WASHINGTON, D.C.-U.S. Senator Susan Collins released this statement after the Senate failed to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to a debate on a bill to raise the minimum wage.
"I recognize how difficult it is for anyone who is trying to make ends meet on the minimum wage, and I believe it should be increased. In 2007, the last time the Senate voted on this issue, I supported legislation that raised the federal minimum wage to the current $7.25 an hour.
"It is clear, however, that the President's current proposal - which is considerably higher than the $9 minimum wage he proposed just last year -- does not have the votes it would need to pass the Senate, much less the House. That's why I have spent the past several weeks in discussions with colleagues on both sides of the aisle about a possible alternative that could raise the minimum wage by a reasonable amount that would not result in the huge job losses caused by a 39 percent increase to $10.10. Unfortunately, the Majority Leader has already made it clear that he doesn't intend to allow any amendments to his bill - including any possible compromise. That is
disappointing.
"The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office found that the proposal to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour could lead to a reduction in total employment of about 500,000 workers. Many of these workers are likely to be low-income employees. I continue to believe that there is support in the Senate for a reasonable alternative that would raise the minimum wage but avoid the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs that are critical to our state and our economy. Just today, I had a phone conversation with a Democratic colleague and we agreed to convene a working group to examine the issue.
"Today's vote is an attempt to score a political point, but it doesn't move us any closer to raising the minimum wage. My focus remains on working together to reach an agreement on a responsible path forward."