Christopher Shays: “it is not lost on me and my colleagues on this side of the aisle that when our colleagues on the other side of the aisle…”

“it is not lost on me and my colleagues on this side of the aisle that when our colleagues on the other side of the aisle had an opportunity to increase the minimum wage when they controlled both the House and the Senate they choose not to bring it up. It is simply not lost on us us that much of this debate is about politics. The fact is this side of the aisle will have a vote on the minimum wage. But when we have a vote on the minimum wage, it will not just include the minimum wage. It will also include a tax credit for employers who hire the most disadvantaged workers, those who have been on welfare, those who have never had a job before. We will have a tax credit tied to increasing the minimum wage to help the most disadvantaged. We will also have provisions to help small businesses most impacted by a minimum wage income. We are going to have a job creation program along with increasing the minimum wage. I would encourage my colleagues, particularly on this side of the aisle, to vote for the previous question, and not be lured into this procedural vote that will ultimately be declared out of order. Passage of the minimum wage should be done in a way that creates not only an increase in the wage base for those who are most disadvantaged, but also has a job creation element to help all Americans.”