[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 111 (Tuesday, July 11, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H6741-H6742]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


               THE MINIMUM WAGE BILL--WHAT HAS HAPPENED?

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of May 
12, 1995, the gentlewoman from North Carolina [Mrs. Clayton] is 
recognized during morning business for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, in February, the President proposed a 
modest increase in the minimum wage. Following the President's 
proposal, the Democratic leader introduced H.R. 940, the Working Wage 
Increase Act of 1995. Under H.R. 940, the minimum wage would be 
increased, in two steps, to $5.15 by Independence Day in 1996. There 
are currently 91 cosponsors of H.R. 940.
  Nothing has happened on the minimum wage bill since its introduction. 
Could this be because all of the sponsors are Democrats? It should be a 
bi-partisan effort to raise the minimum wage. It has been in times 
past. Both Speaker Gingrich and Senator Dole have supported minimum 
wage increases. The minimum wage needs to be increased now for two 
major reasons. First, to help improve the quality of life for all of 
our citizens.
  And, second, to raise the standards of our workers so that they can 
keep pace with changing technologies and be better prepared for 
competing with workers around the world.


                       Welfare Reform--An Update

  While minimum wage is stalled, Congress is moving very fast to drive 
citizens off welfare. I support welfare reform, but with provisions for 
training and the minimum wage increase. The welfare reform bill, H.R. 
4, passed the House on March 24 of this year and passed the Senate 
Finance Committee on May 26.
  The House-passed bill would block grant cash welfare, child care, 
school breakfast and lunch programs, and nutrition programs for 
pregnant women and children. Unwed mothers under the age of 18 and 
repeat mothers already on welfare, would be purged from the rolls. 
Fortunately, the Senate bill is less radical in the changes it proposes 
to welfare programs. And, with passage of other bills, like the farm 
bill, more level thinking may prevail.


                     foreign trade--its importance

  At the same time of these actions, a bill was introduced on June 7, 
H.R. 1756, which proposes to eliminate six programs from the Department 
of Commerce and to privatize or transfer into other departments, many 
other Commerce programs. A similar bill, S. 929, has been introduced in 
the Senate. The bill would eliminate the Economic Development 
Administration, the Minority Business Development Agency, the Office of 
the Secretary, General Counsel and Inspector General at Commerce, as 
well as several other programs under the Department. Indeed, this bill 
effectively dismantles the Commerce Department which has been the 
engine that has helped expand job opportunities in the global market.


                                analysis

  It is obvious to me that in our zeal to cut spending and balance the 
budget, we are being penny wise and pound foolish. We are putting 
people out of work, taking benefits from people without giving them 
work and keeping those who are working at poverty levels. We are 
creating a larger, and perhaps more permanent, underclass by these 
irrational actions.
  This blind march toward the year 2002 fails to take into account that 
the best welfare reform is minimum wage reform. This irresponsible 
cutting of trade programs fails to take into account that foreign trade 
has created 274,000 jobs in my State of North Carolina alone.
  I have consistently stated that I am for welfare reform. I have also 
consistently maintained that I support a balanced budget. The problem, 
however, with the direction we are taking is that we have closed our 
eyes to the impact of our acts. We can cut programs, refuse to raise 
the minimum wage and save money.
  But, the money we lose by these deeds could far exceed the amount we 
gain. For example, while we are reducing our domestic deficit, we are 
ignoring our trade deficit, and our trade deficit is soaring. We may 
save a few billion dollars through eliminating Commerce to help reduce 
the deficit, but we will lose $20 billion through an increased trade 
deficit. What sense does it make to eliminate the very structure that 
assists American businesses in expanding, large and small, and helps 
create jobs for American workers?


                        support the minimum wage

  The President's minimum wage proposal, combined with the earned 
income tax credit we passed last Congress, will go a long way in 
pushing millions of working Americans out of 

[[Page H 6742]]
poverty. Yet, some of us are in the midst of cutting the earned income 
tax credit. It makes no sense. Sixty percent or 6 out of every 10 of 
those who are minimum wage workers are women. Many of them have 
children. And, most minimum wage workers are poor. Increases in the 
minimum wage have not kept pace with increases in the cost-of-living.
  That is why a worker can work full-time, 40 hours a week, and still 
be below the poverty level. Surely we can increase the minimum wage for 
the first time since April, 1991, a period during which the cost of 
housing, food and clothing has greatly risen for the minimum wage 
worker.
  The best welfare reform is a job, at a livable wage. I support this 
constrained request to lift millions of workers out of poverty. If we 
lift workers out of poverty, we will have less of a demand for welfare. 
If we have less of a demand for welfare, we will have less of a burden 
on this Nation's resources.
  If we have less of a burden on this Nation's resources, we can 
compete more effectively in the global marketplace. And, if we compete 
more effectively in the global marketplace, we can reduce the trade 
deficit, further reduce the domestic deficit, create more jobs, put 
people to work and restore America. Mr. Speaker, it makes sense to me. 
I can not understand why it does not make sense to my colleagues. True 
vision is the art of seeing things invisible. We see what we want to 
see. We can keep many of our workers at low wage, unskilled jobs, or we 
can pay them better and train them better.
  This is not 1945. The world community need not buy refrigerators from 
us. They can buy them almost anywhere. But, if we want to sell our 
refrigerators, we better have workers who can make them well. Let's 
reform welfare. But, let's also pass H.R. 940, the modest minimum wage 
bill.


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