. It is the least we can do. Hard working American families need a break. The minimum wage has lot 27 percent of its value over the past 15 years, and now stands at a 40- year low. It buys less groceries. It buys less gasoline. It buys less clothes for the children of these hard working families than it has in four decades. These statistics are particularly troubling considering the fact that corporate CEO salaries have risen at the fast clip of 9 percent a year since 1990. In fact, last year the median compensation for CEO's was a staggering $2 million a year. That's more than 200 times the salary of a minimum wage worker. A recent poll in my home State of Connecticut shows that a full 80 percent of the people support raising the minimum wage--four out of five Connecticut residents favor this measure. A New York Times poll reports that 94 percent of Democrats, 86 percent of Independents, and even 71 percent of Republicans support raising the minimum wage to $5.15 an hour. Yesterday, a brave group of my Republican colleagues joined the Democratic call for a vote on this issue. I congratulate my colleagues for having the courage to challenge Speaker Gingrich's wrongful opposition to giving minimum wage workers a modest raise in pay. But the bottom line is the Republican leadership refuses to bring this legislation to a vote. It's all talk and no action. The Republican leader has said the minimum wage increase will come to this floor over his dead body. This morning's Congress Daily reports Speaker Gingrich's latest cynical ploy to stiff working Americans. ``We're going to look at it,'' Speaker Gingrich is quoted as saying, ``There should be hearings.'' Hearings. The revolutionary Republican leaders just 3 days ago wanted to rewrite the U.S. Constitution without a single hearing. Hearings. The revolutionary Republicans last year passed $270 billion in Medicare cuts to pay for tax breaks for their rich political contributors--all without a single hearing. And now that the American people are making their voices heard in support of raising the minimum wage, Speaker Gingrich promises hearings. Talk is cheap, Mr. Speaker, and so is the minimum wage. So too unfortunately is the cynical way the Republican leadership is treating this modest proposal. Forget the hearings. I call on Speaker Gingrich to allow this House to vote to raise the minimum wage now. It is a no- brainer. We should do it without further delay. Mr. Speaker, a livable wage is not exactly a revolutionary concept, but the American people need a raise nonetheless. If we are truly to move people from welfare to work, we must make work pay. A great American once said, ``No man can be a good citizen unless he has a wage more than sufficient to cover the bare costs of living . . . so that after his day's work is done he will have time and energy to bear his share in the management of the community, to help in carrying the general load.'' Which great American said that? Theordore Roosevelt, the former Republican President of the United States. He was not a revolutionary, but he did understand progress. Workers who earn the minimum wage pocket only $8,500 a year. That is less than Members of this Congress made when they shut down the Government over Christmas. Mr. Speaker, working American families do not ask for much. They work hard. They pay their bills. They play by the rules. They are not looking for a revolution. All they want is a little progress. America needs a raise. I call on the House Republican leadership to stop the stalling tactics and allow the people's House to vote on raising the minimum wage. Now.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Ron Brown and to express my deep sorrow and sincerest condolences to his wonderful family. Ron Brown was my friend, and he was a great American. As Secretary of the Commerce Department, Ron Brown played an instrument role in implementing the administration's economic plan that has created 8.4 million jobs nationwide since taking office. He was a major force behind job creation efforts and the chief architect of high-technology initiatives to provide greater employment opportunities for working Americans. Previously, Ron Brown served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He was the first African-American in history to head a major national political party. At the DNC, Ron Brown rebuilt the party and laid the groundwork for the Democrats to win back the White House after losing three straight national elections. Last summer, Ron Brown traveled to my congressional district to attend the closing ceremony of the Special Olympics in New Haven. We spent the glorious Connecticut morning touring events and had a great time with those wonderful Special Olympians who shared Ron's never- give-up spirit. Mr. Speaker, Ron Brown lived the American dream and served as an inspirational role model for America's youth. Our country has lost a great leader. I also want to convey my condolences to the friends and families of Robert Donovan, the chief executive officer of ABB, Inc., headquartered in Norwalk, CT, and Claudio Elia, the chairman and chief executive officer of Air and Water Technologies Corp. in Branchburg, NJ, who lived in Greenwich, CT. In addition, the Nation lost many fine, dedicated people in this tragedy who gave their lives in an attempt to heal a nation and a world ravaged by war. Connecticut and the Nation mourn the loss.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, the House Republican leadership continues to pursue policies that hurt America's working families. Just look at their continued opposition to the minimum wage. Even though the typical minimum wage worker is a woman in her twenties who is often the sole wage earner in the family, the House Republican leadership continues to dig in its heels in opposition to raising the minimum wage by a mere 90 cents from its 40-year low. The fourth-ranking House Republican said yesterday that raising the minimum wage ``is horrible economic policy.'' And the Republican majority leader says he would fight the minimum wage, ``with every fiber of my being.'' But despite their rock-like resistance, the Republican leadership can no longer duck voting to increase the minimum wage. Stop toying with the lives of America's hard working families. Let us have a vote to raise the minimum wage.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, congressional Republicans are using every single trick in the book to block a vote on raising the minimum wage in this country a mere 90 cents, even though the minimum wage is at a 40- year low. Yesterday Senate Republicans used a procedural maneuver to dodge raising the minimum wage. They march in lockstep with Speaker Gingrich and his leadership team, who have been blocking every single effort to bring up a vote in this body on raising the minimum wage. It is only the latest example of how Speaker Gingrich and his Republican leadership are out of step with the mainstream of this country. They, in fact, wanted to give a $245 billion tax break to the richest Americans in this country, to give the richest corporations in this country a $17 billion windfall, but they do not in fact want to see the minimum wage raised by 90 cents. The New York Times said today that 84 percent of the U.S. folks are for an increase in the minimum wage. Today 13 House Republicans, to their credit, will break ranks with their leadership to join those of us who said let us increase the minimum wage. Let us do that for the hard-working, responsible Americans in this country. Let us give them an increase in their salaries.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, today Congress returns from a 2-week break, and the Republican majority leader has announced what he calls a new legislative agenda for this Congress. But in fact it is the same old Republican agenda, dressed up with some new rhetoric. Their agenda still fails the fundamental test, which is helping working middle-class families cope with the challenges that they face in their everyday lives. When I was home during the recent break, I met with constituents in my district who feel that this Congress is simply not doing the job that working families need. Consider just two issues, health care and pensions. The House passed a health insurance reform bill that should have addressed, I repeat, should have addressed, the problems faced by the millions of Americans who cannot get health insurance because they suffer from a preexisting condition. I have a preexisting condition. I am a survivor of ovarian cancer. There are not too many businesses that want to include me in their insurance policy because of my prior illness. It would raise the cost of premiums for everyone. So I understand this problem of preexisting condition. Millions of Americans cannot get health insurance because they suffer from a preexisting condition, or they fear losing their coverage if they lose or they change their jobs. When Congress took up this bill, we had a real opportunity, a real opportunity, to help families in this country by modestly reforming the health insurance industry and meeting the needs of working families. I was in Wallingford, CT, not too long ago, where I met with a group of construction workers. One of the gentlemen there said to me that he was very, very much concerned about the downsizing of businesses all over the country. He has a child with a terminal illness. He said, ``I stay up nights worrying that if I lose my job, I lose my health care. What do I do about my child's illness and her health care?'' We had an opportunity, and, unforturnately and sadly, the bill that passed the House is a bad bill. It let the American people down, and it will make the health care problem worse. We had a bipartisan bill sponsored in the Senate by Senator Kennedy and Senator Kassebaum, and in this body, in the House, by Congresswoman Marge Roukema of New Jersey, a bipartisan bill that took the first steps toward addressing these two very serious problems. Instead of passing that legislation as it is and as the authors thought it best, what happened was that under the banner of reform, the House passed the bill which includes extraneous provisions that raise costs, hurt consumers, and will increase the number of uninsured in this country. For example, they added medical savings accounts, which are expensive, destructive and bad health care policy. Instead of helping working middle-class families, our Republican colleagues continue to cater to the special interests. The medical savings accounts are a creature of the Golden Rule Insurance Co., headed up by J. Patrick Rooney, who, not by my description, but by the description of a variety of others, including the Wall Street Journal, has indicated that he is the third largest contributor to Republican campaigns. Medical savings accounts have been added to this bill, causing an enormous problem. Medical savings accounts will take the healthy out of the traditional insurance pool, provide them with a tax break, and leave the insurance pool with only those who are frail and sick, thereby driving up premiums for everyone else. With the rise in those costs of premiums, people will no longer be able to afford them, thereby increasing the number of uninsured. The American Council of Actuaries, not a liberal group by any stretch of the imagination, indicated that there would be a 61 percent shifting of costs with the medical savings account to those who are now currently insured in a traditional insurance policy, a 61-percent shift in cost. Working Americans know very, very well, very well, about cost shifting in health care. When people are not insured, that does not go begging, it does not fall into a black hole. Everybody else who is insured picks up the cost. We had an opportunity, and we missed it. Watch carefully and listen carefully. Do not buy this new rhetoric. Understand what is going on here.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, recently the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Armey], the Republican leader, unveiled what he calls a, quote, new agenda for this Congress. But in fact what we really have in this new agenda is the same old Republican game plan of hurting working families and the health and safety of working families while bailing out the special interests. At a minimum, the hardworking families of this country should be able to count on the Congress to protect the public health, but this Congress has been a polluter's dream come true. During the 104th Congress, Republicans invited polluters to rewrite the Clean Water Act. They also proposed letting big companies off the hook for cleaning up hazardous waste that they dumped. The House Republican leadership has insisted on deep cuts in environmental protection, halting cleanups in many areas. They have also encouraged their folks to let people know that they are environmentally conscious, and then they say, ``go plant a tree, go hug a tree, go to a zoo, that will make people think you are environmentally conscious.'' Do not be fooled by the phony agenda the Republicans have unveiled. It is a sad attempt to mask the truth. After almost a year and a half of failure, the Gingrich Congress continues to pursue an agenda that puts the needs and the health of Americans at risk.