Pelosi Remarks At Wage Theft Briefing Hosted by the Congressional Progressive Caucus

"Thank you very much. Because they are calling votes, I think the most important use of our time is to hear the rest of the testimony for the record. I came here to pay my respects to you, Mr. Chairman of this important meeting. Thank you to our Chairman of our Caucus and other Members who are here – Mr. Pocan, Jan Schakowsky, Steny Hoyer, who was here, Congressman Johnson and others.

"Let me just say this: Karla and Edilcia – thank you for your courage. Thank you, Mr. Ellison, for shining a bright light on this situation – wage theft – in our country. But we can't shine a light unless we have the courage of those who will step forward and give us the particulars of it. So what you are doing today is very courageous. I'm sorry for the price you had to pay for your courage.

"We want to make your – both of you – make your testimony make a difference in your lives and in others. It's just unthinkable that they would have you work all those hours and divide them so you don't have 40 hours in order to qualify for other benefits. And then you're fired for complaining about it.

"And I also want to thank Karla Walter from the Center for American Progress and Robert Hiltonsmith from Demos for being here as well today. And thank you for interpreting for us, Robert. But again – so much I want to say on this subject. But what's more important is what we hear from our guests. And I yield to Mr. Israel."