[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 6 (Wednesday, February 4, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S409]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                     FAIR MINIMUM WAGE ACT OF 1998

 Mr. TORRICELLI. Mr. President, I rise today in strong support 
of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 1998. I am proud to be an original co-
sponsor of this crucial piece of legislation.
  Once again, we begin our fight for the dignity and respect of working 
Americans. Our goal is simple; to ensure that individuals dedicated to 
hard work and committed to their families no longer live in poverty. 
The fact is that while our nation is experiencing a time of 
unprecedented prosperity, nearly 12 million Americans earning the 
minimum wage still face a daily struggle to maintain an acceptable 
quality of life.
  Sixty years ago, Labor Secretary Frances Perkins successfully 
convinced our predecessors of the need to pass legislation that would 
guarantee low wage workers a decent living. Today, the need to maintain 
a basic level of income for American workers is no less necessary. 
Indeed, that need has never been greater.
  The statistics showing the economic injustice faced by low-wage 
workers are staggering. Full-time minimum wage workers earn only 
$10,712 year, $2,600 below the poverty level for a family of three. 
Given that fact, it should come as no surprise that 38 percent of the 
people seeking emergency food aid in 1996 were employed.
  One reason behind these disturbing statistics is the diminishing 
purchasing value of the minimum wage. Between 1980 and 1995, inflation 
rose by 86 percent, but during the same time, the minimum wage was 
increased by a paltry 37 percent, greatly reducing the purchasing power 
of American workers. While the minimum wage legislation we passed in 
1996 was a bold step towards closing that gap, our work is not 
complete. And with each passing day, as inflation marches on, workers' 
purchasing power once again is falling.
  The legislation drafted by Senator Kennedy will take the steps 
necessary to restore and maintain the purchasing power of the minimum 
wage into the next century.
  As modest as our proposal is, The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 1998 will 
help guarantee low income workers a degree of economic dignity. It will 
increase the earnings of over 12 million workers, 60 percent of whom 
are women, 46 percent of whom are full-time workers, and 40 percent of 
whom are the sole breadwinners in their families.
  An increase in the minimum wage is also closely linked to the success 
of the 1996 welfare reform. Individuals struggling to make the 
difficult transition from welfare to work deserve the opportunity to 
become truly self sufficient. We need to provide an incentive to 
exchange welfare checks for paychecks.
  The Economic Policies Institute has concluded that, not only did low 
income families reap the majority of the benefits from the last 
increase, but minimum wage recipients experienced no disemployment 
effects. Despite the predictions made by our opponents, vulnerable 
groups, including teenagers and young adults, were not negatively 
effected by the increase.
  In closing, I would like to thank Senator Kennedy for drafting this 
legislation and for his tireless efforts on behalf of working Americans 
throughout his long career in the Senate. As he has said, this is the 
right thing to do. Put in the words of President Abraham Lincoln, 
``Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the 
fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first 
existed.''




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