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THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
                         (New York, New York)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                 September 22, 1998

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

I am disappointed that the Senate today voted not to raise the minimum wage. This increase, one dollar over the next two years, would have raised the wages of 12 million Americans and helped ensure that parents who work hard and play by the rules do not have to raise their children in poverty.

The last time we raised the minimum wage, we said it would help working families and not cost jobs. We have been proven correct. Since I signed that law, wages for all Americans are rising again. Our economy is the strongest in a generation, with more than 16.7 million new jobs since the beginning of this Administration. Inflation is down, and unemployment has dropped to its lowest level in 28 years.

We value working families, and that is why we should raise the value of the minimum wage. I will continue the fight in Congress to do just that.

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