With such broad-sweeping support for the measure, we hope that the Senate will act quickly on the issue as well before the Congress adjourns for the year in October. H.R. 4678 will increase the child support dollars actually received by children and their families. It helps families who have left welfare, by allowing them to keep all the back child support collected, instead of letting states keep a substantial portion of it to defray past welfare costs. These families too frequently have to give up jobs or wage increases so their children can qualify for Medicaid. Please call the Senate Finance Committee to urge Senator Roth, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, to sponsor and pass the Family Opportunity Act of 2000.
All calls are important, but calls from Delaware residents are even more critical.
The minimum wage was last raised three years ago. In the early 1970s, full-time work at the minimum wage would lift a family out of poverty, but failure to raise the minimum wage regularly has eroded its value. Some Members of Congress have favored phasing in the increase over three years and tying it to large tax cuts aimed at upper-income individuals and businesses. The Speaker's statement is an important step in the right direction. Time is running out for millions of women and children who are the victims of family violence.