Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) sought bipartisan compromise on Wednesday on an agreement that would responsibly raise the federal minimum wage.
A bill that would raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 was filibustered by Senate Republicans on Wednesday.
Collins supported legislation in 2007 that raised the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour, and she said it should be increased again.
“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,” Collins said. “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….”
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), however, has made it clear that no amendments to the bill would be allowed, which could quash the spirit of compromise.
Raising the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour could lead to a reduction in total employment of approximately 500,000 workers, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
” Many of these workers are likely to be low-income employees,” Collins said. “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.”