Washington, D.C.   -  The U.S. House of Representatives acted to give Americans earning the minimum wage a raise today.  U.S. Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.), a long time leader on the issue, voted in support of H.R. 2, the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, which would bump the current minimum wage of $5.15 per hour to $7.25 over a period of two years. H.R. 2 passed the House floor by a vote of 315 to 116.

“It has been nearly 10 years since Americans earning the minimum wage have been given a pay raise,” said English, an original sponsor of the 1996 Quinn-Riggs-English amendment to raise the federal minimum wage to today’s rate of $5.15.  “I believe the minimum wage hike is an issue that has been long overlooked and am pleased the House acted on behalf of American workers today.  This measure will go a long way in guaranteeing some of our most vulnerable citizens get an adequate return on their work effort.”

During today’s House debate, English expressed concerns regarding the measures impact on American small businesses and Americans with disabilities. 

This Congress, English introduced H.R. 290, the Fair Wages for Americans with Disabilities Act, legislation to ensure that every worker with a disability engaged in full time employment would not lose their disability payments as a result of a hike in the minimum wage.  He is also an original cosponsor of H.R. 324, the Working Families Wage & Access to Health Care Act, which couples incentives for small businesses with an increase in the federal minimum wage. English has long argued that a balanced minimum wage bill, which addresses the needs of both workers and small businesses, would have the best opportunity to be enacted into law.

The new Democrat Majority’s House Rules package prevented H.R. 2 from coming to the House floor under regular order.  As a result, Members of Congress were barred from offering amendments to the bill. 

“Although I am disappointed that the new Majority prevented House lawmakers from enhancing today’s minimum wage bill, my concerns are not sufficient enough for me to vote against this measure, as I believe this wage hike is long over due.” English said.  In addition, as we move through the legislative process, I firmly believe that there is a high probability that my concerns will be addressed during House and Senate conference negotiations.”

Summaries of the Fair Wages for Americans with Disabilities Act and the Working Families Wage & Access to Health Care Act follow:

H.R. 290, the Fair Wages for Americans with Disabilities Act
Introduced by Representative English

Currently, the minimum wage is set at $5.15/hour.  H.R. 2 would phase in an increase over a period of just over 2 years: $5.85, $6.55, and finally $7.25.

The English provision would ensure that workers will remain eligible to receive SSI/disability benefits while working full time at the new, increased minimum wage.  This is accomplished by amending the Social Security Act to exclude the additional income an individual earns as a result of gainful employment at the higher wage.

For 2007, a Supplemental Security Income beneficiary can earn up to $900 per month as a result of substantial gainful activity (SGA) and still remain eligible for benefits while blind SSI beneficiaries may earn up to $1,500 per month and still remain eligible for benefits.  Both of these benefit rates are indexed for inflation.

Should Congress raise the minimum wage, workers engaged in full time/minimum wage employment would receive increased monthly wages, eliminating SSI benefits for non-blind beneficiaries.  Workers engaged in full time employment under H.R. 2 would see their wages rise to $936 then $1,048, and finally to $1,160 per month.

The English provision would ensure that every worker with a disability engaged in full time employment (or less than full time employment) would not become disqualified from receiving SSI payments as a result of the increase in minimum wage.  This change in law would not only ensure continuity in SSI payments while raising the minimum wage, but would also encourage those with disabilities to enter and fully participate in the workforce without financial penalty or disadvantage.

H.R. 324 Working Families Wage & Access to Health Care Act
Cosponsored by Representative English

I.  Raising the Federal Minimum Wage 

• Identical to the House Democrat leadership’s proposal, the Working Families Wage & Access to Health Care Act amends the Fair Labor Standards Act to increase the current federal minimum wage rate of $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour over two years.  The increase would occur in the following increments:
o From $5.15 per hour to $5.85 per hour 60 days after enactment of the Working Families Wage & Access to Health Care Act;
o From $5.85 per hour to $6.55 per hour one year after the first increase; and
o From $6.55 per hour to $7.25 per hour one year after the second increase.

• Also identical to the House Democrat leadership’s proposal, the Working Families Wage & Access to Health Care Act would extend the federal minimum wage to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

II.  Expanding Access to Affordable Health Care 

• The Working Families Wage & Access to Health Care Act would significantly expand access to health coverage for uninsured families across the country by creating Small Business Health Plans.

• According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of Americans who have no health insurance increased to about 46.5 million last year.  Estimates indicate 60 percent or more of the working uninsured work for or depend on small employers who lack the ability to provide health benefits for their workers. 

• To ease the burden on small businesses and provide meaningful benefits to those who work for them, the Working Families Wage & Access to Health Care Act would establish Small Business Health Plans that allow small businesses to band together and purchase quality health care for workers and their families at a lower cost.  36 House Democrats supported doing exactly this in the 109th Congress.

III.  Protecting Small Businesses and their Workers

• The National Federation of Independent Business reports that small businesses create two-thirds of the nation’s new jobs and that 98 percent of new businesses in the U.S. are small businesses.  The Working Families Wage & Access to Health Care Act protects them – particularly restaurants, which employ over 13 million Americans, many of them low-income – so they can employ more workers and provide better benefits. 

• Specifically, the Working Families Wage & Access to Health Care Act would:
o Eliminate a temporary FUTA surtax that was established in 1976 to repay loans from the federal unemployment trust fund.  Even though this money was fully repaid 20 years ago, this temporary tax has been extended five times.  Eliminating the FUTA surtax would relieve businesses of more than a billion dollars in unnecessary tax burden and would help alleviate the highest of all taxes that small businesses pay.
o Enhance Internal Revenue Code Section 179 small business expensing to simplify the financial planning activities for small businesses.  This would provide a meaningful capital resource incentive for small businesses to expand, employ more workers, and invest more in their communities.
o Reduce new restaurant construction depreciation to 15 years.  Restaurants are a high-volume business, serving more customer traffic and maintaining longer hours than the average commercial business.  This results in rapid deterioration, making new restaurant construction important but costly.  New restaurant construction – made easier by reducing the depreciation schedule – creates jobs not only in the restaurant industry, but in industries that will indirectly benefit from the construction of restaurant buildings as well.

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