    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [November 9, 1999]
    [Page 2030]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on Proposed Minimum Wage Legislation
    November 9, 1999

        The Senate Republican leadership made a serious mistake by insisting
    on using a minimum wage increase as a cynical tool to advance special
    interest tax breaks that aren't paid for and do little to help working
    families. I cannot let this bill become law in its current form. I once
    again call on Congress to give working American families the pay raise
    they deserve. Congress should pass clean legislation that boosts the
    minimum wage by one dollar over the next 2 years and simply restores the
    value of the minimum wage to what it was in 1982. American workers
    deserve no less.