{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://sablan.house.gov/press-release/minimum-wage-rises-605-tuesday", "Minimum wage rises to $6.05 on Tuesday", "2014-09-26", "2014", "2014-09", "Independent", "Senate", "MP", "Gregorio Sablan", "S001177", "sablan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Minimum wage rises to $6.05 on Tuesday                                           \n              Sep 26, 2014      \t\t        \t    \n      \t            \n                    \n                                            \n          \n        \n        \n            \n    \n  \n    \n    \n    \nMinimum wage goes up to $6.05 per hour on Tuesday. This is the sixth increase in seven years. The minimum wage has almost doubled since the federal government took over in 2007. The CNMI wage remains $3.05 per hour, however, unchanged since 1996\u2014almost 20 years ago. Because of the federal increase the wages of those earning minimum have stayed ahead of costs, according to the Government Accountability Office.\nMinimum wage workers in the Northern Mariana Islands will see a 50\u00a2 increase on September 30. The new federal minimum wage of $6.05 per hour is almost double the wage set by CNMI law. Getting the increase right has been one of my toughest jobs as your representative in Congress. Workers tell me they worry that, if wages rise too quickly, they will lose their job or have their hours cut. Employers say they cannot invest in growing their business, when wages go up too fast. But my heart tells me that families need more money to meet their needs. I have amended federal law twice to stretch out the increase, relying on the economic analysis of the Government Accountability Office. GAO\u2019s March 2014 report says that \u201cthe inflation-adjusted earnings of minimum wage workers who retained their jobs and work hours rose\u2026 by about 39 percent for the entire period from 2006 to 2012\u201d and \u201cthe hourly wage of minimum wage workers increased by more than inflation.\u201d As long as wages stay ahead of prices and the increases do not cost us jobs, I think we have the right policy in place.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://sablan.house.gov/press-release/minimum-wage-rises-605-tuesday"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6026878729462624, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}