William L. Clay: “I am pleased that at long last a Congress will provide hard-working wage earners a well-deserved raise. I commend the 93…”

“I am pleased that at long last a Congress will provide hard-working wage earners a well-deserved raise. I commend the 93 Republicans, the 1 Independent, and the 187 Democrats who made this increase possible with their vote to raise the minimum wage. I cannot resist expressing my disappointment with the Republican leadership that attempted to sabotage this badly needed increase for our workers. The Republican leadership has fought this effort with every fiber of their beings. For months the Republican leadership refused even to allow the committee of jurisdiction to hold a hearing on the minimum wage. When forced to bring the bill to the floor, the Republican leadership tried to gut the legislation, tried to exempt most employers from the obligation to pay the minimum wage. In this conference report the Republican leadership has needlessly postponed the minimum wage increase by 1 month in 1996 and, incredibly, by 2 months in 1997. At every turn the Republicans have felt compelled to nickel and dime low-wage workers and their families. Now some to them want the American workers to believe that the leadership of the Republican Party are giving them a raise. I am also extremely disappointed that the conferees included a special interest provision, the so-called Harris Trust provision, that weakens the protection for pension participants and beneficiaries.”