[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 23924]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 TAX PACKAGE MUST INCLUDE MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE AND HELP FOR EMPLOYERS 
                            TO BE SUCCESSFUL

  (Mr. TRAFICANT asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, last March I passed an amendment to raise 
the minimum wage $1 over 2 years, from $5.15 to $6.15. The minimum wage 
increase was then rolled in with a tax cut.
  I voted for that tax cut because I believe if the boss cannot afford 
the wage increase, the boss will end up laying off some of the people 
on the bottom end of the ladder that are the very people we want to 
help the most. The bottom line is, what good is a pay increase if 
someone loses their job? Beam me up.
  But let me say this: Any final agreement that does not both raise the 
minimum wage $1 over 2 years and also give help to the companies and 
employers who hire our people will be a failure.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back all the politics of class warfare at the 
White House.

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