seven nobel prize winners have endorsed a minimum-wage hike to $10.10 an hour. six hundred economists, including seven nobel prize winners, signed this letter, "we urge you to act now to enact a three-step raise of 95 cents a year for three years which would mean a minimum wage of $10.10 by 2016 and then index it to protect against inflation. these will also raise the tipped race to 70% of the regular minimum. the evidence now showing that increases in the minimum wage have had little or no negative effect on the employment of a minimum-wage workers. even during times of weakness in the labor market, research suggests that a minimum-wage increase could have a small stimulative effect on the economy, as low-wage workers spend their additional earnings raising demand and job growth

and providing some help on the jobs front." that's why i say, the evidence shows that this year the states that raised their minimum wages had better job growth than the states that didn't. but we won't hear that from our republican colleagues on the other side. so, again, forget about that job loss. that's not going to take place. what will take place is that we will lift 7 million families out of poverty. 14 million children -- 14 million children in america will be in families that will get a raise. and that will be good for our kids. now, again, we hear from the republicans also that -- that some of the people who are going to benefit from a raise in the minimum wage aren't the poorest of the poor. it's not just people below the minimum wage but a lot of other people will make money and so, therefore, it must not be a good policymenpolicy.

well, first of all, i want to dispel the myth that raising the minimum wage doesn't effectively combat poverty, it does. whether you use the c.b.o.'s estimate of close to a million workers lifted out of poverty or the results of more sophisticated economic research showing that up to 7 million workers will be lifted out of poverty by the time the bill is fully implemented. the evidence unequivocally shows that raising the minimum wage is an effective poverty reduction tool. but i will be the first to admit and -- and gladly, proudfully -- that this bill doesn't just help people in poverty. it also helps low-income families above the pof poverty e and that's a good thing. that's a good thing. a lot of low-income working families will get a raise. so here's -- here's basically the breakdown of that.

52% of those who will get a raise have incomes under $40,0 $40,000. 31%, $60,000. 17%, $40,000 to $60,000. so again, it is true that people making -- families making $40,000 a year would actually get a boost. how would that be? well, one person may be making $30,000 a year; the other people -- or $20,000. the other person is making $15,000 or $18,000. they get a boost in the minimum wage? they benefit. is that wrong? i don't think that's wrong at all. these are still struggling families, struggling to make sure they get enough for their kids, making sure they put a little away for a rainy day, to help their kids get a good education. so evidently our republican friends are in one way saying, look, we should only have something that only benefits those who are in extreme pover

poverty. then they turn right around in the ryan budget and cut food stamps. ha-ha. what are they saying? you know what they're really saying in tough luck, you're on your own. if you're a minimum-wage worker, tough luck. and we don't want to raise your -- raise your minimum wage. well, 70% of the workers who would get a raise under this bill -- actually 69% -- 69% of workers who will get a raise have incomes under $60,000 a year. so, yeah. not everybody's who's going to get a benefit from this is in poverty, but it will raise over 7 million families out of poverty and it will also help some of our lower middle-income families in america. and i say that's a good thing and i'm proud that it does. consider the example. jane and joe from buchanan county.

they have two young boys. she's a waitress for a few dollars an hour plus tips. he works at a gas station for $7.25 an hour. they rely on food stamps and medicaid. they've applied for assistance through the low-income home energy assistance program. they work opposite shifts so they don't have to pay for child care. and it's difficult to find adequate care for their younger son's medical needs. but this means they hardly ever see each other. a minimum-wage increase would allow them to be together more as a family. or david, a pizza cook. he's getting married soon. he has a child on the way. he earns $9 at his pizza job. so what did he do? he took on another job. framing houses, also at $9 an hour. he's working about 65 hours a week. no overtime. he's got two jobs so he's working 65 hours a week. it's still not enough f. he eno.

if he worked an entire year at $65 a week, he would only -- 65 hours a week, he would only earn $15,635 a year. working 65 hours a week. now, that's technically above the poverty line but no one would say he's making plenty of money and he couldn't use a raise. he's starting a family. when we raise the minimum wage, david gets a raise at both of his jobs. one job he's making $9 an hour; the other job he's making $9 an hour. he gets a raise on both. he told the "quad city times" that a minimum-wage raise would mean quite a bit to improve his life and help his growing family. so, yeah, he's making $30,400 a year working 65 hours a week, two jobs. you can say no, he shouldn't have his minimum-wage increase? well, that's what i hear from my republican colleagues. but these are the type of families who are struggling. they need a boost and we want to

give them a boost. we want to help them earn more money, not get more in food stamps or -- or government programs but to earn more money. to provide for their families and to build a better life and to have a fair shot at the american dream. so my republican friends are not only opposing a raise, they're proposing drastic cuts to the programs that low-wage workers must rely on to survive. as i said earlier, the ryan budget cuts more than 3.8 million people off of food stamps, leaving them without any lifeline to put food on the table. raising the minimum wage, by contrast, would reduce the food stamp rolls by almost the same amount, as many as 3.6 million people, because it would allow them to earn enough money to buy food for themselve themselves. so both proposals save taxpayer money, but under our proposal, people get to eat, they get to

put food on the table. so i have a hard time giving a lot of credence to people who say the minimum wage will -- doesn't really help people in poverty. it's just untrue. this professed concern about the poorest of the poor stands in stark contrast with a republican agenda that would increase poverty and sacrifice the programs that help low-wage working families survive. now, lastly, i just want to touch upon another myth and that is it will hurt small businesses. we hear about this all the time. but every small business that i've talked to says the biggest problem isn't payroll costs, it's lack of demand. customers. they don't have customers with money to spend. so raising the minimum wage would help their bottom line. a lot of the small businesses i talked to also tell me they're -- they're frustrated, infewerrated by the fact that --

infuriated that their competitors at wal-mart and mcdonald's and other big businesses that pay rock-bottom wages, that force their workers into public assistance, well, this places responsible small businesses at a competitive disadvantage. it forces them to subsidize their competitors' low wages through their tax dollars. this is not fair. this is not fair. it's bad for workers, for small businesses and our economy. so small businesses -- business owners understand this and that's why a majority of them support this bill. again, opinion polls, small businesses support the minimum wage 57% to 43%. because they understand, they understand that raising the minimum wage means that their customers are going to have more money to spend on main street. and that's why today i just received a letter from businessesfor

businessesforafairminimumwage.or g. small businesses large and small across the country support raising the minimum wage to $10.10. a thousand of them all across the country. and i'd like to ask consent to put this in the record following my remarks. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. harkin: so, as both this letter and the polls show, most small businesses get it. they know that boosting the minimum wage will increase consumer demand. they also know they'll have loyal, productive workers who will stay longer and save businesses from not having to constantly hire and train new people. experienced workers who've been on the job longer are more efficient and deliver great customer service that keep customers coming back. now, finally, some of my republican colleagues have suggested we shouldn't raise the minimum wage because they're better served by the earned

income tax credit. well, look, i support the earned income tax credit as -- and unlike many of my colleagues on the other side, i actually want to see it expanded so it better serves young and childless workers. right now if you are under the age of 25 and you're making the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, you're making too much money to qualify for the earned income tax credit. now, if you make -- if you're over age 25 and you made the minimum wage, $7.25 an hour, you have one child, you would get $3,250 earned income tax credit plus your child care tax credit. that gets you up to $19,300 a year. what a deal. but if you're childless, you get no earned income tax credit.

so veterans were mentioned earlier. let's say a veteran goes in the military, age 18, he or she is 18. they get after two or three years, or 21, 22. they go out to get a job, they get a minimum-wage job. they do not get the earned income tax credit. so i'm for expanding it. let's expand the earned income tax credit to cover childless workers under the age of 25. my republican colleagues won't support that. they won't support that. so the earned income tax credit does provide some good support but think about this, it only does it once a year. the only time you get the earned income tax credit is after you file your taxes. then you get a refund. that's once a year. families don't live like that, especially low-income families. they've got to budget month after month after month for heating, for electricity, for fuel, for car repairs, clothes

for the kids. they can't count on what's going to happen next year. so the earned income tax credit, while it's good, only happens once a year. and that's not very good for budgeting purposes for any family. after all, the gas company will turn your gas off in the winter even if you're going to get an earned income tax credit next april or may. they don't take that into account. they take into fact they can't pay your bill then. so the best way to help low-income families, minimum-wage earning families plus low-income families, the best way to help them throughout the year is to increase the minimum wage. so again, all the arguments we hear from the other side of the aisle just don't hold water. so today what i heard from the other side of the aisle was more talk about the keystone pipeline

as if that's going to solve all our problems. all we've got to do is build the keystone pipeline. why, that solves all our problems. it does? the restaurant worker in maine? the hospital orderly in south carolina? the parking lot attendant in mississippi? they're all going to benefit from the keystone pipeline? i don't think so. somehow that's going to take the place of raising the minimum wage. so they're trying a little diversion on this keystone pipeline. will it provide some jobs? yeah, for a couple of years and that's over with. then where are you left? and the kind of jobs are not the kind of jobs that low-income workers would get. these would be pretty

high-skilled, high-paying jobs on the keystone pipeline. so it doesn't really hold any water that somehow the keystone pipeline is going to be the end-all and be-all for helping our economy. it just won't. raising the minimum wage is the most commonsense, practical thing that we can do right now to help low-income families giv- families, give a boost to our economy and save the taxpayers' money. so i hope that all my colleagues will do the right thing, do the right thing tomorrow and allow us to proceed to debate and vote on increasing the minimum wage. millions of american families will be watching this vote tomorrow. and if they're working hard during the day, they won't be tuning in on c-span, but they'll read about it and they'll know what this senate did about their paychecks and what we did about their desire to have a better

life for their families, for their kids, for their future. and i will also say this. if -- if my republican colleagues won't join with us, or at least five or six of them -- because we need 60 votes to get over the filibuster -- if question get five or six then we can move on the bill. i hope we'll get five or six or eight or ten republicans who will join us. if not, we'll be back. this issue is not going away. i can guarantee you we'll be back. we'll be back again and again and again. the american people need a rai raise. c.e.o.'s, they're getting their raises. 21% increase since 19 -- since

2009. 21% increase. an average c.e.o. paid. zero increase for minimum-wage workers. it's now time to play a little catch-up ball and provide fairness for low-income workers all over america. so that's the vote tomorrow, a values vote. american values. family values. sound economic values. that's what the vote's about tomorrow. i hope and i trust that some of my colleagues on the republican side will join with us so we can move ahead to give working americans a raise and a fair shot at the american dream. madam president, i yield the floor.

mr. cruz: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cruz: madam president, i rise today to address the idea of raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour. but first i want to spend a few moments talking about the state of the united states senate and why the latest push for a higher federal minimum wage isn't something that appears to be driven by solving the underlying economic problems our nation faces. over the past few weeks, the senate majority leader has relished in making personal attacks on two private citizens, david and charles koch, on this senate floor. he has used the senate floor for the purpose of attempting to assassinate their character. they have committed no crimes,

although the majority leader appears to treat it is a crime that they don't support him politically. many political observers can see this for exactly what it is -- a desperate political strategy designed to distract from the economic misery that is being visited on the american people by a failed economic agenda. the senate majority leader is using the senate floor to run a political campaign against entrepreneurs and philanthropists who have dared to stand up and speak out against the failed obama economic agenda. but the reason he is doing so should not surprise anyone. on substance, the record of this administration cannot be defended. they can't talk about how great obamacare is working because millions of americans have lost

their health insurance plans and lost the doctors that they liked, despite the president's repeated promises to the contrary. health insurance plans have skyrocketed in states all across this country, especially for young people in the individual market who are seeing their rates sometimes double or trip triple. and they certainly can't talk about the state of the economy. today we have the lowest labor force participation since 1978. the official unemployment rate is 6.7% but that doesn't capture the millions who are underemployed, and when you include them, the number rises to 12.7%. the rates of poverty in the united states are right now at historic highs, 15%, as cnn recently noted -- quote -- "this is the first time the poverty

rate has remained at or above 15% for three years running since 1965." among full-time workers, there are today more than 3.8 million fewer employed today than there were before the recession. the number of people not in the labor force today is at its highest level since 1978, over 91 million people are not in the american work force. roughly 3 in 5 working-age americans have jobs today. that is a travesty. that is a denial of the american dream to millions of people across this country. and long-term unemployment persists. roughly 35 -- nearly 36% of the unemployed are long-term unemployed. when president obama took offi office, the average number of weeks that an individual was unemployed was 19.8.

today the average duration is 35.6 weeks. it is also a good thing, madam president, that the president has begun to talk about income inequality. it is a good thing because income inequality has increased dramatically under president obama. today the top 1% in our economy earn a higher share of our income than any year since 1928. and those that are being hurt the most in the obama economy are the most vulnerable among us, the people who are struggling, the working class, young people, hispanics, african-americans, single moms. they are the ones paying the price for the great stagnation in which we find ourselves. according to gallop, the percentage of americans who describe themselves as middle or upper class fell eight points

between 2008 and 2012. and president obama's terrible economy doesn't discriminate. it hurts americans from every demographic. on the president's watch, women have lower incomes today? the median income for women has dropped by $7,300 since president obama took office. and, indeed poverty among women has gone up markedly under president obama. the poverty rate for women has increased from 14.4% when the president took office to 16.3%. in real terms, that means today 3.7 million more american women are in poverty today than when the president took office. now, the president is not responding to any of this.

instead, we see the president, we see the senate majority leader shifting to the topic of a mandated federal minimum wage. in an effort to change the subject. but the undeniable reality, the undeniable truth is if the president succeeded in reeving the minimum wage, it would cost jobs from the most vulnerable. the people who have been hurt by this obama economy would be hurt worse. with the minimum wage proposal before this body. in 2013, the president in his state of the union address proposed raising the minimum wage to $9. now a year later, the request is magically changed to $10.10. the only reason -- no economic justification. the only reason is politics. i suppose if the approval ratings of democratic members of this body continue to fall, in

another month, we'll see a proposal for $15 an hour and then maybe $20 or $25 an hour. but i think the american people are tired of empty political showboats. the nonpartisan congressional budget office says that raising the minimum wage could cost a loss of 500,000 to one million jobs. madam president, i want the american people to realize every member of this senate that votes for the minimum wage is voting to tell up to one million americans your jobs don't matter to me because i am voting to take away your job. and by the way, this view is not only the view of the nonpartisan congressional budget office. on march 12, 2014, over 500 economists, including three nobel lor yachts -- laureates, sent a letter to congress that said the minimum wage is a

poorly targeted antipoverty law. i will give one example from my home state. go burgers, which is a texas company with six burger king restaurants, analyzed the effect of the minimum wage increase on their employees and their businesses. the last minimum wage increase we have seen was from $5.85 an hour in 2007 to $7.25 an hour in july of 2009. 2010 was the first complete calendar year that go burgers had to analyze the impact on their workers. go burgers discovered that reeving the minimum wage by 23.93% caused these burger king restaurants to reduce the available hours worked by 24.98% for a net sum loss in hours and

wages for the typical employee. let me repeat that. the experience in these burger king restaurants was the employees were worse off after the minimum wage was raised because their hours got cut in direct response to that. these six restaurants eliminated over 40 jobs and reduced the average number of hours worked per employee. in total, these six burger king restaurants reduced the man-hours allocated by over 60,000 hours in 2002. and sadly, the people that bear the brunt of that, they're not the rich and powerful. they're not those who walk the corridors of power in washington, d.c., have gotten fat and happy under the obama administration. the people who would bear the brunt if this bill were passed would be in substantial degree

young african-american teenagers and young hispanic teenagers. right now, young minorities. if you look at unemployment rates by race, just look at the official unemployment rate. anglos have an unemployment rate of 5.8%. hispanics 7.9%. african-americans 12.4%. nearly double that in the white community. it's even more heart breaking among teenagers, white teens currently have an unemployment rate of 18.3%, but african-american teenagers have an unemployment rate of 36.1%. 36.1%. madam president, every senator who votes yes is voting with an absolute certainty that hundreds of thousands of workers, including a great many african-american teenagers, a great many hispanic teenagers will be laid off as a consequence of their vote. i would challenge any of the

senators in this chamber to look in the eyes of those african-american teenagers, those hispanic teenagers who are looking for a better opportunity, and, madam president, if you detect a note of passion in my voice as i discuss this, it is because in my family this is not an abstract hypothetical situation. 57 years ago when my father fled cuba and came to texas at the age of 18, penniless, not speaking english, his first job was working in the restaurant industry as a dishwasher, making 50 cents an hour. and the restaurant industry has been such a terrific avenue for climbing the economic ladder, for achieving the american dream. my dad washed dishes at 50 cents an hour to pay his way through college, to go on to start a small business, to work towards the american dream. madam president, if the majority leader had his way, the minimum wage were jacked up, if back in

1957 the restaurant where he worked were forced to pay every worker $2 an hour, the odds are very high that that restaurant would have fired my dad and bought a dishwasher instead. it was that entry-level job that gave him the first grip on the economic ladder that let him pull to the second and the third and the fourth and this bill if it were to pass would hammer those on the bottom of the economic ladder, would take away jobs from the most vulnerable among us. so what should we do instead? because, madam president, we can talk about the problems we have in this country but we need to talk proactively about better solutions. and fortunately, we are on the cusp of a great american energy renaissance. i've introduced legislation to remove the barriers to developing the abundant energy resources we have in this country, barriers that if

removed would allow the creation of millions of high-paying jobs. madam president, the discussion before this chamber is whether to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. but, madam president, even if it passed, that is not the obama minimum wage. rather, the real obama minimum wage is zero dollars and zero cents an hour. we have right now the lowest labor force participation since 1978. to the millions of americans who have lost their job because of $1.7 trillion in new taxes, because of crushing regulations, this is the obama minimum wage, zero dollars and zero cents, not the political window dressing of $10.10, the

reality, the hard, brutal reality. madam president, last week i was in nebraska at a rally. and a woman named barb came up to me, she hugged my neck. and she said ted, i'm a single mom. i've got six little kids at home. my husband left me and he's not paying child support. and i'm working five jobs trying to keep my kids fed, trying to keep them with clothes on their back. and barb had tears in her eyes. one of the most brutal consequences of obamacare is it's forced millions of americans like barb into part-time work. because the threshold for obamacare is 30 hours a week so instead of having one or two jobs, barb and millions of other single moms are going from one job to another to another to another and they're not spending the time with their kids. this is the brutal reality of the obama minimum wage but,

madam president, i'm happy to tell you there is a better alternative. and the better alternative i would note, far better than zero, far better than the promise of $10.10 an hour, is $46.98. $46.98, that is the average hourly wage in the oil and gas industry in the state of north dakota. madam president, every one of us should want to see millions more jobs at $46.98 an hour and we should want millions rescued from the obama minimum wage of zero dollars and zero cents an hour. that's the choice before this body of expanding this american energy renaissance, creating opportunity. let me tell you in the state of texas, texas is an incredible example. there's a reason 1,400 people a day are moving to texas from

high tax, high regulation states represented by many of our friends on the democratic side of the aisle because they're coming to texas because texas is where the jobs are and texas is where the salaries are. and the oil and gas industry in texas, those jobs paid on average 150% more than other private-sector jobs in texas. $128,000 a year compared to $51,000 a year in 2012. in the 23 counties atop the eagleford shale in south texas, average wages for all citizens have grown by 14.6% annually since 2005. the top five counties in the eagleford shale region have experienced an average growth of 63% annual rate of wage growth. how many millions of americans would love to see 63% annual wage growth. in texas the average pay for an

entry-level truck driver ranges from $36,000 to $45,000 but it rises to $50,000 to $70,000 in the oilfield and these are kids straight out of high school. making $70,000 a year. as reported in an a.p. story on march 28, 2014, james la boss, an economist for the oil and gas association said the industry directly employed 416,000 employees in 2013 and they averaged 123 -- $120,000 a year in wages. as a separate nation, texas right now would rank as the ninth largest oil producing country in the world. and not only can energy development bring good-paying jobs it can help our children in schools. cotilla, texas was once one of the poorist districts in texas but now because of the eagleford shale, energy development is

one of the richest. the taxes that are coming from the energy development means money for fixing schools, hiring teachers, paying them more and purchasing technology in the classrooms. one thing that is striking, madam president, is what has happened across the country. if you look, this is a map, madam president, of changes in median household income by county from 2007 to 2012. 2007 to 2012 was is a long time. on this map, green indicates that median household income has gone up. yellow indicates no statistically significant change and repped indicates it's gone down. overlaid on this map, madam president, is an overlay of the geological shale

formations in this country. and what is striking about looking at median incomes in the united states is median incomes have gone up, this is almost exactly a geological shale map of the united states. you can see median incomes have gone up up here in the balk ann shail -- bakken shale in and around north dakota, the eagleford shale, the barnett shale, the marcellis shale, green, green, green, green, median income going up for everyone in the county, median income going up. where energy production is occurring. strikingly, the marcellis shale extends north to new york and yet the entire state of new york you can see there's not a county in the state of new york where needian income has gone up. why? the democratic politicians in new york have prohibited developing those natural resources because they ban

fracking. so pennsylvania, pennsylvanians apparently would like jobs, like higher median income, they're seeing the benefit but in new york, new yorkers are not because of democratic politicians in new york that prohibit developing those resources. i would note that one of the most promising areas is the monterrey shale in california, abundant resources and you would note the entire state of california there's not one green county. and that is because california likewise even though they should those resources, the democratic politicians have there concluded californians couldn't don't want jobs and they're going to prohibit developing their natural resources rather than providing the very real suffering that's being caused. i would note, madam president, there is one striking exception from this pattern being largely aa geological shale formation of this country and that is bright green located right here.

where we are standing, the district of columbia and the surrounding areas and let me tell you it is a good time to be in around government. the lobbyists, the consultants, those who make money on the growing and growing and growing federal government spending and debt are getting fatter and happier every day and you look at the rest of the country and you see stagnation, you see median income falling. madam president, rather than engaging in political games driven by polling done by the democratic senatorial committee on this minimum wage bill that if passed would only hurt low-income african-american and hispanic teenagers, instead we ought to come together with bipartisan unanimity to say we will stand with the american people to bring millions of jobs, we will stand with the american people to raise median income. we will stand with the american

people to make it easier for people who are struggling to achieve the american dream. therefore, madam president, i have proposed an amendment to replace the text of s. 2223, the minimum wage act, with the text of the american energy renaissance act i've introduced, s. 2170. we should all come together and vote on removing the government barriers, opening up new federal lands and resources to developing high-paying, promising jobs that expand opportunity. madam president, in conclusion, let me say this debate comes down to two numbers. it's not a complicated debate. this debate comes down to two numbers. on my left, the real obama minimum wage, zero dollars and zero cents an hour and i'm sorry

to say in this democratic senate, this chamber is largely empty, there is no discussion of fundamental tax reform, of regulatory reform, of removing the barriers that have caused the lowest labor force participation since 1978. instead, we're debating a bill to increase unemployment. this minimum wage bill, the nonpartisan c.b.o. has told us, would increase more people would be paid zero dollars and zero cents an hour under the bill before this chamber. no wonder congress' approval rating is 8%, 10%, 12%. when you take the greatest challenge facing americans right now, the need for economic growth and jobs and the united states senate in democratic control won't even talk about providing real relief there, no wonder people are disgusted with the united states congress and you know what this debate is about, compare zero dollars and

zero cents an hour to $46.98 an hour. i want to see millions of americans making $40, $50 an hour, providing for their kids vnd having a better future. madam president, as i travel this country over and over again men and women come up to me and look me in the eyes, they say ted, i'm scared. i'm scared that we are bankrupting this country, i'm scared that my kids and grandkids are not going to have the future, the freedom we've been blessed to have. madam president, this united states senate has an opportunity to address that. we should pass the american energy renaissance act, we should stop making it harder for working americans but instead we should come together for jobs and economic growth. thank you, madam president.

madam president, i would suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 591. the presiding officer: the question on the motion to proceed. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed, nay. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. mr. reid: send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer it hasn't been reported. i'm sorry about that. the presiding officer: the clerk will call -- the report the cloture motion. the clerk: cloture motion. we, the undersigned senators accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the nomination of theodore david chalm of maryland to be united states district judge for the district of maryland. signed by 17 senators as

follows -- reid of never -- mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. reid reid i ask consent the mandatory -- mr. reid: i ask consent mandatory quorum under rule 22 be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion to proceed. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. reid: i now move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 592. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion to proceed. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to.

the clerk: george jared hazel of maryland to be united states district judge. mr. reid: madam president, i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: we, the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, hereby move to bring to a close the debate on nomination of george jared hazel of maryland to be united states district judge for the district of maryland. signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the reading of the names not be necessary. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask consent the mandatory quorum under rule 22 be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now move to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion to proceed. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. reid: i now move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 575.

the presiding officer: the question is on the motion to proceed. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nancy l.morritz of kansas to be united states district judge. mr. reid: madam president, there's a cloture motion at the desk and i ask your permission to have it reported. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: cloture motion. we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the nomination of nancy l. morritz of kansas to be united states circuit judge for the 10th circuit. signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent reading of the names not be necessary. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask consent, madam president, the mandatory quorum under rule 22 be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion to proceed.

all those in favor say aye. all those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. reid: i now ask unanimous consent, madam president, that we proceed to a period of morning business, senators allowed to be speak for 10 minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the following resolutions, s. res. 427, 428 and 429. and do them all -- the presiding officer: is there an objection to the motion to proceed en bloc? without objection. mr. reid: i ask consent these resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be -- where applicable be agreed to and the motion to very are be laid on the table en bloc with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until tomorrow morning, wednesday, april 30, 2014.

that fo following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day and following any leader remarks, the senate be in a period of morning business until 10:30 tomorrow morning, senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. with the republicans controlling the first half, the majority controlling the final half. and that following morning business, the time noo until 120 noon be equally divide between the two leaders or their designees prior to a slow tour vote on the minimum wage fairness bill. at 4:00, the senate proceed to car calendar number 586, 587, 589 and 590, as provided under the previous order. the presiding officer: without objection. reid reimr. reid: the first roll vote will be at 12:00 noon tomorrow. there will be additional votes at about 4:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. if there's no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it adjourn under the

previous order following the remarks by senators merkley and hirono. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. merkley: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. merkley: madam president, i rise today in this chamber to address an issue that is critical to working families across our nation. and that's the federal minimum wage. first i want to thank senator tom harkin for his leadership on this issue. he's advocated year after year, decade after decade that we need to ensure that we have an economy where workers fully

participate in the fruits of their labor. we should not have a society in which all of those fruits go simply to the very few at the expense of a fair wage for those who create that success. so i want to thank senator harkin for leading this fight for this extended period of time on behalf of working families. he believes, as i believe, that we should measure the success of our nation not by the growth of the g.d.p., not by having one eye on the dow jones and one eye on the s&p 500. we should measure the success by the success of our families. that's what this debate about the minimum wage is all about. and this issue matters a great deal to me because i come from a blue-collar family.

my father was a mechanic. he employed those skills in a sawmill. he was the millwrite, the person who keeps the mill going. so there's work for the workers and there's certainly success for the company. and he went on to work as a mechanic in many other ways. and on that mechanic's wage, he was able to raise a family and participate fully in the american dream. he and my mother were able to buy a home. they could afford to take us camping. they could afford to save a little bit to help us be able to go to college. that's what happens when workers get to participate in the success of our economy. now, the minimum wage is part of

this story because it's the foundation and the benchmark that helps set wages throughout the economy. and in this time period after world war ii, our economy grew quickly and our wages grew quickly and those workers took those wages and they bought products and that demand fueled further production which put more people to work. it was an upward cycle. but more recently we've had a philosophy imposed and advocated and put forward by the top 1% that if all the growth in revenue comes to them, they will be the job makers, they will be the job creators and everyone else will thrive. and if there was ever a moment in u.s. history when the complete falseness of this philosophy was evident, it's

right now. because from 2008 until now, 95% of the newly created wages have gone to the 1%, to the very top. and so we should have more jobs than we know what to do with on the philosophy that's been advocated so recently on the floor of this senate that we should minimize the wages at the bottom to maximize the profits at the top. that is a downward spiral for a very clear reason and it's this. people don't make things in society. if the middle class in society doesn't have the money in their pocket to buy them. if they don't have the money, they don't go to the restaurant and the restaurant doesn't hire the waiter and the restaurant doesn't hire the dishwasher. it doesn't open a new outlet and

employ more people. you know, there are certainly many factors that have contributed to shrinking paychecks for working americans, but the declining purchasing power of the federal minimum wage is a major factor. the federal minimum wage sets an important standard for how the contributions of working families are valued. the minimum wage sets a floor on wages that is a benchmark just -- not just for minimum-wage workers but for our entire wage scale. so when the minimum wage goes up, the value placed on working americans all across the economy goes up. in 1968 i was 12 years old. the federal minimum wage was equivalent in today's dollars to about $10.50.

$10.50. unlike the wage we have right now, which is $7.25. so the purchasing power has roughly dropped by a third. and that's not to the benefits of the workers and that's not to the benefit of all the small businesses that provide retail services that benefit when a worker can afford to buy those services. so putting money in the pockets of minimum-wage workers lifts up millions of working families directly, it lifts up millions more because of the indirect effect of providing more demand for products in the economy. today a worker who works 40 hours per week at the federal minimum wage makes barely $15,000 per year. that puts a family of two below

the poverty line. that's poverty despite the fact the mother is working full time 52 weeks a year. a family of three puts them further below the poverty line because of the additional expenses of taking care of a second child. that is just wrong. the more you look at the numbers, the more it becomes clear that the current minimum wage is insufficient to provide a foundation for a family. we need to raise the minimum wage because there's just no way to support a family on $7.25 per hour, less than $15,000 per year. a recent study estimated that a worker paid the federal minimum wage in states as diverse as minnesota, texas and pennsylvania would have to work more than 90 hours per week to afford rent on a market rate

two-bedroom apartment. 90 hours per week. more than two full-time jobs. 13 hours of work per day monday through sunday. imagine working from 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. on your feet, getting up, doing it day after day, week after week, and still you can't afford rent on a two-bedroom apartment. no breaks, no vacations, no sick days, no benefits, but you can't afford rent on a two-bedroom apartment. without a minimum wage that comes closer to families' real costs of living, our economy will continue to leave behind too many hardworking americans. the legislation that we are debating this week would raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour and index it to inflation to sustain the

purchasing power. now, that doesn't get us back to the purchasing power of 1968, but at least it comes a lot closer. and let's understand what we're talking about here. we're not talking about an entry wage for teenagers. the vast majority of folks who earn minimum wage are adults. far more than 80%. more than four out of five, they are adults. more than half of whom are women. and the earnings of these families contribute to support -- the support of nearly one in four american children. contrary to the arguments made for the super wealthy and couched in sympathy for the poor that we heard a few minutes ago on this floor, this minimum wage would lift 4.6 million americans out of poverty. it would give america's low-wage

workers paychecks that better reflect their contribution, their work and their value in our economy. now, some in this chamber, as we heard not so many minutes ago, would try to convince you that this is bad for business. nothing could be further from the truth. if you need proof, just look to the northwest. in oregon, we know this model works because oregon has road tested the model. we don't need to have theoretical debates about it. we have a real-life example in the state of oregon. our minimum wage has been indexed since 2002. it sits at $9.10 per hour. indexing enables businesses to plan for small and steady increases rather than to speculate about potential dramatic leaps, and our restaurant industry, one of the largest employers of workers at

oregon's higher minimum wage, is projected to grow faster than the national average, faster. in fact, a higher minimum wage may well create jobs. the reason is simple -- when workers have more wages in their pockets, they spend more in our retail stores which hire more workers to meet the demand. when the retail stores sell more to the workers who have more money in their pocket, they order more from the factory and the factory employs more workers. a study by the economic policy institute found that the higher minimum wage we are debating would create 85,000 jobs. strengthening our federal minimum wage is at its core about basic respect and basic fairness. it's about recognizing that there is dignity in work and that when we allow working families to fall further and further down the wage chain, we all pay the price. they have to consider many

aspects that take away from our society. a mother that has to pursue four minimum wage jobs to try to fill in when that minimum wage is too low to support a family and she is not there helping to guide her child, and that is not helpful to a strong and productive future for that child or for our society in general. it doesn't matter whether you're a c.e.o. or a janitor. if you work full time in america, you should not be living in poverty. if we pay the janitor a little more, it helps a lot more people than just that one worker. those wages go back into the broader economy that the c.e.o. and his or her company depend on. so let's do what's right for our

workers. let's do what's right for our economy. let's pass this bill and restore the power of the minimum wage for america's working families. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. ms. hirono: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. ms. hirono: mr. president, i rise in support of the minimum wage fairness act because it's time to give everyone a fair shot. more and more states are voting to raise the minimum wage. last week, the hawaii state legislature passed a bill to raise the minimum wage in my home state. hawaii's bill will increase the wage from $7.25 to $10.10 and increases the tip wage to at least $9.35. hawaii will become the tenth state enacting a wage increase since president obama's 2013

state of the union address. in 2014 alone, connecticut, delaware, maryland, minnesota, west virginia and washington, d.c. have enacted wage increases. hawaii will become the 26th state with a higher minimum wage than the current federal minimum wage. it's time for congress to join with the states that are leading the charge to give hardworking families a raise. i'm going to share a few reasons why the u.s. senate should vote to raise the minimum wage. first, today's federal minimum wage is a poverty wage. if the minimum wage had kept up with inflation since 1968, the minimum wage today would be about $10.68. this means that minimum wage workers today earn less than

$15,000 per year working full time. if you are supporting a child or an elderly parent, that would put your family income below the federal poverty line. the bill we're considering today would raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 by 2016 and index it to inflation afterward. increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 would help lift nearly a million workers and their families out of poverty. in hawaii, raising the minimum wage will bring more than 12,000 people above the federal poverty level. second, the minimum wage is a woman's issue. growing up, my mother was a single parent. we were an immigrant family. she raised three children by herself on very low wages. i know what it's like to run out

of money at the end of the month and what it's like for every dime to matter. nationwide, nearly two-thirds of minimum wage workers are women. in hawaii, increasing the minimum wage will give 54,000 women a raise. one out of five hawaii women workers will get that raise. that is important to the women in my state where the cost of living is high. during the legislative debate on this issue in hawaii, numerous advocacy groups came forward to provide testimony on why the minimum wage should be increased in hawaii. these included representatives from churches, unions, individual parents, students and others. for example, dr. lori kamimoto is an ob/gyn who came forward to testify. she told of her work at health

clinics where many of her patients are minimum wage workers. she testified -- quote -- "the majority of patients i saw at the free clinic were multiple -- worked multiple minimum wage jobs, and each job made sure that they did not give my patient enough work hours to qualify for health insurance or benefits. oftentimes, a patient would not be able to afford the medication needed for her health condition. she had a choice to either pay for her children's food or the recommended medication." end quote. another testifier, laura finleyson. she is a student at hawaii state university. she testified -- quote -- "as someone who has worked several minimum wage jobs, i have experienced firsthand how the low wages perpetrate the cycle of poverty. many must also rely on government aid in order to make ends meet." unquote. these stories and countless others show why we must raise

the minimum wage. many workers in hawaii are tipped workers. the tipped minimum wage is especially far behind. i have met restaurant workers who can't afford to eat in the very restaurants in which they work. take the example of nia potts who i met recently. she is a tipped worker. she works in a restaurant in the reagan building in washington, d.c. due to her low wages, she has had to choose between buying diapers for her child or eating lunch that day. she decided to do something about her situation. joining with her fellow workers and advocacy groups, she pushed the administration to raise the minimum wage for federal contract workers. nia and her co-workers will now get a raise. it's time to give everyone in america a raise. there is a common myth that tipped workers are teenagers just starting out. that is false. 88% of workers in tipped

occupations are age 20 and over, and 45% are 30 or older. back in 2007, the last time congress raised the minimum wage, the restaurant industry with its many tipped workers said it would lose -- or would cost their industry jobs. this did not happen. in fact, in 2013, the restaurant industry forecast said -- quote -- "restaurants remain among the leaders in job creation." end quote. the bureau of labor statistics reports that between 2007 and 2013, restaurants created or added 724,000 jobs. there is a misconception that all tip workers are servers at fancy restaurants. also not true. many people who work at the airport who help you get the bags, who help you make it to your gate on time are also tipped workers.

tipped workers include bar backs, bellhops, parking attendants, car washers, airport wheelchair workers and many people don't even realize that these workers need tips to survive. on average, hourly wages for tipped workers are almost 40% lower than overall hourly wages. the fact is raising the minimum wage is not just good for workers. it is also good for the economy. that's why our survey of small business owners found that three out of five small business owners supported raising the minimum wage. they understand that a higher minimum wage would increase consumer spending for their goods and services. that's because minimum wage workers spend new money from higher wages right away at local businesses in their communities. in addition to the restaurant

industry that i referred to earlier, there are other persistent critics who claimed raising the minimum wage will cost jobs. some cite a congressional budget office report that only looked at old studies and not the latest research. the fact is the latest academic studies say higher minimum wage increases consumer spending and does not cost jobs. a march goldman sachs report says the states which raised their minimum wages in 2014 actually created more jobs than those states that didn't raise the minimum wage. 600 economists, including seven nobel prize winners, have endorsed a minimum wage of -- of $10.10. raising the minimum wage also saves taxpayers money on social services, as many of my colleagues have already noted. the current minimum wage leaves many below the poverty line and

eligible for assistance, such as the supplemental nutrition assistance program, snap, or food stamps. if you raise the wage from $7.25 to $10.10, we reduce taxpayer costs for snap benefits by $4.6 billion a year. in hawaii, over 15,000 workers would no longer need snap benefits. this would save nearly $40 million in hawaii alone. in america, we believe that if you work hard and play by the rules, you can get ahead. it's time for congress to follow the example of hawaii and the other states that have raised their mawj minimum -- minimum w. they are doing the right thing. it's time for congress to do the right thing. let's give america a raise so all americans can have a fair shot. i yield back and i note the absence of a quorum.

i rescind that, mr. president, and i ask consent the senate adjourn until 9:30 a.m. tomorrow, wednesday, april 30, with all other provisions of the previous orders remaining in effect. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. the senate stands adjourned unthe bill will be placed on the calendar. mr. reid: mr. president, this week the senate will begin consideration of increasing the

federal minimum wage. over the next few days, members of this body will come to the floor to make case for or against increasing the minimum wage. most of the statements you will hear today will be in favor of it because the republicans are not anxious to come here and speak against raising the minimum-wage bill. they will be very silent most of the time and not talk much about increasing the minimum wage, which is so vitally important to our country. the american people written undated with figures and facts regarding the economic impact of an increase to $10.10 an hour. mr. president, why was that number chosen? it was chosen because that number, $10.10 an hour, for 40 hours, you were no longer in poverty. as supporters of this legislation, senate democrats have ample evidence to back up

our position. it is good for america. a recent study from the economic policy institute indicate indict increasing the minimum wage would raise wages for 28 million american workers, that's about 10% of the american people. 10% of the american people. tying it to inflation would raise wages for 28 million american workers. that's about 10%. these 28 million americans just aren't high school kids looking to make a few bucks after school. the same analysis the medium age of minimum wage workers is 35 years proving these employees are grown men and women most of them with families. if we needed more reason to pass this important legislation in the most recent polling reveals 75% of americans back an increase in the minimum wage. so mr. president without supporting an increase in minimum wages ample and is for all of us to see.

however the real issue transcends political polls and studies. part of the minimum wage debate is not founded in statistics but rather a question we should ask ourselves. what kind of a country do we aspire to be? this nation is home to the greatest economy in america. even as we continue to recover from the great recession there's no question we are the richest country on the planet. can anyone in this chamber doubt that our economy is the capability of providing livable wages to american workers? the fact that in america there are full-time working mothers and fathers who must juggle two or three jobs just to provide food and shelter for their children. i think that's unconscionable. now before and a soaking billionaire comes forward and is upset and pens an op-ed in some newspaper column it collectiveness as they have done let me be clear, this mr. president is a question of fairness. do you believe it's fair that fellow americans work full-time

to be paid less than a livable wage? i hope not read or do we value all american workers and award them with at least the very least a baseline wage that enables them to provide for their families? there's a story in a vat about a young man. he worked hard. the wages were so low he was forced to get another job. now working two jobs, what is this young man going to do? is he going to go to college? of course not. is he going to go to trade school? of course not. he's too busy working. what is going to happen to him that can better his life? just a few months ago and incredible successful businessman visited capitol hill. he said he could put himself through college attending harvard and he did that being paid $2 an hour. which was the minimum wage at the time. he now is an elderly very successful businessman.

he worked full-time over the course of the year and was able to pay harvard tuition. the tuition at that time was $2400 a year which was a lot on america's premier schools. he claims he had money left over after paying his college fees. jim's daughters preparing to enroll at harvard. if she were to be employed at today's minimum wage she would need to work full-time for four years to afford even one year of tuition and room and board at harvard. a young man that i just talked about could never dream of putting himself through harvard or unlv or anyplace because if you're working two jobs he can't do it. simply put it's not fair that working americans and their families are being stripped of the american dream. that's what he has done just like everybody else has like the presiding officer, like i have. train to better yourself even

better than what your family was able to provide. well so again mr. president put simply is it fair that working men and women are being stripped of the american dream because we refuse to pay more livable wage for working hard? that is what this legislation is so critical. an increase in the minimum wage offers will make a millionaire out of anyone that will ensure that each full-time working american receives a wage they can live on that will give them a fighting chance to get ahead in the economy. every hard-working american should have the opportunity to put a roof over their head and that of their family. every full-time employee should have a fair shot at the american dream. i'm by my republicrepublic an colleagues to consider what is fair for their constituents and work with us to increase the federal minimum wage of 75% american feed people think we should do. they should joining giving every american a fair shot in providing for their families. >> the american people want congress to focus on one thing

above all else, jobs. jobs. you would think the democrats in control of the senate would want to help advance bipartisan ideas to boost job creation. you would think they would work with us to address the concerns of our constituents. instead senate democrats are pushing legislation this week that would actually cost not create that actually cost up to a million american jobs. this is completely tone deaf. their bill would cost up to 17,000 jobs in kentucky alone and apparently this is what senate democrats have made their top priority. not much of a surprise though. as i have said many times washington democrats seem to hurt the very people they claim to be fighting for. when it comes to so many of their proposals washington democrats appear to prioritize

the desires of the far left over the needs of the middle class. let's be honest the interest of the far left in the middle class seemed to be an opposition these days. take a keystone pipeline for example. the obama administration recently announced yet another punt on this critical job is project one that would lead to the creation of thousands, literally thousands of good jobs. why? because of pressure from the far left. one union leader called the administration's decision it cold, hard slap in the face for hard-working americans. another labor leader whose union endorsed the president twice put it this way. no one seriously believes that the administration's dark of night announcement was anything but lyrically motivated. it represented he said another low blow to the working men and

women of our country for whom the keystone xl pipeline is a lifeline to good jobs and to energy security. here's a project the government has been studying for five or six years now, five or six years they have been studying this project. americans have learned that building keystone would produce significant economic benefits for our country and it would lower energy prices and that it would lead to the creation of thousands of jobs at a time when we need them more than ever. president obama's own administradministr ation has concluded that approving keystone would not significantly impact net carbon emissions anyway. improving the project wouldn't have an adverse impact on carbon emissions so you would think washington democrats would join the large majorities of americans to say that keystone is a good deal for our country. you would think they would jump at the chance to advance sound

policy that's already been thoroughly vetted, but then you would be missing the point. because democrats opposition to keystone isn't really about policy at all. they are basically surrendering the policy argument a long time ago. that is not really what this is about for them. remember this is the same party that effectively conceded that's its agenda for the rest of this year was drafting a campaign staffers the whole agenda for the rest of the year drafted by campaign staffers. they said that. so for them this is more about politics than symbolism and the far left has apparently decided that killing keystone is the symbolic scalp that they want. in fact they are demanding it. washington democrats seem perfectly willing to go along. of course the big loser in all of this is the american middle

class. the moms and dads and sisters and brothers whose primary concern is paying the bills and putting food on the table. the kind of people who have had it worse in the obama economy. the people that are doing everything to hell. what i'm saying to my colleagues today is this. it's not too late. you can still work with republicans to create more opportunity and help us rebuild the middle-class. but to do so you need to abandon the left and start focusing on the middle-class for a change. and if you are ready to get serious about job creation then there are some easy ways to demonstrate that to the american people. for starters, you can stop pushing legislation that would cut rather than create jobs and you can stop blocking projects like keystone ,-com,-com ma things that almost everyone knows will create jobs.

americans want jobs, not symbolism. start working with us to get the american the kind of pro-jobs policies they want and deserve. >> madam president, we are now debating legislation that will be up for a vote tomorrow. it will be a cloture vote on bringing a minimum-wage minimum

wage increase bill to the floor. so let's be clear about this, it's a cloture vote. that means it's going to take 60 votes and that'll happen tomorrow. and so i assume that most of the day we will be discussing that. i hope so. i know others have come to the floor previously to discuss this as the chairman of the committee and the chief sponsor of this bill i intend to be back on the floor later today to respond to some of the allegations made by senators on the other side of the aisle regarding this ill and that minimum wage concept. but i just want to take a few minutes to sort of set the stage for this legislation and what it's going to mean for our economy and for working americans. i guess madam president what i

would say at the outset the minimum wage bill is about a lot of things. it's going to give an economic boost. it will increase the gdp of our country. it will do a lot of good economic things for our society but basically it's really about economic fairness. it's really about what kind of a society we want america to be. keep in mind the fair labor standards act that set the minimum wage was passed during the depression 1939 when we were still in the depression and was immediately to give a raise in wages to hard-working americans and that is what it did. since that time, actually on both sides of the aisle we have raised the minimum wage a number of times. and so this is just another step in making sure that those that are at the bottom of the economic ladder in america also

get a hand up, to get a help, to make sure that they too have a fair shot at the american dream. so that is what this minimum wage bill is about. it's about core american values. the value that no one who works full-time all year long should live in poverty. that is really what this is about. the fact is that the value of the minimum wage has eroded so much over the last two years that the minimum wage right now is way below poverty. in other words you can work full-time every day all year long and you are still in poverty. but you are working every day. that's just not fair. the american value system is one that look, if you put in your work and you work hard you ought not to be living in poverty.

so right now tens of millions of americans are struggling just to keep a roof over their heads, to pay the heating bill, find money for an extra pair of shoes for a growing child and even getting money together to take the bus to work. if you are minimum-wage worker, think about this. your paycheck has stayed the same since 2009. since 2009 so this chart illustrates what has happened. if we go back here to 2009, the minimum wage has increased 0%. but look what else has gone up. electricity has gone up 4.2%, rent 7.3%, auto repairs 7.6%, food at home eight .8% increase since 2009. childcare has gone up 11.7% and mass transit, that is what

people who make minimum wage, that's how they get back and forth to work. it's gone up 178% since 2000 night yet your paycheck is not gone up 1 cent. .. up their old car, food, child care, and mass transit. look how much they've gone up and yet minimum wage has stayed the same. that's why this is a value -- value issue. when people who work hard, play by the rules, when they have to rely upon food stamps and food banks to feed their children and the minimum wage have then trapped in poverty, that's unacceptable. it's un-american. not what our nation is about. so americans deserve a raise. and that's why this bill to raise it from $7.25 to $10.10 an

raise it from $7.25 to $10.10 an in three annual steps. it will link the minimum wage to the cost of living in the future in other words, we index it for the future so we don't have this prospect as other things increase in price that the minimum wage stays the same. it is time to an exit in the future. and our bill also provides for tip workers, the people who serve your food, but still wheelchair's in airports, parked cars. believe it or not -- and every time i tell someone as they say to my cannot be right. the ratio is $2.13 an hour and has been that way since 1991. not one increase since 1991. people find that hard to believe welcome made is. it is also very true. our bill would increase to wages

up to 70 percent of the minimum wage over six years. the first increase in wages in 23 years. an increase in the minimum wage benefits everyone. 28 million workers will get there release. 15 million are women, over 50 percent of the increase would be women to bid for million african-american, 7 million hispanic, 7 million parents would get a raise, and kids. we forget about this. 14 million kids will benefit from a minimum wage increase which means their families would get an increase in minimum wage which benefits the kids. think about the children in america. they're going to get a raise, too. again, raising the minimum wage house families and our economy. that is why at a press

conference this morning there's a group called business for fair minimum wage. at 1,000 businesses across the country representing every state in our nation cannot thousand businesses have signed on saying, yes, we need to increase the minimum wage to at least $10.10 an hour. they understand. we have main street businesses. if you increase the minimum wage for people in that community they are not running off to paris, france to spend the money they will spend it on main street which helps small businesses which is why so many small businesses did. they understand. if you raise the minimum wage, that helps them, the local economy on main street.

the economic policy institute estimates that our minimum-wage bill if we put $35 billion into the hands of millions of workers , and that money will be spent on main street. an additional 22 billion into our gd be supporting 805,000 new jobs as a raise is phased in. there is another issue that i think we need to address. that is, what happens with its low wage workers and how they sustain themselves. what do they rely out? for new stamps, medicaid, or the children's health insurance program, the earned income tax credit and that temporary assistance for needy families. well, that costs taxpayers in america 243 billion, billion dollars per year. $243 billion per year.

now, again, i am not saying that by increasing the minimum wage it will mark that down to zero. i can say a study was done just on food stamps. if you raise the minimum wage in the first year we will save over four and a half billion dollars in taxpayer money is people will have enough money to go out and buy their own food. on of these other things will be cut back. medicaid ship. i cannot say how much, but people understand that this is what we are paying as taxpayers to support our minimum wage that is below the poverty line. again, i also -- people understand how important this is. that is why it is so broadly supported by a cross-section of american people.

there are polls that have been done, that you research center "usa today" poll this year, 73 percent of all voters support raising the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, 90 percent democrats, 71 independents and 53 percent of republicans believe we ought to raise it to at least $10.10 or our. the american people get it. overwhelming support for raising the minimum wage. i am just mystified by how vehemently my republican colleagues oppose this modest increase. i just don't understand it. what i hear is the same old outdated argument against giving working americans raised. there are some on the other side to believe we should do away with the minimum wage. try that on for size.

talk about our race to the bottom. $4 an hour, three, two. i have always said that, without a strong minimum wage and a good division in the department of labor to make sure that people adhere to it, if you don't have that then there is always someone a little worse off than you that will bit lower than you for that job. so there is always somebody that just needs the job of little bit more, they are desperate and will take it for $6 an hour. there are some wars often that that will take it for five. we get a downward spiral. well, that is why i say, our american value is to have a strong minimum-wage whereby people who work hard -- and some

of these jobs are hard work, on defeat eight hours a day or doing manual labor, the kind of jobs that a lot of people don't do. and yet they live in poverty. it is not right. raising the minimum wage is common sense. it adheres to our american values and gives everyone a fair shot at the american dream. i hope my colleagues will do the right thing. vote for cloture, lost to get on the bill. we can have some amendments offered and vote to get working americans are raised after all these years. madam president, i yield the floor. >> madame president. >> the gentleman from new mexico >> thank you, madam president. i rise today to join my

colleagues to urge support for increasing the federal minimum wage. today's minimum-wage of $7.25 falls short and working families are falling behind. it has not kept up with the rising cost of every day life. in fact, it is $2 less than it was in 1968 when adjusted for inflation. a full-time worker earning minimum wage in 2014 makes less than someone did in 1968, almost half a century ago. $7.25 maybe just a number to some, but not for so many families in my state struggling to get by working to work three jobs just to put food on the table or fill up the gas tank or buy clothes for their children and still are not able to climb out of poverty. our nation was founded on a basic premise, that no matter who you are, if you work hard

you can't get ahead. you can make a decent living. have not always kept that promise. we have the upper to the to do so this week. working americans are not moving forward. they're falling behind. year after year, paycheck by paycheck they work just as hard but earned less and less. and this is a disturbing trend, not just for minimum-wage workers, but all across the board. worker productivity is rising pretty dramatically, 69 percent in the last 25 years. real hourly wages are not keeping pace. that is quite a comparison, 69%, 26 percent. for the top one percentage could not be better. they're share of earned income

is the highest since 1929. the average worker has to run faster and faster just to let even stay in place. this is not the promise we made, but this is the reality for too many workers in new mexico and across the nation. they are living it every day. they get up, take care of their kids, go to work, and they may run faster, work harder, but they cannot get ahead. a full-time minimum-wage worker makes only $15,000 a year, well below the $203,550 poverty line for a family of four with two children. in mexico has too many families in poverty working hard, doing their best, but falling further and further behind. this bill would give them a chance to build a better future

for themselves and their children. no, i received many letters from my constituents because they know how important raising the minimum wages. here is letter from catherine in new mexico. she says, morally raising the minimum wage is the right thing to do because people working full-time deserve to live decently. barbara from clovis told me, there are some many people who work for minimum wage and have a desperately hard time paying the bills. liz from albuquerque says, i hope you will do all in your power to assure that every working american will be assured of making a living wage, not just a minimum wage. increasing the minimum wage helps families and the economy. it is one of the best thing is that we can do to kickstart new mexico's economy. it means workers in new mexico

would have over $200 million more to spend, boosting the state gdp by 127 million, helping local businesses and generating 500 new jobs. it means moving forward. and it means that we honor an important idea, that folks receive a fair day's page for a hard day's work. that is the deal, and is a big deal. let's consider the alternative. and every year costs rise and the minimum wage stays the same that is like a pay cut for families that can least afford it. the bill will for us increases the minimum wage in three steps. it raises the minimum wage by less than $1.6 months after the bill is signed. one year later it pumps up the minimum wage by $0.95, and two years after the first increase it would finally reach $10.10,

which is about where it would be if it had kept up with inflation over the past 40 years. this bill does more than just give hard-working -- hard workers a chance to earn a decent wage. it also includes an important provision to allow the minimum wage to continue to keep up with everyday costs so that future generations are working their way of canada a fair shot. our country has debated raising the minimum wage several times in the past. opponents always paint a very gloomy picture. we have been able to get bipartisan agreement to do it. the pessimistic predictions have not come true. we need to build an economy that works for everyone. most americans believe it is time to increase the minimum wage because it is the right thing to do and the smart thing to do.

it is time to keep our nations promised to reward hard work. it is time for all families have a fair chance at the american dream. i urge my colleagues to support increasing the minimum wage. it is long overdue. for millions of working families who continue to struggle, and continue to wait, and have waited long enough. i year before, madam president. >> a senator from new hampshire. >> thank you, madam president. i came to the floor today to join my colleagues in supporting an increase in the minimum wage that would give 28 million american workers a very long overdue raise. i know that they years since the economic collapse in 2008 have been hard for families in new hampshire and across the country although we have seen ceo salaries rise, pay for working

families has stagnated. while the cost of food, transportation, and child care all continue to climb and families struggle to make ends meet, the minimum wage for american workers has been stuck at $7.25 an hour since 2009. at that rate a single mother working full-time in new hampshire does not earn enough to keep her family out of poverty. let me just be clear. adults working full time cannot support their families on the minimum wage, and that needs to change. the fair minimum wage act would increase the minimum wage to $10.10 over two years which would provide a raise to nearly 20 percent of the new hampshire workforce and left 10,000 people in new hampshire out of poverty. nationwide nearly one-third of all minimum-wage workers are women over the age of 25.

in new hampshire 70 percent of minimum-wage workers are women. this effort is about these women and the 34,000 children whose parents would have a little more in their paycheck each week if we increased the minimum pay to $10.10. no, i know that many critics claim that only a teenager's told those minimum wage jobs, but sadly that is just not true. teenagers make up only 12 percent of those who would get a raise if we boosted pay to $10.10 an hour. the minimum wage workers are also veterans. the fair minimum wage act is about giving a race to the 4500 new hampshire veterans your now earn $7.25 an hour, the minimum wage, and are struggling to get by. i urge my colleagues to join me in voting to give these veterans

of race making sure workers in new hampshire get a fair wage for an honest day's work is something i have focused on since i was governor. in 1997i signed a bill that boosted the minimum wages for tip workers in new hampshire . nearly 75 percent of those workers are women. as was the case then, today we must act to raise the minimum wage to insure that hard-working americans get a fair shot at success. i urge my colleagues to join me on both sides of the aisle and supporting the fair minimum wage act. thank you, madam president. >> madame president, the senator from california. >> madam president, it is my honor to rise today to support this very important bill, the

minimum wage fairness act of 2014 and i am very proud of my colleagues who has just spoken. and particularly i want to say, the only woman here in the senate was both the governor and senator. is that correct? when she was a governor she stood up for the people. as a senator, she's ugly fights for people. part of this fight involves making sure that when you work hard and you work full-time you don't have to live in poverty. it just is not fair. remember, most of the people on minimum wage are adults, not teenagers, not children. and so many of them are trying to raise their children and jobs at the minimum wage level, and

you don't have to be a mathematician to know that the current minimum wage leaves you in poverty. you have a full-time job, work your heart out and wind up in poverty. now, i went back into my memory book and found my son's first paycheck when he was working his way through school. he came in to a supermarket to work as a checkout clerk. he came into a store called lucky stores. they were a union store. so he joined the union. you know what that young man made? in those years, 1986, 28 years ago. it is right here. $7.41 an hour.

imagine. and so he was so proud he could work hard and come home and was able to help pay for his tuition, for his books. we are talking about in minimum wage that is $10.10 an hour. here is this young man working at an entry-level checkout clerk at a supermarket in 1986 making over $7 an hour. this minimum wage has got to be raised, madam president. it you but -- if you put inflation on minimum wage as it was in 1968, just inflation, the minimum wage would be $10.609 an hour, and we are not even going that far. we are saying $10.10 an hour. all we are suggesting is, make

sure that inflation is covered. that is all we are saying. increasing the minimum wage will give people a chance, a fair shot. remember, most of the people on minimum wage are adults. all lot of folks, if you stop someone in the street and say, who do you think is on minimum-wage? they guess, oh, it is teenager's nope. and by the way, most of those adults happen to be women. i am deeply disappointed by the stress that the republicans are opposing this measure. why do republicans want to deny hard-working americans are raised? the country supports it overwhelmingly. i don't understand it because in 2007 the last time we raise the minimum wage it was bipartisan, a huge majority of senators then

agreed that a full day's work deserved a fair paycheck. the minimum wage in 2007 -- it was during george w. bush's presidency -- let me say that again, the minimum wage in 2007, which was the last time we raised it, the increase passed 94-3, and george w. bush signed it into law. what has changed in the republican party? what has changed in the republican mind-set? are they turning against the people? if you ask them, they will say it is just not there -- fair to small businesses. well, small businesses, more than 80 percent of them pay people more than minimum wage. so, on. the majority of small businesses support what we are trying to do so did not come on the floor and say you are opposing this because it is too much too soon.

wrong. it is lower than inflation. second, small business does not want it when, in fact, they did. now, the time before, 1989, we raised the minimum wage then it was 89-8. at that time it was george h. w. bush. wait a minute. what is going on here? the only vote to raise the minimum wage when a republican is in the white house? i don't get this. it is not about who is in the white house. it is about the working people of this country. where is the bipartisan spirit? it is gone, and america is paying a heavy price. minimum wage stock at $7.25 with inflation eating away every day and it. let me read you just two stories

-- two or three stories about workers. a single mother who testified in march before the senate health committee. she struggles to support her sons with a minimum wage job and fast food. she has trouble getting in her pants, shoes, clothing, things that kids need. she says, my boys ask, why isn't there enough money? you work, and you work really hard, mom. she said, i don't have a good answer other than i don't get paid enough. she is right. she does not get paid a fair minimum wage. nbc ran in a story of a man who works three jobs, two of them are overnight. he works three jobs, two of them are overnight jobs. a minimum-wage he said, i have four young children. they need a data around. that is why workaday job when

they're in school and go back to work when they are in bed. it takes three jobs to make ends meet because of $7.25 an hour. i am 43, over 20 years experience and make $7.25 an hour. madam president, that is wrong. these parents work so hard, and kids are growing up with so little. and their parents look in those children's eyes and say suffered because they want to do more for their children. now, economists project that this bill that i hope almost every democrat will support -- almost every democrat will support, it would raise the wages of 28 million people in america. all we need is a handful of republicans to join with us to get it done. by the way, -- >> these comments taking place earlier today as members came to

the floor to discuss the legislation that would raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour over two years. the senate returns to continue debate on the measure with a vote to enhance the bill scheduled. you can see the senate live here on c-span2. >> they're is a lot more carmen in people's lives, more disconnection, families broken, and the worst, terrible, good families because of the stress of life, going from one job to another, living in that world, working-class, up and down world can put a strain on people, the connection they should have as mother, father, sons and even the addiction that is so rampant now. ..