Davis to hear local concerns Tuesday

Congressman Lincoln Davis will be making some remarks before opening the floor for questions during a town hall meeting this Tuesday in McMinnville.

It will be one of five stops for Davis on the day, and he plans to meet with local residents for about an hour.

The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 2:30 p.m. at the Warren County Administrative Offices on Locust Street.

?These meetings are one of the most effective ways of communicating with constituents,? said Davis, a U.S Representative for the 4th Congressional District. ?It?s crucial we have an open dialogue so I may properly represent our values and interests in Washington.?

Davis has recently fought to raise the minimum wage, legislation which eventually passed in the U.S. House. The federal minimum wage of $5.15 an hour has remained unchanged since September 1997.

?The inflation-adjusted value and the purchasing power of today?s wage have languished at a time when working families have seen sharp increases in health care, gas, and home heating,? said Davis. ?I want to stand up for the countless moms and dads earning only $5.15 an hour in my district who have expressed to me how difficult it is to provide the basic necessities for their children.?

The federal minimum wage has remained unchanged for the longest period since it was established under the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938. Since its last change in 1997, economists estimate the purchasing power of the minimum wage has deteriorated by 20 percent.

Davis also recently voted to curb subsidies worth billions of dollars to oil and gas companies, and to invest those funds into homegrown renewable energy. The measure passed the House by a vote of 264-123.

?Up to this point, our energy policy has been to throw billions of dollars at large oil companies with the hope that the market will work itself out,? Davis said. ?The question is do we want to continue paying billions in subsidies to oil companies in foreign lands or invest in homegrown energy that will put Americans to work while charting a path toward energy independence.?