The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“THE MINIMUM WAGE BILL--WHAT HAS HAPPENED?” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Commerce was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H6741-H6742 on July 11, 1995.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE MINIMUM WAGE BILL--WHAT HAS HAPPENED?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of May 12, 1995, the gentlewoman from North Carolina [Mrs. Clayton] is recognized during morning business for 5 minutes.
Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, in February, the President proposed a modest increase in the minimum wage. Following the President's proposal, the Democratic leader introduced H.R. 940, the Working Wage Increase Act of 1995. Under H.R. 940, the minimum wage would be increased, in two steps, to $5.15 by Independence Day in 1996. There are currently 91 cosponsors of H.R. 940.
Nothing has happened on the minimum wage bill since its introduction. Could this be because all of the sponsors are Democrats? It should be a bi-partisan effort to raise the minimum wage. It has been in times past. Both Speaker Gingrich and Senator Dole have supported minimum wage increases. The minimum wage needs to be increased now for two major reasons. First, to help improve the quality of life for all of our citizens.
And, second, to raise the standards of our workers so that they can keep pace with changing technologies and be better prepared for competing with workers around the world.
Welfare Reform--An Update
While minimum wage is stalled, Congress is moving very fast to drive citizens off welfare. I support welfare reform, but with provisions for training and the minimum wage increase. The welfare reform bill, H.R. 4, passed the House on March 24 of this year and passed the Senate Finance Committee on May 26.
The House-passed bill would block grant cash welfare, child care, school breakfast and lunch programs, and nutrition programs for pregnant women and children. Unwed mothers under the age of 18 and repeat mothers already on welfare, would be purged from the rolls. Fortunately, the Senate bill is less radical in the changes it proposes to welfare programs. And, with passage of other bills, like the farm bill, more level thinking may prevail.
foreign trade--its importance
At the same time of these actions, a bill was introduced on June 7, H.R. 1756, which proposes to eliminate six programs from the Department of Commerce and to privatize or transfer into other departments, many other Commerce programs. A similar bill, S. 929, has been introduced in the Senate. The bill would eliminate the Economic Development Administration, the Minority Business Development Agency, the Office of the Secretary, General Counsel and Inspector General at Commerce, as well as several other programs under the Department. Indeed, this bill effectively dismantles the Commerce Department which has been the engine that has helped expand job opportunities in the global market.
analysis
It is obvious to me that in our zeal to cut spending and balance the budget, we are being penny wise and pound foolish. We are putting people out of work, taking benefits from people without giving them work and keeping those who are working at poverty levels. We are creating a larger, and perhaps more permanent, underclass by these irrational actions.
This blind march toward the year 2002 fails to take into account that the best welfare reform is minimum wage reform. This irresponsible cutting of trade programs fails to take into account that foreign trade has created 274,000 jobs in my State of North Carolina alone.
I have consistently stated that I am for welfare reform. I have also consistently maintained that I support a balanced budget. The problem, however, with the direction we are taking is that we have closed our eyes to the impact of our acts. We can cut programs, refuse to raise the minimum wage and save money.
But, the money we lose by these deeds could far exceed the amount we gain. For example, while we are reducing our domestic deficit, we are ignoring our trade deficit, and our trade deficit is soaring. We may save a few billion dollars through eliminating Commerce to help reduce the deficit, but we will lose $20 billion through an increased trade deficit. What sense does it make to eliminate the very structure that assists American businesses in expanding, large and small, and helps create jobs for American workers?
support the minimum wage
The President's minimum wage proposal, combined with the earned income tax credit we passed last Congress, will go a long way in pushing millions of working Americans out of poverty. Yet, some of us are in the midst of cutting the earned income tax credit. It makes no sense. Sixty percent or 6 out of every 10 of those who are minimum wage workers are women. Many of them have children. And, most minimum wage workers are poor. Increases in the minimum wage have not kept pace with increases in the cost-of-living.
That is why a worker can work full-time, 40 hours a week, and still be below the poverty level. Surely we can increase the minimum wage for the first time since April, 1991, a period during which the cost of housing, food and clothing has greatly risen for the minimum wage worker.
The best welfare reform is a job, at a livable wage. I support this constrained request to lift millions of workers out of poverty. If we lift workers out of poverty, we will have less of a demand for welfare. If we have less of a demand for welfare, we will have less of a burden on this Nation's resources.
If we have less of a burden on this Nation's resources, we can compete more effectively in the global marketplace. And, if we compete more effectively in the global marketplace, we can reduce the trade deficit, further reduce the domestic deficit, create more jobs, put people to work and restore America. Mr. Speaker, it makes sense to me. I can not understand why it does not make sense to my colleagues. True vision is the art of seeing things invisible. We see what we want to see. We can keep many of our workers at low wage, unskilled jobs, or we can pay them better and train them better.
This is not 1945. The world community need not buy refrigerators from us. They can buy them almost anywhere. But, if we want to sell our refrigerators, we better have workers who can make them well. Let's reform welfare. But, let's also pass H.R. 940, the modest minimum wage bill.
____________________
