Congressman says he will continue effort to restore the minimum wage
Washington, D.C. - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) today issued the following statement after the United States Senate failed to successfully move forward with Sen. Tom Harkin's Minimum Wage Fairness Act, which would have restored the minimum wage to $10.10. Although the bill received the support of 54 senators, it failed to acquire the 60 votes it needed to advance.
"It's a sad day for the 300,000 Iowans who work long hours in tough jobs and are struggling to provide the basics for themselves and their families," Braley said. "America shouldn't be a country where you can work a tough, full-time job and come home and find yourself and your family living in poverty."
Braley recently signed a 'discharge petition' designed to force a vote on the minimum wage in the U.S. House.
Earlier this year, Braley released a report on the minimum wage showing that since 1968, Iowans making the minimum wage have seen their real incomes fall by more than 30 percent. This means a parent with one child working 40 hours a week at a minimum wage job is living in poverty. Today, roughly 46,000 Iowans work jobs that pay at or below the minimum wage. Braley's report indicated that over 300,000 Iowans would receive a raise if the minimum wage was raised to $10.10.
His report examines how the purchasing power of minimum wage earners has decreased dramatically over time, resulting in many minimum wage earners living in poverty despite working 40 hours a week. The report also illustrates that over time the gap has steadily grown between minimum wage earnings and earnings of the average worker.
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