    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [March 28, 1996]
    [Page 522]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on Congressional Inaction on Minimum Wage Legislation
    March 28, 1996

        I am disappointed that the Republican leadership has again prevented
    the Congress from even voting on whether to raise the minimum wage and
    give 10 million Americans an immediate pay increase. With every day that
    the Republican leadership continues to stall, the value of the minimum
    wage continues to fall closer and closer to a 40-year low. Some of
    America's greatest working heroes are the parents who are trying to
    raise their kids, working full time at the minimum wage. If we value
    work and we value families, we ought to raise the value of the minimum
    wage. With the 5-year anniversary of the last minimum wage increase next
    Monday, now is the time to put politics aside, raise the minimum wage,
    and help lift the lives of millions of America's workers.