thedrifter
02-01-07, 10:54 AM
Kennedy: Troop spouses need minimum wage hike
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jan 31, 2007 16:14:41 EST
The plight of military spouses working at entry-level jobs was raised Wednesday by a key Democrat trying to push the Senate to vote for a minimum wage increase.
Urging the Senate to stop talking and vote for a House-passed bill that would increase the hourly minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 over two years, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said 50,000 military families are among those who would be helped by the bill.
“That’s right — our men and women sacrificing in Iraq, Afghanistan and countries around the world often have spouses here at home who work in low-wage jobs and struggle to get by on their meager earnings when their loved ones are called away to service their country,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy, a member of the Senates Armed Services Committee and chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that has jurisdiction over the federal minimum wage, estimated 10 percent of military spouses have minimum-wage jobs. “That is a shocking statistic,” he said. “While our fighting men and women are promoting security around the world, we cannot even provide their families with financial security here at home.”
The House of Representatives passed the minimum wage bill Jan. 10 by a 315-116 vote that was scheduled early in the session by Democratic leaders as a sign they are going to push forward on issues that Republicans leaders of the previous Congress had not.
In the Senate, quick passage of the bill has proven difficult because tax breaks for businesses that would have to pay the extra wages have been added to the legislation. A Senate vote on the amended bill is planned for tomorrow.
“It is time to put a stop to this once and for all, and do what is right for the American people,” said Kennedy, who then mentioned military spouses on a list of people who would be helped that included daycare workers, custodians and cleaning staff for hotels and offices, and people who work in nursing homes.
Ellie
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jan 31, 2007 16:14:41 EST
The plight of military spouses working at entry-level jobs was raised Wednesday by a key Democrat trying to push the Senate to vote for a minimum wage increase.
Urging the Senate to stop talking and vote for a House-passed bill that would increase the hourly minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 over two years, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said 50,000 military families are among those who would be helped by the bill.
“That’s right — our men and women sacrificing in Iraq, Afghanistan and countries around the world often have spouses here at home who work in low-wage jobs and struggle to get by on their meager earnings when their loved ones are called away to service their country,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy, a member of the Senates Armed Services Committee and chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that has jurisdiction over the federal minimum wage, estimated 10 percent of military spouses have minimum-wage jobs. “That is a shocking statistic,” he said. “While our fighting men and women are promoting security around the world, we cannot even provide their families with financial security here at home.”
The House of Representatives passed the minimum wage bill Jan. 10 by a 315-116 vote that was scheduled early in the session by Democratic leaders as a sign they are going to push forward on issues that Republicans leaders of the previous Congress had not.
In the Senate, quick passage of the bill has proven difficult because tax breaks for businesses that would have to pay the extra wages have been added to the legislation. A Senate vote on the amended bill is planned for tomorrow.
“It is time to put a stop to this once and for all, and do what is right for the American people,” said Kennedy, who then mentioned military spouses on a list of people who would be helped that included daycare workers, custodians and cleaning staff for hotels and offices, and people who work in nursing homes.
Ellie