Congressman Shadegg - "Within the first five days of taking power, the Speaker of the House has inserted an 'earmark' providing a special benefit to a company in her home town."

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Yesterday, Democrats passed a bill to increase the minimum wage that would be applied across the country and all U.S. territories with one exception: American Samoa. Interestingly enough, the loophole in the legislation stands to benefit a company in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's hometown.

"Some members of the former Republican majority may have succumbed to the temptations of being in power after a number of years, but it is clear from this special provision that Democrats have been corrupted within the first five days," said Shadegg, who has consistently fought on behalf of earmark reform.

StarKist, a company that employs 75 percent of the workforce in American Samoa, and is a subsidiary of Del Monte Corp., is headquartered in Nancy Pelosi's hometown of San Francisco.

"Simply put: it is unethical to provide a special benefit to a company in any member of Congress' hometown. For Democrats to act in such a manner so early on in their tenure is hypocritical at best and criminal at worst."

Shadegg finds House wage hike a bit fishy

The Business Journal of Phoenix

by Mike Sunnucks

Phoenix Republican Congressman John Shadegg is criticizing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats for exempting American Samoa and its tuna canneries from the House of Representatives' recently passed minimum wage increase.

Del Monte Foods Co. (NYSE:DLM) subsidiary Starkist Tuna employs three-fourths of the work force in American Samoa. Del Monte is based in San Francisco, Pelosi's home district.

The minimum wage is $3.62 per hour in American Samoa, and would remain so under the bill, Shadegg said. The House bill, which would raise the U.S. minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour, did include the Northern Marana Islands.

Shadegg said the Samoan/Starkist exemption is fishy.

"Simply put: It is unethical to provide a special benefit to a company in any member of Congress' hometown," he said. "For Democrats to act in such a manner so early on in their tenure is hypocritical at best, and criminal at worst," said Shadegg.

Pelosi's office told The Washington Times that Starkist and Del Monte had not lobbied her on the issue.