Eva M. Clayton: “I rise again to urge bipartisan support for the minimum wage increase and there is great precedent for such an effort.…”

“I rise again to urge bipartisan support for the minimum wage increase and there is great precedent for such an effort. The last time the minimum wage was raised--in 1989--135 Republicans in the House voted for it, including Mr. Gingrich, 36 Republicans in the Senate voted for it, including Mr. Dole, and President Bush signed the bill into law. Since that increase, according to the Center on Budget Priorities, ``Inflation has eroded nearly all effects of this increase and the annual value of the minimum wage has returned to its 1989 level.'' In other words, if we want our workers to have the same earning power in 1996 that they had in 1989, a modest, two-step increase in the minimum wage is required. But, the bipartisan spirit from 1989 appears to be missing in 1996, at least among Republican leaders. One Republican leader wants to abolish the minimum wage, another is quoted as saying that minimum wage families ``do not exist,'' and a third has vowed to ``commit suicide'' before voting for the minimum wage increase. Mr. Speaker, the American worker has not changed in 7 years--they still need a fair wage. What has happened to the Republican Party? Between 1979 and 1992 the number of working poor in America increased by 44 percent. Again, Mr. Speaker, I would not promote a policy to help the working poor if it was shown that such a policy would substantially hurt small businesses.…”