Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 H.R. 3746, S 1737, H.R. 1010, S 460 - Time To Do YOUR Part

Active "Minimum Wage" Bills in the House and Senate

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H.R. 3746 - The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 

H.R. 3746 was introduced and referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce by Rep. John Larson (D-CT1) on December 12, 2013. The bill doesn't have any co-sponsors at this time. GovTrack.us predicts the bill has a 2% chance of getting past committee and a 0% chance of being enacted. The text of the bill was made available today by GovTrack.us and is summarized below;

Section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)) is amended to read as follows:

(1)

except as otherwise provided in this section, not less than—

(A)

$8.50 an hour, beginning on the first day of the third month that begins after the date of enactment of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 Act;

(B)

$10.00 an hour, beginning 1 year after that first day;

(C)

$11.00 an hour, beginning 2 years after that first day; and

(D)

beginning on the date that is 3 years after that first day, and annually thereafter, the amount determined by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (h);

S 1737 - Minimum Wage Fairness Act

S 1737 is a Senate bill related to the other "Minimum Wage" bills. This bill was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Thomas "Tom" Harkin (D-IA) on November 19, 2013 and reported to committee on November 20, 2013, the bill only has 1 co-sponsor at this time. GovTrack predicting a 20% chance of  and referred to committee on November 20, 2013 with the following text;

Section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 ( 29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1) ) is amended to read as follows:

(1)

except as otherwise provided in this section, not less than—

(A)

$8.20 an hour, beginning on the first day of the sixth month that begins after the date of enactment of the Minimum Wage Fairness Act ;

(B)

$9.15 an hour, beginning 1 year after that first day;

(C)

$10.10 an hour, beginning 2 years after that first day; and

(D)

beginning on the date that is 3 years after that first day, and annually thereafter, the amount determined by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (h);

H.R. 1010  - Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013

H.R. 1010 was introduced and referred to committee on March 6, 2013 by Rep. George Miller (D-CA11) and has 154 co-sponsors. GovTrack.us predicts a 7% of getting past committee and a 2% of being enacted. The bill calls for the following;

 

Section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)) is amended to read as follows:

(1)

except as otherwise provided in this section, not less than—

(A)

$8.20 an hour, beginning on the first day of the third month that begins after the date of enactment of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 Act;

(B)

$9.15 an hour, beginning 1 year after that first day;

(C)

$10.10 an hour, beginning 2 years after that first day; and

(D)

beginning on the date that is 3 years after that first day, and annually thereafter, the amount determined by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (h);

S 460  - Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013

S 460 was introduced by Sen. Thomas "Tom" Harkin on March 5, 2013 and referred to committee on March 6, 2013. It is related specifically to H.R. 1010. It has 32 co-sponsors and GovTrack.us predicts it has a 14% chance of getting past committee and a 2% chance of being enacted. The text of the bill is as follows:

Section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938(29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)) is amended to read as follows:

(1)

except as otherwise provided in this section, not less than—

(A)

$8.20 an hour, beginning on the first day of the third month that begins after the date of enactment of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 Act;

(B)

$9.15 an hour, beginning 1 year after that first day;

(C)

$10.10 an hour, beginning 2 years after that first day; and

(D)

beginning on the date that is 3 years after that first day, and annually thereafter, the amount determined by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (h);

Now is time to e-mail of call your Congressmen/women and U.S. Senators. Below is a GovTrack link for each bill that allows you to (1) track the bill; and (2) call your Representative. The site will find YOUR  Congressmen/women and Senators and even connect you to their Washington, DC offices. Please utilize these links now to contact your Representatives and tell them to RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE!

Call YOUR Congressmen/women for H.R. 3746 

Call YOUR U.S. Senators for S 1737 

Call YOUR Congressmen/women for H.R. 1010 

Call YOUR U.S. Senators for S 460 

Get Involved for a Better America. Make your voice heard. When people pull together they have influence. Don't let only the ultra-rich, corporations, and Super PACS be the only influence on our politicians and elections.

New Guardian Docs Show ALEC Misled Press, Public. Are You Surprised?

Are Your Representatives ALEC Members? 

 

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Are Your Representatives Members of ALEC? What Is ALEC?

The Center For Media and Democracy Article: ALEC Exposed  tells how global corporations are scheming to rewrite YOUR rights and boost THEIR revenues. In this posting you can also see "Who Is Behind ALEC?" "Who Funds ALEC?" "What Corporations Are Involved In ALEC?" Through the corporate-funded American Legislative Exchange Council, global corporations and state politicians vote behind closed doors to try to rewrite state laws that govern your rights. In ALEC's own words; "corporations have a voice, and vote." Regardless of what ALEC members say, the U.S. Constitution does NOT give corporations the same rights as people, and money is NOT a voice. Corporations do NOT have the right to vote.

Cartoon by articpetrel.blogspot.com

Citizens United Gives Corporations Power Through Campaign Contributions

Although a Peter Hart poll found that 79% of Americans including 68% of Republicans, 82% of Independents, and 87% of Democrats "support a Constitutional Amendment that would overturn then Citizens United decision and make clear that corporations do not have the same rights as people. Further, a 2012 Associated Press poll  found that 83% of Americans including 81% of Republicans, 78% of Independents, and 85% of Democrats believe "there should be limits on the amount of money corporations, unions, and other organizations can contribute to outside organizations trying to influence campaigns for President, Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives. Nearly nine in ten Americans (88%) say that corporations have too much power. 83% of Americans (81% of Republicans, 78% of Independents, and 85% of Democrats) think there should be limits on how much money corporations can give in elections. And 90% of those with incomes above $100,000 support such limits.

More From The Guardian Documents

ALEC forms 501(c)(4), but previously claimed: "We have no current plans to operate a 501(c)(4) in the near future"

The Guardian documents show that ALEC has formed a new 501(c)(4) entity, the "Jeffersonian Project," apparently in anticipation of the IRS investigating ALEC's current 501(c)(3) charitable status. This revelation could be seen as an admission from ALEC that its critics were correct about its violations of the tax code (although ALEC insists it does not lobby, despite documentary evidence to the contrary).
ALEC had previously misled reporters about its plans for a 501(c)(4).

In December of last year, ALEC spokesperson Kaitlyn Buss told Bloomberg News "we have no current plans to operate a 501(c)(4) in the near future."
When Buss said "the near future" and "current plans," she apparently meant "next week."
Just eight days after the Bloomberg story ran, ALEC formed the 501(c)(4) "Jeffersonian Project," according to a certificate of incorporation obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy. (ALEC also failed to mention to Bloomberg that it had incorporated another 501(c)(4), "ALEC NOW" in July of 2012; that entity was dissolved earlier this year.)

To learn more about ALEC and who is involved see a post from this blog on September 1, 2013

When Common Cause's late president Bob Edgar filed a whistleblower complaint challenging ALEC's tax status in April of 2012, ALEC fought back hard. Its lawyer Alan Dye publicly dismissed the complaint a "harassment tactic" that "ignores applicable law."
"The attacks on the American Legislative Exchange Council are based on patently false claims," he told reporters at the time.

But behind the scenes, Dye took a more measured tone, according to the Guardian documents. Forming a 501(c)(4) -- which is allowed to lobby without limit -- would "provide greater legal protection or lessen ethics concerns," Dye wrote in an August 2013 memo to ALEC's board of directors. Forming the Jeffersonian Project would remove "questions of ethical violations made by our critics and state ethics boards and provides further legal protection."

"ALEC certified to the IRS for years that it didn't spend a penny on lobbying, thereby preserving its absurd status as a charity," Steve Spaulding, Staff Counsel at Common Cause, told the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD.)
ALEC's charitable status had allowed its corporate members to write-off their ALEC membership dues -- which are essentially lobbying expenses -- as tax-deductible charitable contributions.
"In forming a 501(c)(4) arm, it appears that ALEC is on notice that it's not going to get away with abusing our nation's charitable tax laws much longer," Spaulding said.

Read More on The Center for Media and Democracies PR Watch

Be sure to "Subscribe" to this blog (above on the left margin) and "Sign Up for E-mails for notifications of laws being acted upon in the House and Senate. The U.S. House of Representatives only has 4 days left before the end of the year. Stay informed and contact YOUR Representatives on bills they are preparing to act on.

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Also see The Center for Media and Democracy's article Don't Believe the Spin from ALEC telling how ALEC members will gather legislators to plan their agenda for next year.