Greg Murphy Voted Against Providing Pitt County With Anti-Poverty Funding And Opposed Raising The Federal Minimum Wage

2022: Murphy Voted Against Providing Counties, Including Pitt, With A Fair Share Of Federal Funds To Address Poverty

2022: Murphy Voted Against The Targeting Resources To Communities In Need Act To Provide Persistent Poverty Communities With A More Equitable Share Of Federal Investments. In May 2022, Murphy voted against: “Passage of the bill that would require the Office of Management and Budget, within one year of enactment, to implement guidance to increase the share of federal investments targeted to areas of high and persistent poverty. It would specify that the guidance must include a minimum goal that such investments be in an amount greater than such areas would otherwise receive based on their portion of the U.S. population. It would also require the Census Bureau to publish a list of all areas of persistent poverty and update it annually; require OMB to submit an annual report to Congress on the programs under which federal funds were increased under the bill’s provisions and the economic impact on the areas served; require the Government Accountability Office, within two years of enactment, to report to Congress on the effectiveness of the bill’s provisions; and authorize $5 million in fiscal 2023 for salaries and expenses to carry out the bill’s provisions.” The bill passed by a vote of 258-165. [H.R. 6531, Vote #211, 5/18/22; CQ, 5/18/22]

• Census Bureau: The 2020 Poverty Rate Increased To 11.4%, The First Increase Following “Five Consecutive Annual Declines.” “The official poverty rate in 2020 was 11.4 percent with 37.2 million people in poverty (Figure 8 and Table B-1). This was a 1.0 percentage-point increase from 10.5 percent in 2019, which was the lowest rate observed since estimates were initially published in 1959. It was also the first annual increase in the poverty rate following five consecutive annual declines (Figure 8 and Table B-4).” [United States Census Bureau, Report, 9/14/21]

The North Carolina Office Of State Budget And Management Listed Pitt County As A Persistent Poverty County. [North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management, Persistent Poverty Counties, accessed 6/10/26]

Image: see original report, p. 12

[North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management, Persistent Poverty Counties, accessed 6/10/26]

2021: Murphy Said A Proposed $15 Federal Minimum Wage Was A “Far-Left Non-Starter”

2021: Murphy Said A Proposed $15 Federal Minimum Wage Was A “Far-Left Non-Starter.” “On Wednesday, February 3, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H. Con. Res. 11, the FY2021 Budget Reconciliation Resolution, which begins the budget reconciliation process. Budget reconciliation is a legislative procedure which can circumvent the 60-vote threshold needed to pass legislation in the Senate. It can only be used for fiscal policy matters and is typically reserved for partisan issues. Democrats intend to use budget reconciliation to attempt to pass a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package. Congressman Greg Murphy, M.D. (NC-03) voted against H. con. Res. 11 and released the following statement: ‘Joe Biden's White House meeting with Senate Republicans the other day was obviously just a publicity stunt to give the impression of unity while continuing to ram through his radical, progressive agenda,’ said Murphy. ‘Not a single portion of his proposed bill was changed after that meeting. He and Congressional Democrats have no intention to work with Republicans. ‘Further, if Joe Biden actually wanted this legislation to be bipartisan, then he wouldn't have included a far-left non-starter $15/hour minimum wage hike. We should be looking to create more jobs, not get rid of them. More than doubling the minimum wage would destroy 1.3 million jobs according to the CBO, which is the last thing our economy needs right now.” [Rep. Greg Murphy, Press Release, 2/4/21]

North Carolina Had A Minimum Wage Of $7.25 Per Hour. “The minimum wage in North Carolina is currently $7.25 an hour. Employers doing business in North Carolina are required to pay at least $7.25 per hour to all employees (agricultural and domestic employees are subject to the federal minimum wage). The $7.25 per hour state minimum wage also applies to the state of North Carolina, to county and local governments and to instrumentalities of government.” [North Carolina Department of Labor, Minimum Wage In N.C., accessed 6/10/26]