Move to Raise Minimum Wage Divides GOP

The apparent inevitability that Congress will vote this year to raise the minimum wage has opened deep divisions within Republican ranks, with many lawmakers still adamantly opposed to a Democratic initiative that has been grudgingly embraced by Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas and House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.).

Dole and Gingrich are searching for ways to turn the minimum wage--a key election-year Democratic priority--into a political Trojan horse by loading it with GOP-favored initiatives before allowing a vote. But many in the Republican rank and file say no amount of partisan freight will make the measure acceptable to them, because they believe it betrays a fundamental GOP tenet.

After flatly opposing a minimum-wage increase for months, Dole, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, and Gingrich have succumbed to Democratic pressure to allow floor votes in the Senate and House on a proposal endorsed by President Clinton to increase the base wage to $5.15 per hour from the current $4.25.

The two congressional leaders have indicated they could support a higher minimum wage if the increase is part of a broader measure containing one or more GOP legislative priorities, such as a $500-per-child family tax credit, a commitment to balance the budget, or a reduction in the earned income tax credit claimed by the poor.

Conservatives traditionally oppose minimum-wage increases on grounds that they represent unwarranted government intrusion in the private market and reduce the availability of low-wage jobs. But with public support running heavily in favor of the initiative during an election year, many Republicans have indicated they will feel compelled to vote for an increase if the issue reaches the floor, making passage seem likely.

Gingrich’s willingness to entertain a minimum-wage increase in some form has antagonized his influential second-in-command, Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas), according to senior staff members. The two GOP leaders have exchanged angry words over the subject, and Armey has vowed to oppose the minimum-wage hike on the House floor.

Armey said Tuesday that there is “no way” the leadership could introduce legislation that includes a minimum-wage increase and “have me stand up and vote for it.”

The effort by Dole and Gingrich to package the minimum wage in a more palatable form is still sacrilege to conservatives like Armey, a former economics professor who has steadfastly opposed the notion of the minimum wage for his full tenure in Congress.

“It’s a cruel hoax on the least-advantaged workers in the system,” he said.

Dole and Gingrich have been discussing the possible scope of a minimum-wage package in closed-door meetings, but no decisions are expected this week, according to their spokesmen.

Only in recent days has it become clear that a minimum-wage increase has enough support to pass both chambers--if the leaders permit a vote. The turning point came late last week, when 20 House Republicans declared their support for an increase. In the Senate, eight Republicans have joined with all 47 Democrats to call for a vote on the increase, more than enough to secure passage.

Conservative analysts say the Democrats’ strategic victory on the minimum wage reflects the majority party’s failure to regain its footing after bruising defeats on its budget and other key parts of its legislative agenda last year.

“Republicans have been shell-shocked,” said Bruce Bartlett, a policy analyst at the conservative National Center for Policy Analysis. “They haven’t been able--or apparently even tried hard--to get back on track with a new strategy to make up for the failure of their previous agenda.”

“How else,” asked Steve Moore, an economist at the conservative Cato Institute, “do you explain that the Republicans are in control of both Houses, and what we’ve all been talking about for the last two weeks is the hallmark Democratic initiative on increasing the minimum wage?”

Although some conservatives in both chambers are still searching for a way to block the initiative, other Republicans said they believe a minimum-wage hike is all but certain. They expressed hope that GOP leaders schedule a vote as soon as possible to diffuse the political benefits Democrats have been reaping from the issue.

The issue already has become a political problem for Dole. On several occasions, he has been forced to use parliamentary maneuvers to avoid floor votes on a minimum-wage hike. Last week, he pulled a major bill dealing with illegal immigration off the Senate floor in large part to avoid a Democratic attempt to amend the measure to include minimum-wage provisions.