[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 87 (Thursday, June 13, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1086]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE

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                        HON. MATTHEW G. MARTINEZ

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 13, 1996

  Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. Speaker, in all of arguments we have heard against 
raising the minimum wage, an essential point is lost. In 1938, the Fair 
labor Standards Act established the minimum wage to help maintain a 
``minimum standard of living necessary for health, efficiency and 
general well-being of workers.'' Today's minimum wage fails to meet 
that standard.
  Since the minimum wage was last increased in 1991, the cost of living 
has risen 53.5 percent. If it is to have the buying power it had in the 
1960's, it would have to jump immediately to $5.65. And if it is left 
at the current level of $4.25, the minimum wage will reach a 40-year 
low, when adjusted for inflation, in January 1997.
  All the debate about what economists have said is useless when you 
consider that they do not agree among themselves about the effect of an 
increase in the minimum wage. Several of their studies have resulted in 
distinctly opposite conclusions of what an increase will do to the 
economy and employment. What we must weigh in making this decision are 
the personal benefits such a move will have on individuals who are 
earning the current minimum wage.
  As many of the religious organizations have attested in their calls 
for an increase, this is a matter of social and economic justice. No 
one can deny that those earning the minimum wage, particularly in those 
families where the sole wage earner only receives the minimum, are 
faced with severe economic hardship. And in a time when we are trying 
to promote independence and self-sufficiency, rather than reliance on 
the public dole, raising the minimum wage makes sense.
  Raising the minimum wage will not prove to be such a hardship for 
many American companies. According to Business Week figures, corporate 
profits increased 75 percent and annual CEO pay increased 92 percent 
from 1990 to 1995. Productivity is on the rise. Nevertheless, the 
average hourly wages for the 82 percent of the workforce that are 
production or supervisory workers have steadily declined since 1979. 
Workers are simply not being paid at a rate that corresponds to their 
rising output, and it is time for corporations to reverse this trend.
  For those who would argue that small businesses would be the ones 
that would truly suffer from an increase in the minimum wage, we have 
already passed the Small Business Tax Relief Act, which will be linked 
to this increase. In this bill, we alleviate some of the regulatory and 
financial burdens placed on these businesses, so they can devote more 
resources to their employees.
  As this debate continues, we will see that for every argument, there 
is a counter argument. Let's just return to the basics and accept what 
even many Republicans have accepted, that humaneness calls upon us to 
raise the minimum wage again. Let's stop quibbling about how many 
teenagers, how many single mothers, how many sole household earners 
will be affected from an increase. Let us raise the minimum because it 
is the right thing to do; because 80 percent of the American people 
believe an increase is warranted; because we must re-establish a 
minimum wage that provides a ``minimum standard of living necessary for 
health, efficiency and general well-being of workers.''

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