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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release April 21, 1996

               STATEMENT BY THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC ADVISER
                LAURA D'ANDREA TYSON ON THE MINIMUM WAGE

The bipartisan minimum wage train has left the station and rather than slow it down with political gimmicks and controversial amendments, Majority Leader Dole should immediately schedule a clean, fair vote on raising the minimum wage. For the millions of hard-pressed American families who would benefit from President Clinton's proposal to increase the minimum wage, the time for a clean vote on the minimum wage is now. Every day Majority Leader Dole delays a clean vote on the minimum wage with inside-the-beltway political games, the real value of the minimum wage moves closer and closer to a 40-year low.

President Clinton has always supported raising the minimum wage -- from the campaign in 1992 to the present -- and it is sad and unfortunate that Majority Leader Dole would depart from the clear factual record by suggesting otherwise. For four years, President Clinton has fought for the most hard-pressed working families by expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit, and trying to increase the minimum wage and expand health care coverage for working families. Together with his EITC expansion, President Clinton's minimum wage increase would ensure that no parent who is willing to work full-time would have to raise their children in poverty.

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