[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 12 (Monday, March 23, 1998)]
[Page 467]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Proposed Legislation To Raise the Minimum Wage

March 19, 1998

    Two years ago, we raised the minimum wage to reward work and help 
millions of Americans raise their families with dignity. With our 
expanded earned-income tax credit and the higher minimum wage, we said 
to hard-pressed working families: If you work full-time, you should not 
have to raise your children in poverty. Without another minimum wage 
increase, too many of these families will fall through the cracks and 
back below the poverty line. That is wrong.
    That is why I am pleased that Senator Daschle, Senator Kennedy, 
Representative Gephardt, and Representative Bonior are introducing 
legislation that includes another sound and prudent minimum wage 
increase. With our economy the healthiest in a generation and job growth 
strong, we can afford to increase the minimum wage by a dollar by the 
turn of the century. I strongly support raising the minimum wage. This 
legislation will help ensure that we pay people a decent wage and that 
parents who work hard and play by the rules can lift their children and 
themselves out of poverty. It's right for America and right for 
America's workers.