The new leadership in U.S. House of Representatives delivered on its promise to raise the federal minimum wage with passage of a bill on Jan. 10 that will increase the wage from its current $5.15 per hour to $7.25. The vote was a convincing 315-116, with 82 Republicans joining 233 Democrats in support.

AFT president Edward J. McElroy said in a letter to House members that raising the wage is a vital start to "ending the national shame of poverty wages." The rate has been frozen since 1997, keeping it at its lowest inflation-adjusted level in more than 50 years. Meanwhile, McElroy noted, during recent years of soaring economic productivity, many in corporate America have reaped huge profits, and low-wage workers have contributed to these gains. The bill now moves to the Senate, where there is more pressure to dilute it with corporate tax giveaways and rollbacks on worker protections.

In the next few days, the House is scheduled to address two more issues that the AFT has identified as early priorities for the new Congress: lowering Medicare prescription drug costs and helping students with their college loans. On Medicare, the AFT is urging Congress to fix one of the major flaws of the Medicare Prescription Drug Law by allowing Medicare to negotiate with drug companies for lower prescription prices. The proposed action on student loans would cut interest rates for subsidized loans and raise the maximum Pell Grant available to students.

Hundreds of AFT e-activists have already contacted their members of Congress on these issues, but it's not too late to add your voice. The AFT's legislative action center has brief background information on the issues as well as an easy link to send messages to members of Congress. [Dan Gursky, AFT department of legislation]

January 9, 2007