Panel in House OKs Minimum Wage of $5.05
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WASHINGTON — Despite the threat of a presidential veto, the House Labor and Education Committee approved and sent to the floor Wednesday legislation to raise the current federal minimum wage of $3.35 an hour to $5.05 over the next four years.
The Democratic-controlled committee approved the measure by voice vote after defeating several Republican proposals.
Committee Chairman Augustus F. Hawkins (D-Los Angeles) said congressional action, which is expected to be completed by the end of April, was important because a minimum wage increase “will be one of the great election issues.”
Decrease in Jobs Feared
Labor Secretary Ann Dore McLaughlin has said White House advisers would urge President Reagan to veto any minimum wage increase that would lead to a decrease in the number of job opportunities. She said Administration economists believe that raising the minimum wage to $4.65 an hour would lead to a loss of 880,000 jobs or more.
A $4.65-an-hour increase over three years was contained in the legislation originally, before it came before the full House committee, and is in the version before the Senate. Last week, the House committee adopted an amendment to add 40 cents to the minimum wage increase during a fourth year.
Under the House committee-passed bill, the minimum wage would go to $3.85 an hour next year, $4.25 in 1990, $4.65 in 1991 and $5.05 in 1992.
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