this right here, this is alicia mccrery of northwood iowa, came to testify before our committee. she has four boys, moved to northwood, iowa from another state, she was in a very abusive relationship, wanted to get her kids to a safe place so she moved there with her four boys. and she testified. she works at a fast food restaurant makes $7.65 an hour has four boys. amazing woman, she was working very hard. rides a bus 20 miles to work each way every day to get to work. she wants to work full time but the bus which costs her $10 a day, by the way only runs until 3:00 p.m. so she has to leave by then. her wages are so low that every day she has to tell her children they can't have things that their friends have. they can't play a certain sport. they can't all get a haircut at the same time. they can't even buy shoes at the same time. because she can't afford it. alicia does not want to be on public assistance but she has to be. she's participating in a program run by the north iowa community action agency to help her achieve self-sufficiency and get off the system because she want

alicia mccrery, a single mom, she testified in march before the senate help committee. she struggles to support her sons with a minimum wage job in fast food. she has trouble getting them haircuts, shoes, cloalt everything, things that kids need. she says my boys ask -- quote -- "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's right. she doesn't get paid a fair minimum wage. nbc ran a news story of a man who works three jobs, two of them are overnight, he works three jobs. two of them are overnight jobs for the minimum wage. he said -- quote -- "i have four young children. they need a dad around. that's why i work a day job when they're in school and then i go back to work when they go to bed but it takes three jobs to make ends meet because of $7.25 an hour. he says i'm 43, i have over 20 years' experience and i make $7.25 an hour. madam president, that is wrong. these parents work so hard and their kids are growing up with so little and their parents look in those chil

to say yes, to give a fair shot to the american dream, to being a part of the middle class, to alicia mccrery and millions of hardworking but low-paid americans. the time has come to raise the minimum wage. madam president, i yield. if there's any time back, i yield impact remaining time. -- yield back the remaining time. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators in accordance with provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the motion to proceed to s. 2233, a bill to provide for a federal minimum wage and to amend the internal revenue code of 1986 to extend increased expensing limitations and the treatment of certain real property as section 179 property. signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is: is it the sense of the senate that debate on the motion to proceed to s. 2223, a bill to provide for an increase in the federal minimum wage, and to amend the internal rev of knew code of -- inte