U.S. Congress Votes To Raise Minimum Wage

The delegation performance spreadsheet on how Texas’ members of Congress voted on these two measures is up at Delegation Watch, including some links to statements by members of the delegation on the various votes.

All Democrats voted for both measures. Carter, Granger, Hall, McCaul, and Smith were the Republicans who crossed over and voted for implementing the 9-11 Commission Recommendations.

On Minimum Wage, only Poe and Smith voted for the Minimum Wage increase. Congresswoman Kay Granger (R-Fort Worth), now Vice Chair of the Republican Conference, voted against the measure but said she supports an increase in the minimum wage only with protections that ensure workers do not lose their jobs:

I support an increase to the minimum wage but only with protections for small businesses that will help ensure that workers do not lose their jobs.

Businesses do not want to be placed in the position of having to fire good workers because the government suddenly mandates they pay their workers an increased wage and they can’t afford it. And unfortunately, that’s exactly what will happen if we raise the minimum wage without protections for small businesses. As a small business owner for over 20 years, I can tell you that without putting these checks and balances in place, you are going to end up hurting the worker you’re trying to help.
Any increase to the minimum wage needs to be balanced with tax and regulatory relief to protect the jobs of American workers who rely on the minimum wage.  An increase to the minimum wage will result in much needed raises for about nine percent of the total workforce.  But without the small business protections in place supported by Republicans, most economists agree that the increase to the minimum wage will increase unemployment.

I believe the Senate will be dealing with some of those tax breaks Granger speaks of. However, I don’t see a minimum wage increase causing the loss of a lot of jobs.