The Record - 
Why is it so difficult for Congress to pass legislation to increase the minimum wage on its own merits? Why does this important issue of economic justice have to be linked to something else in order to gain approval?

These questions arise following action last week in the Senate. Some members of the Senate want to include tax breaks for small businesses with raising the minimum wage. Last week’s 54-43 vote in the Senate was six votes short of the 60 needed to prevent a filibuster and ensure passage of the minimum wage hike without the tax benefits for small business.

The Senate’s stance represents a snag in the campaign to increase the minimum wage for the first time in 10 years. On Jan. 10 the House voted to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour by 2009 without any other issue being attached to the bill.

This is not the first time Congress has balked at passing straightforward legislation to increase the minimum wage. Last year, the House approved a minimum wage increase but linked it to a proposal to reduce the federal estate tax for the wealthy.
This legislation failed in the Senate.

There’s nothing wrong with legislation to give tax breaks to small businesses. An argument can be made — as some Senate members have — that these tax reductions would soften the impact of a minimum-wage increase on employers who hire low-income workers. But the issues should be treated independently.

It’s somewhat revealing that many states have been able to address the minimum wage on its own merits. In fact, more than half of the states and the District of Columbia have approved increases in the minimum wage above the $5.15 an hour rate. And in last November’s elections, voters in six states approved ballot measures to raise the minimum wage in their jurisdictions.

Congress should learn from what’s happening at the grass-roots level. Most people realize that the current $5.15 an hour federal minimum wage is long overdue for an increase. A full-time worker at this rate earns $10,700 a year, which is nearly $6,000 below the poverty level for a family of three.

Shouldn’t this reality call for an increase in the minimum wage to stand on its own? Doesn’t such an increase justify action by Congress without erecting obstacles or clouding the picture with the addition of other issues?

Both the U.S. bishops and Catholic Charities USA have called on Congress to increase the minimum wage. Both have emphasized that workers should be able to support themselves and their families. Father Larry Snyder, Catholic Charities USA president, noted that over the past several years Catholic Charities agencies “have been coping with steady double-digit increases each year in requests for emergency assistance because low-wage workers simply cannot earn enough to cover rent, child care, food, utilities and clothing for their families.”

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Domestic Policy Committee, explained the need for raising the minimum wage in terms of Catholic social teaching. He wrote in a Jan. 8 letter to members of Congress:

“Work has a special place in Catholic thought. Work is more than just a job; it is a reflection of human dignity and a way to contribute to the common good. Most importantly, it is the ordinary way people meet their material needs and community obligations.”

He added: “In Catholic teaching, the principle of a just wage is integral to our understanding of human work. Wages must be adequate for workers to provide for themselves and their families in dignity. The United States bishops’ conference has supported the minimum wage since its inception as a just means to protect the human rights and dignity of workers.”

Bishop DiMarzio said the minimum wage needs to be increased “not just for the goods and services a person can buy but for the self-esteem and self-worth it affords.” Surely, this is reason enough for Congress to move this issue forward on its own merits without any further delay.

Approve a tax break for small businesses if that is needed. But, first, pass legislation to raise the minimum wage. Ten years is far too long to have neglected an issue of justice — one that is urgent enough to stand on its own.