Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed controversial piece of legislation that, if passed by the Senate and signed into law by the President, would raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. Congressmen Gary Palmer, R-Hoover and Mike Rogers, R-Saks both voted against the bill and warned that implementing such a proposal could potentially wreck the U.S. economy and lead to a disastrous loss of jobs.
“Democrats just voted to gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $15,” Palmer said. “Despite the promises of more income attached to it, this increase would actually damage our economy and hurt the people it aims to help.”
“The American economy is booming and unemployment is at an almost 50 year low,” Rogers said. “Since President Trump was elected, close to six million jobs have been created. According to the CBO report, this bill would destroy almost four million jobs – that’s like filling to capacity both Jordan-Hare and Bryant-Denney 20 times and having Nancy Pelosi fire all those folks.”
“The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released a report on the impact of a federally mandated $15 minimum wage,” Palmer said. The CBO found that if a $15 minimum wage were implemented, 3.7 million jobs would be lost nationwide and 44,823 jobs would be lost in Alabama.
“Those job losses would particularly impact entry-level and lower-skilled positions, and possibly eliminate those jobs completely,” Rep. Palmer warned. “Net family income would go down by $9 billion by 2025.”
“The American economy is booming and unemployment is at an almost 50 year low,” Rep. Rogers said. “Since President Trump was elected, close to six million jobs have been created. According to the CBO report, this bill would destroy almost four million jobs – that’s like filling to capacity both Jordan-Hare and Bryant-Denney 20 times and having Nancy Pelosi fire all those folks.”
“I am completely opposed to this legislation and wish House Democrats would pay attention to how detrimental this would be for East Alabama and America,” Rogers added.
“A federally mandated minimum wage is not the answer to solving poverty or growing the economy,” Palmer concluded. “It’s one more one-size-fits-all policy that does more harm than good.”
The legislation now moves to the Republican-controlled Senate, where it is likely dead on arrival.
“This would depress the economy at a time of economic boom,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, “We’re not going to be doing that in the Senate.”
The vote likely sets up well to be used as an election-year issue by Democrats who are trying to maintain control of the House, take control of the Senate, and replace President Trump with the Democratic nominee.
Rogers is presently serving in his ninth term representing the people of Alabama’s Third Congressional District. Prior to his congressional service, Rogers was a member of the Alabama legislature and served on the Calhoun County Commission.
Palmer is presently serving in his fourth term representing Alabama’s Sixth Congressional District. Before his congressional service, Palmer was the co-founder and longtime president of the Alabama Policy Institute: an Alabama based conservative think tank.
