Previous attempts to raise the federal minimum wage have been coupled with provisions that will undermine the goal of helping minimum wage workers to stay above the poverty line. Thus, it is time that Congress passes a clean minimum wage keeps pace with the cost of living to ensure that America’s workers can afford a decent quality of life.

This week’s The Nation calls the minimum wage the moral issue of the 2006 election. In “Morality of the Minimum,” the authors Katrina vanden Heuvel & Sam Graham-Felsen commend Let Justice Roll, a nonpartisan program of more than eighty faith-based and community-based organizations, for its success in effectively making the minimum wage a moral issue and an issue of justice. However, minimum wage proponents in the House and Senate feel that passing a clean minimum wage bill may still be difficult. That’s why, despite the stated intentions of the new congressional leadership to bring this issue to a vote in early January, nothing can be taken for granted.

There are a few ways to get involved. Calling or emailing members of Congress always makes a difference. ACORN, the Association of Communities Organized for Reform Now, is circulating a letter for citizens to sign through December 18 asking Senators to support legislation sponsored by Senator Kennedy (D-MA) and Representative Miller (D-CA) to increase the federal minimum wage to $7.25 and hour. If you are a religious leader, you can sign the Let Justice Roll religious leader’s letter through January 2. As we begin the New Year, what better resolution can we make than to raise the minimum wage and ensure a better year to come for America’s workers?