Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet expressed his disappointment today that a minority of senators blocked the consideration of a bill that would raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour. Prior to the procedural vote, Bennet spoke on the Senate floor urging his colleagues to allow the bill to move forward so senators could debate the bill and hold an up-or-down vote.
In his remarks, Bennet said, “We don’t want to have a minimum wage that’s so low that people working 40 hours a week have to be on public assistance just to support their families. Think about how crazy that is – someone working full time, 40 hours a week at a minimum wage job today needs thousands of dollars in support from the government to provide for their family. That’s not what we want in America. And the situation is a lot worse than it used to be because the minimum wage is not indexed to inflation. So as costs rise, the minimum wage loses its purchasing power; it stays the same until Congress raises it, which is why we’re trying to have this debate here.”