[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 105 (Wednesday, July 23, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H5581]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
                   BASIC FAIRNESS IN THE MINIMUM WAGE

  (Mr. BONIOR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I introduced a bill to raise the 
minimum wage to $7.25 an hour by the year 2002. We raised the minimum 
wage a year ago and a lot of Republicans were dead set against it. They 
predicted it would ruin the economy. What did it do? It boosted wages 
for 4 million working families, unemployment dropped, inflation has 
been low, the economy has been moving, but despite this good news, many 
of my Republican colleagues will oppose another increase in the minimum 
wage.
  I might say, these are the same folks that want to give a tax break 
to the wealthiest individuals in this country, the same Republicans 
whose tax bill gives nearly 60 percent of the tax breaks to people 
making a quarter of a million dollars a year or more, the same 
Republicans whose tax bill includes an all-out assault on the minimum 
wage with language about independent contractors that actually 
encourages employers to pay some workers less than the minimum wage.
  If a person works hard in this country day in and day out, they do a 
good job, they should get a paycheck that is big enough to support 
their family. They need a tax break that favors them and not the very 
wealthiest in this country. We are not talking about buying BMWs here, 
we are talking about being able to have people to afford to buy a used 
Chevy. That is basic fairness. That is what this minimum wage bill is 
about. That is what the Democratic tax bill is about.

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