Gus Bilirakis (R-FL)
With their pledge to create "jobs, jobs, jobs" long forgotten, today all Florida House Republicans voted against a minimum wage hike, including Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) who boasts about helping people find jobs in his district and holding job fairs when he's home from Washington.
House Republicans unanimously voted down a measure Friday that would have raised the federal minimum wage, from its current $7.25 per hour to $10.10 by 2015.
Six Democrats joined 227 Republicans in voting it down; 184 Democrats voted yes.
The legislation was proposed as a last-minute amendment upon passage of the SKILLS Act, which reauthorizes a jobs training program. The procedural move, known as the motion to recommit, was invoked by Democrats with the instruction that the minimum wage amendment be tacked on to the SKILLS Act, an aide said.
An increase in the minimum wage to $9 was backed by President Obama during this year's State of the Union, and immediately shot down by House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), who argued that it would drive up unemployment by making it harder for small businesses to hire.
