“When a mother or a father working two or three jobs still can’t afford groceries and rent the same month, it is a sign that something is wrong in this country”, said Senator Reid.
On January 6, 2014 Senator Harry Reid of Nevada asked for and was granted permission to address the United States Senate regarding the issue of extending the unemployment benefits for citizens who were laid off or fired from work, as well raising the minimum wage.
“Just before Christmas my colleague from Nevada, a Republican, Dean Heller, joined with the senior Senator from Rhode Island, Jack Reed, a Democrat, to propose an extension of unemployment insurance for 1.3 million Americans who lost benefits this past week. I commend these two Senators for their compassionate stance on this issue. The Senate will vote on moving forward on this Reed-Heller bill this evening. I hope a few reasonable and empathetic Republicans will join my colleague from Nevada Mr. Heller and help us advance this bill today.”
“Passing this measure is one of the best things we can do for our economy, and it is cost-effective. It is cost-effective in so many different ways, but it is cost-effective to immediately address the worst consequences of growing income inequality in this Nation”, he said.
“Another way to raise millions of Americans out of poverty is to increase the minimum wage and make it a living wage. People can work two jobs, work so hard–80 hours a week, and some are working over 100 hours a week–just to make ends meet. They work minimum-wage jobs. Minimum-wage jobs are not living-wage jobs. We are seeing this change all over the country. In the State of Washington, there is one community that has raised it to $15 an hour”, he continued.
“We have to do more to help people who are willing to work. We want them to make a living wage. The reason that is so very important is that it is believed–it is not believed, polling will indicate this–that two-thirds of small businesses want the minimum wage to be increased. Why? Because it helps them grow their businesses. When a mother or a father working two or three jobs still can’t afford groceries and rent the same month, it is a sign that something is wrong in this country”, said Senator Harry Reid (source: http://thomas.loc.gov).
Senator Harry Reid is the senior senator from the state of Nevada.