    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [November 4, 1999]
    [Pages 1982-1983]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Letter to Congressional Leaders on Minimum Wage Legislation
    November 4, 1999

    Dear __________:
        I am writing this letter to encourage you to pass a straightforward
    minimum wage bill that gives working Americans the pay raise they
    deserve. If we value work and family, we should raise the value of the
    minimum wage.
        In 1996, the Congress and I worked together to raise the minimum
    wage by 90 cents over 2 years. Since then, the American economy has
    created nearly 9 million new jobs--with more than 1 million of them in
    the retail sector where many minimum-wage workers are employed. The
    unemployment rate has fallen from the already low rate of 5.2 percent to
    4.2 percent--the lowest in 29 years. We have enjoyed larger real wage
    increases for more consecutive years than at any time in more than two
    decades, while inflation is the lowest it has been in more than three
    decades. The minimum wage increase has contributed to the 39 percent
    decline in the welfare caseload since the last minimum wage increase--
    bringing the welfare rolls down to their lowest level in three decades.
    And the minimum wage increase has been a crucial factor in reversing the
    wage stagnation and declines of the previous decade, contributing to
    rising wages for even the lowest income groups. Our recent experience
    clearly demonstrates that what is good for America's working families is
    good for America's economy.
        But as our economy continues to break records, we must do more to
    ensure that all Americans continue to benefit from it. It is time to
    build on the steps we have taken to honor the dignity of work. The
    expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit in 1993 and the increase in
    the minimum wage have ensured that no full-time working parent with two
    children has to raise his or her family in poverty. It is important that
    we take steps to achieve this goal in the future. That is why I have
    proposed to raise the minimum wage by $1 an hour over the next two
    years--from $5.15 to $6.15. This modest increase would simply restore
    the real value of the minimum wage to what it was in 1982. More than 11
    million workers would benefit under this proposal. A full-time, year-
    round worker at the minimum wage would get a $2,000 raise--enough for a
    typical family of four to buy groceries for 7 months or pay rent for 5
    months.
        All Americans should share in our historic prosperity. This is why
    Congress should not let politics get in the way of raising the minimum
    wage. If you send me a clean bill that increases

    [[Page 1983]]

    the minimum wage by $1 over the next two years, I will sign it.
        Unfortunately, some in Congress have proposed a more gradual
    increase in the minimum wage that would cost a full-time, year-round
    worker roughly $1,500 over three years compared with my proposal. They
    have added provisions that would repeal important overtime protections
    for American workers. And they have been playing politics with the
    minimum wage bill, using it as a vehicle for costly and unnecessary tax
    cuts that would threaten our fiscal discipline. As I have stated
    repeatedly, before we consider using projected surpluses to provide for
    a tax cut, we must put forth things first and address the solvency of
    Social Security and Medicare. If Congress sends me a bill that threatens
    our fiscal discipline, I will veto it.
        If paid-for tax cuts are attached to the minimum wage bill, they
    should reflect our priorities and address urgent national needs like
    deteriorating schools and the communities that have been left behind
    during this time of prosperity. In contrast, the bulk of the provisions
    attached to the minimum wage bill in the House are directed away from
    working families. Some of these provisions could even reduce the
    retirement benefits enjoyed by millions of working Americans.
        America's workers show up to work every day and get the job done.
    Congress should do the same this year. I urge Congress to pass a minimum
    wage bill that does not at the same time add poison pills that bypass
    the priorities of working families.
            Sincerely,

                                                          William J. Clinton

    Note: Letters were sent to J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House of
    Representatives; Richard A. Gephardt, House minority leader; Trent Lott,
    Senate majority leader; and Thomas A. Daschle, Senate minority leader.
    An original was not available for verification of the content of this
    letter.