[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17970]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 17970]]

                          EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS

                        MINIMUM WAGE COMPROMISE

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                           HON. DOUG BEREUTER

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 12, 2000

  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I submit for my colleagues the following 
editorial, from the September 7, 2000, edition of the Norfolk Daily 
News. This editorial highlights the letter sent by House Speaker Dennis 
Hastert to the President both on the minimum wage and on small business 
tax cuts. In particular, this editorial recognizes the Speaker's 
efforts towards compromise on this.

              [From the Norfolk Daily News, Sept. 7, 2000]

  A Compromise--House Speaker Hastert Offers Method To Reach Deal on 
                             Minimum Wages

       House Speaker Dennis Hastert says he believes it possible 
     for congressional Republicans and the Clinton administration 
     to reach agreement on the minimum wage issue.
       The White House and Democrats on Capitol Hill had sought a 
     minimum wage increase of more than the dollar over a two-year 
     period that many Republicans believed acceptable. Mr. 
     Hastert's colleagues wanted that spread over a three-year 
     period. They have relented.
       The compromise outlined by Mr. Hastert includes a tax 
     package that would benefit the small businesses most affected 
     by changes in the minimum wage scale. Therefore, its risks of 
     broader adverse economic effects are reduced.
       Given the fact that current employment conditions mean the 
     minimum wage is less frequently the starting wage today, the 
     impact may be limited. There is still the risk, though, that 
     the figure is high enough that employers can be discouraged 
     from hiring the unskilled and marginal workers most in need 
     of job opportunities.
       Raising mandatory minimums is a dangerous political 
     exercise. Politicians cannot create jobs on a lasting basis, 
     but they can easily destroy them and harm the economy by 
     trying to fix wages in the private sector. So it is important 
     that their perennial tendency to raise them be moderated. Mr. 
     Hastert's effort is in that spirit, and it is a test of 
     President Clinton's willingness to reach a reasonable 
     compromise.

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