[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 59 (Thursday, May 2, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H4402]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           THE MINIMUM WAGE AND MEANINGFUL REFORM OF WELFARE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Riggs] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. RIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to address my colleagues and to focus 
a little bit on the subject of the minimum wage, because I would like 
my colleagues to know that in the 1994 campaign I promised to support a 
modest increase in the minimum wage, provided that that increase in the 
minimum wage was coupled with meaningful reform of the welfare system.
  It seems to me we ought to increase the minimum wage so that the 
minimum wage can keep pace with inflation, so that we can restore some 
of the purchasing power to the minimum wage, and so that, most 
importantly, we can make work more attractive than welfare.
  I would like to quote for you, Mr. Speaker and colleagues, the 
distinguished minority leader of the House of Representatives, the 
Congressman from Michigan, Mr. Bonior, who said last night on the Ted 
Koppel ABC Nightline Show, ``If you are going to move people off of 
welfare, you have to make work pay.''
  I agree with that premise. The real problem I have though is that we 
need to again combine a minimum wage increase with real reform of the 
welfare system, and many of our Democratic colleagues, who are led by 
Mr. Bonior, while supporting a minimum wage increase on the one hand, 
adamantly oppose reforming welfare on the other.
  So I want to take this opportunity to remind our colleagues that 
there is a definite linkage, it is sort of a natural linkage, between 
increasing the minimum wage and reforming welfare. It is something I 
think that this Congress, the 104th Congress in our country's history, 
has the opportunity to do, if only we can put partisan politics aside.
  I also want to remind my colleagues, as you well know, Mr. Speaker, 
that President Clinton, who in 1992 as candidate Clinton promised to 
end welfare as we know it, has already vetoed two welfare reform 
proposals sent to him by this Congress, that is to say, two welfare 
reform proposals that passed the House, passed the Senate, but which he 
vetoed.
  These were commonsense welfare reforms that put a time limit on 
receiving welfare benefits, that end welfare as an entitlement, that 
require able-bodied welfare recipients to work, at least part-time, or 
enter a job training program in exchange for their welfare benefits, 
which creates subsidized jobs for those welfare recipients who cannot 
find work in the private sector, and which increases child care and 
transportation assistance for welfare recipients so that they can make 
that difficult transition from welfare to work, especially single 
mothers, who many times struggle against heroic odds.
  So I hope we can put the partisan politics aside. I hope we can get 
our congressional Democratic colleagues to acknowledge the premise that 
the minority leader was saying last night, ``If you are going to move 
people off of welfare, you have to make work pay.''
  It is my belief we ought to increase the minimum wage so that the 
minimum wage, that is to say, an entry level job which pays a minimum 
wage, pays more than welfare benefits in the aggregate. That is the 
only way we are going to be able to reform welfare. It is a natural 
linkage.
  So, again I say to my Democratic colleagues, when you stand up and 
thunder on the House floor about your desire to see the minimum wage 
increase, which, by the way, is something that congressional Democrats 
did not do during the 2 years that they controlled this whole town, 
when they controlled both the Congress and, of course, the Presidency, 
but if you are going to talk about a minimum wage increase, let us at 
least do it in the context of reforming the welfare system, so that, as 
the minority leader said last night on ``Nightline,'' we can in fact 
make work pay more than welfare.

                          ____________________