Mary Fallin: “Mr. Speaker, my concern is that a 41 percent increase in the minimum wage places a real burden on our small businesses.…”

“Mr. Speaker, my concern is that a 41 percent increase in the minimum wage places a real burden on our small businesses. It is a burden that could mean layoffs. It is a burden that could mean bankruptcy for others. The Federal Government cannot force small businesses to shoulder that burden alone. If the government is to raise our current minimum wage, it must pursue a balanced plan that will provide serious tax relief and regulatory relief to those who will be hit hardest by a minimum wage increase. A plan without balance will not lift up the American workers. It will actually drag down small business. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that increasing the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour will cost small businesses somewhere between $5 billion to $7 billion nationwide.”