[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.