Jim Inhofe: “I will unavoidably miss the final vote on the minimum wage bill but I come down here now to ask unanimous consent that…”

“I will unavoidably miss the final vote on the minimum wage bill but I come down here now to ask unanimous consent that the Record reflect, immediately after the vote, my announcement that I would have voted against this bill. In so doing, I remain consistent on the issue. Government is best when it is does not pick winners and losers--when it does not competitively advantage one group of people over another or one set of States over another. Senator DeMint offered an amendment to equally and fairly increase the minimum wage by $2.10 for each State over what the wage is today. The fact that the liberals voted against the DeMint amendment is proof that their bill as now constituted is really about damaging the competitiveness of middle America--the so-called red States, disparagingly called 'fly-over country' by liberals--compared to the liberal fringe States. Without this amendment, the underlying legislation would partially exempt minimum wage workers in higher-cost States that already have State minimum wage rates greater than the Federal level of $5.15 an hour, and completely exempt minimum wage workers in highest-cost States that have State minimum wage rates near $7.25 an hour.”