Senate to consider two plans to increase minimum wage
The Senate is gearing up for a vote on whether to raise the minimum wage for the first time in eight years,
as Democrats and Republicans offer competing proposals they want to add to bankruptcy legislation.
Looking ahead to the votes, expected this evening or tomorrow, the Democratic plan would increase the $5.15
hourly minimum by more than $2. The GOP proposal couples a more modest raise with a change to the 40-hour workweek.
The plan from Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) also includes tax and regulatory breaks for small businesses.
His amendment would lift the minimum wage by $1.10 over 18 months, in two steps of 55 cents.
The rival proposal from Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D., Mass.) would boost the wage to $7.25 in three increments
over 26 months.
The bankruptcy bill, long a priority for Republicans, is intended to make it more difficult for people to
eliminate personal debts by declaring bankruptcy.
The minimum-wage amendments will need 60 votes to survive; it is not clear if either one has that support.
A minimum-wage increase faces a tougher road in the more conservative House. Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R.,
Texas) and the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R., Wis.), said late last week that
the House was ready to quickly pass the Senate's bankruptcy bill under the condition that the Senate reject any further substantive
amendments.
DeLay also said the House had no plans to vote on a minimum-wage increase, which business groups say would
drive up costs and force small businesses to lay off workers.
Santorum's proposal contains an idea that Republicans have advocated, without success, for years:
"flex-time," which gives employees the option of shifting their work hours over a two-week period. Supporters say
this would allow workers to adjust their schedules to meet family needs.
Kennedy said that would end the 40-hour workweek by denying workers overtime pay for up to 10 hours
every two weeks.
Kennedy also said restaurant workers would be harmed because Santorum's proposal allows tips to
be credited for purposes of complying with any future minimum-wage increases in states where tips are not now credited.
Santorum said his plan would not reduce cash wages in any way.
The GOP plan says small-business enterprises with less than $1 million in receipts would be exempt from
the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, which sets minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping standards. The ceiling is now $500,000.
The proposal includes more than $4 billion in small-business tax breaks. The tax breaks are offset by such
measures as tightening tax requirements on companies that have operations overseas to avoid U.S. taxes and increasing penalties
on tax fraud and underpayment.
Santorum's spokeswoman said the senator was introducing his amendment in response to Kennedy's. Santorum
recognizes that it has been 71/2 years since the last raise but also wants to ease regulatory burdens on small businesses,
the aide said.
Kennedy, in a statement, said the GOP plan would help only 1.8 million people, compared with 7.3 million
under his.
He told fellow senators that under the last minimum-wage raise, voted by Congress in 1996 and reaching its
current level in 1997, minimum-wage workers earn $10,700 a year, $5,000 below the poverty line for a family of three.
During the same eight-year period, members of Congress have raised their own salaries seven times, by a
total of $28,500, he said.
SANTORUM MINIMUM WAGE PROPOSAL IS A WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING
At Least 250,000 Pennsylvanians Lose Under Santorum Plan
Rick Santorum’s ruse to raise the minimum wage is a wolf in sheep’s clothing that cruelly pulls
the rug out from under some of the hardest working Americans. The fact is that Rick Santorum is in the political fight of
his life and is trying to give the appearance that he is compassionate despite the fact that his record shows something quite
different. When it comes to raising the minimum wage for working Pennsylvanians, Santorum has minimum credibility.
IF SANTORUM PROPOSAL BECOMES LAW, AT LEAST 250,000 PENNSYLVANIANS LOSE OUT ON A REAL MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE:
Raising the minimum wage by $1.10 would benefit only 115,000 workers in Pennsylvania while the Democratic alternative would
raise the minimum wage for 365,800 Pennsylvania workers [Economic Policy Institute].
SANTORUM’S MINIMUM WAGE PROPOSAL ACTUALLY HURTS LOW-WAGE WORKERS. Santorum falsely claims he is raising
the minimum wage, but his proposal actually slashes it for thousands of Pennsylvania residents because the changes it makes
to labor laws reduce the number of people eligible for the wage:
- Reduces overtime pay by abolishing the 40-hour work week and replaces it with an 80 hour two-week accounting
period that would change how overtime is calculated. Under current law, a worker who worked 50 hours in one week and 30 in
the next gets 10 hours of overtime pay. Under the Santorum amendment the same worker would receive no overtime pay. [Keystone
Research Center]
- Forces tipped employees to work for tips only. Santorum would allow employers to pay nothing to their
tipped employees as long as workers' tips added up to the minimum wage. The amendment would prevent states from adopting any
law to the contrary. [Keystone Research Center]
- Eliminates overtime pay for many interstate commerce workers. Thousands of Pennsylvania workers engaged
in interstate commerce are protected by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, including the right to receive overtime pay.
The Santorum amendment would eliminate this protection for workers in firms with annual revenues of $1,000,000 or less. [Keystone
Research Center]
- Allows smaller employers to escape responsibility for workplace rule and safety violations. The Santorum
amendment would exempt businesses with revenues of under $7 million from paying fines for violating the current law. [Keystone
Research Center]
SANTORUM HAS CONSISTENTLY VOTED AGAINST MINIMUM WAGE INCREASES: Time and time again, Santorum has stuck
it to those who need raises the most - low wage employees. Since 1998, Santorum has voted against a raise in the minimum wage
at least six times. [4/7/2000, #76; 11/9/1999, #356; 7/30/1999, #239; 4/28/1999, #94; 3/25/1999 #77; 9/22/1998, #278]
IN 2003, SANTORUM REJECTED DEMOCRATIC EFFORTS TO RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE EIGHT TIMES IN TWO DAYS: Between
Wednesday, Nov. 12th at 6 p.m. and Friday, Nov. 14th at 9 a.m., Senate Democrats asked the Senate to consider a bill to increase
the minimum wage eight times. Santorum rejected the Bill at every turn. [Congressional Record]
By Phil Singer, Communications Director, DSCC, Mar 7, 2005
