[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 46 (Friday, March 29, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S3233]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                         MINIMUM WAGE AMENDMENT

 Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I wanted to take just a minute to 
comment on the amendment offered by Senators Kerry and Kennedy to raise 
the minimum wage from $4.35 an hour to $5.15 an hour over the next 2 
years and why I oppose closing debate on this amendment at this time.
  In my mind, few issues better define the differences between 
Republicans and Democrats than efforts to raise this starting wage. On 
the one hand, members of the Democratic Party seek to increase living 
standards through a Government mandate. On the other, Republicans are 
seeking to increase family incomes by cutting Federal taxes, reducing 
regulatory burdens, and increasing job opportunities. Democrats believe 
in Government while Republicans place their faith in families and 
individuals.
  The case for the minimum wage has been refuted time and again. Far 
from raising living standards, studies show the minimum wage actually 
hurts the very workers its supposed to help. Harvard economist Robert 
Barro argues that ``the minimum wage misses the mark because it worsens 
the status of most disadvantaged youths.''
  Economist David Neumark of my alma mater, Michigan State University, 
and William Wascher of the Federal Reserve have concluded that raising 
the minimum wage to $5.15 an hour would result in over 500,000 lost job 
opportunities for teenagers and young adults. Fully 77 percent of the 
members of the American Economic Association believe an increase in the 
minimum wage eliminates entry-level jobs.
   Mr. President, under President Clinton's tenure, American families 
have seen their incomes stagnate while their tax burden have gone up. 
This Clinton crunch is forcing millions of families to get by with 
less. That's why the Republican Congress offered hard-working American 
families tax cuts like the $500 per child family tax credit, marriage 
penalty relief, and expanded individual retirement accounts. We wanted 
to let families keep more of what they earn, so they could finance 
their own priorities, not the Government's. These efforts were cut 
short when President Clinton vetoed the bill.
  Now, the President and his party are pressing forward to mandate 
higher standards of living through Government action. This effort is 
misdirected and destructive. Furthermore, its timing is suspect. I am 
troubled that the same week this issue is raised on the Senate floor, 
the AFL-CIO has pledged to raise and spend $35 million through November 
to defeat Republican candidates.
  If this issue is so pressing, why did President Clinton and 
congressional Democrats fail to bring it up in 1993 and 1994, when they 
controlled both the White House and the Congress? They joined hands to 
raise taxes on American families in 1993, but at no time during the 
last Congress did they ever consider raising the minimum wage. Now, 
with a Republican majority in Congress and the labor unions pledging 
them record financial support, raising the minimum wage becomes a 
priority.
   Mr. President, I am unwilling to turn my back on low-skilled workers 
or to sacrifice their interests for an ideological and political 
agenda. Nor am I willing to impose another unfunded mandate on small 
business men and women across the country. For that reason, I oppose 
closing debate on this amendment at this time, and I call on my 
colleagues from both sides of the aisle to assist all working families 
by reducing the real barriers to higher wages and living standards--
excessive taxes and regulations.

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