Max Baucus: “since the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, Congress has required employers to pay a minimum wage. Congress enacted the…”

“since the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, Congress has required employers to pay a minimum wage. Congress enacted the current general minimum wage of $5.15 an hour in 1996. That works out to be about $10,712 a year. Currently, about 2 million workers get paid the Federal minimum wage or less. A decade has passed since the last increase. That marks the longest period in history without an adjustment to the minimum wage. During that time, a majority of States have enacted minimum wages higher than the current Federal level. This includes my home State of Montana. Montanans recognized that the minimum wage must be increased. I am proud that in November our State voted to raise that State's minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $6.15 an hour. It was a step in the right direction. An increase in the minimum wage would affect millions more than those who earn minimum wage because many workers earn slightly more than minimum wage and may also see an increase. Some worry that an increase in the minimum wage will burden small businesses. Small businesses create jobs, economic opportunity, and technological innovation. Smaller businesses employ a disproportionate share of workers earning the minimum wage. Representatives of small businesses have, therefore, argued that any increase should be accompanied by tax incentives targeted for small businesses in order to lower their costs. There are about 23 million small businesses in our country.…”