[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 53 (Tuesday, April 23, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H3664]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            THE MINIMUM WAGE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of May 
12, 1995, the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Olver] is recognized 
during morning business for 4 minutes.
  Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, last week 20 House Republicans introduced a 
bill to raise the minimum wage by $1.50 each over the next 2 years. 
They broke from their leadership and agreed with what we Democrats have 
been saying all along. People working 40 hours a week ought to earn a 
livable wage.
  Now Speaker Gingrich and Senator Dole are joining the game, but it is 
certainly not a done deal. The Republican leadership still plans to 
weigh any bill down with union-bashing provisions and maybe different 
minimum wages for different people. They wanted to slow the bill down. 
Senate Republicans have been blocking a minimum wage vote for months 
now, and opposition to the minimum wage from Majority Leader Armey is 
well documented.
  So the future of this minimum wage movement remains to be seen. But 
the movement must succeed. We must fight to bring the minimum wage back 
in line with what working people in America need to get by. These are 
the facts: 10 million American workers earn only the minimum wage. The 
minimum wage has not been raised in 6 years, but the buying power of 
$4.25 an hour is 50 cents less than it was in 1991. Two-thirds of 
minimum wage earners are adults, 40 percent of these adults are sole 
breadwinners; almost 60 percent of minimum wage workers are women.
  Here are some more points to consider: 75 percent of Americans favor 
increasing the minimum wage. A reasonable minimum wage combined with 
the earned income tax credit rewards work and is the best way to keep 
families off welfare. But right now the minimum wage is so low that the 
earned income tax credit cannot fill the gap, just the 90-cent increase 
in the minimum wage combined with food stamps and the earned income tax 
credit would put a family of four that relies on a minimum wage earner 
back up to the poverty line.
  The ripple effect of raising the minimum wage also helps another 2 
million workers who now earn between $4.25 and $5.25 an hour. 
Yesterday's Washington Post stated what is clear to everyone except the 
Republican leadership: ``There ought to be a clean vote in Congress on 
raising the minimum wage.''
  Speaker Gingrich and Senator Dole should stop fishing around for 
provisions they can add to the bill hoping to kill it. They should 
listen to the moderate wing of their own party. Raising the minimum 
wage lifts all boats. Keeping the minimum at the 1991 level keeps 
everyone's boat tied to the dock.

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