[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 59 (Tuesday, May 12, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H3078-H3079]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       THE MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Clayton) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, Members in the Congress recently released 
a report, ``Making Work Pay,'' by the Economic Policy Institute which 
examined the impact of the increase in the minimum wage in the 104th 
Congress to $5.15.
  This report was most encouraging, concluding that increasing the 
income of the working poor was good for them and good for the Nation's 
economy. These report findings give strong support for a further 
increase in the minimum wage. As some are aware, there is legislation 
to increase the minimum wage to $6.15 an hour by the year 2000. We 
should consider this legislation this year.
  The last increase was during the 104th Congress by 90 cents over 2 
years, from $4.25 to $5.15. The last time the wage was increased by 
Congress before the 104th Congress was 1991.
  Since 1991, the minimum wage remained constant while the cost of 
living rose 11 percent. That is the cost for food, the cost for 
transportation, cost for shelter and energy to heat our homes.
  A single mother supporting two kids at a minimum wage makes $10.70, 
$2,600 below the poverty line. The report demonstrates that raising the 
minimum wage benefits primarily adult workers. The report indicates 
that almost three-fourths, that is 71 percent

[[Page H3079]]

of all minimum wage workers are adults over the age of 20. In addition, 
nearly two-thirds, 58 percent of those adult persons are women. Also it 
is twice as likely that the minimum wage worker will be from rural 
communities than from urban communities.
  We also know that greater than one-third, 36 percent of all minimum 
wage workers are the sole wage earner in a family.

                              {time}  2015

  Fifty-eight percent of all poor children have parents who work full 
time. More than 4 million individuals worked at or below the minimum 
wage in 1993, and another 9.2 million earned just above the minimum 
wage.
  The report indicates that some 10 million low-wage workers benefited 
from the last minimum wage increase, ten million.
  Increasing the minimum wage goes a long way towards helping the 
millions of working poor in this country. An increase of $1 in the 
minimum wage is an additional $2,000 for a minimum-wage worker working 
full time year round.
  Other recent studies on Federal and State minimum wage reform have 
shown that an increase in the minimum wage can occur without having any 
adverse effect on employment. A higher minimum wage can make it easier 
for employers to fill vacancies and may decrease employee turnover.
  A recent survey of employment practices in North Carolina, after the 
1991 minimum wage increase, found that there was no significant drop in 
employment and no measurable increase in food prices. The survey also 
found that workers' wages actually increased by more than the required 
change.
  In another study, the State of New Jersey raised its minimum wage to 
$5.05, while Pennsylvania kept its minimum wage at $4.25. The research 
found that the number of low-wage workers in New Jersey actually 
increased with an increase in the wage, while those in Pennsylvania 
remained the same.
  A report as of January 1998 showed that the employment in the fast-
food industry increased by 11 percent in Pennsylvania and by 2 percent 
in New Jersey after the 1996 increase. They said that would not happen, 
an actual increase in the number of workers in the fast-food industry.
  The best welfare reform is a job at a livable wage. Raising the 
minimum wage would make it easier for people to find an entry-level job 
that pays better than a government subsidy and creates a strong 
incentive to choose work over welfare.
  In 1993, there were 117,000 workers in the State of North Carolina 
that were working at below the minimum wage.
  The American public supports a minimum wage increase. National polls 
have found that close to two-thirds of all Americans favor increasing 
the minimum wage.
  Job growth in America is the lowest where the gap between the incomes 
at the top and the lowest level is the greatest, so when we have such a 
great disparity, we also have a low rate of job growth. Increasing the 
minimum wage goes a long way towards closing the gap, helping to create 
jobs rather than reducing jobs.
  This important report, when combined with other empirical data, is 
clear evidence that, indeed, it is good for people and good for our 
economy.

                          ____________________