Sen. Salazar Statement on Passage of Minimum Wage Increase and Small Business Tax Credits

Sen. Salazar Statement on Passage of Minimum Wage Increase and Small Business Tax Credits

Today, the U.S. Senate passed HR2, a bill to increase the minimum wage and provide tax credits for small businesses. After voting for HR2, which passed 94-3, United States Senator Ken Salazar released the following statement:

"I am pleased that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle joined me in giving American workers and American small businesses a pay raise.

"Hundreds of thousands of people in Colorado will benefit from raising the National minimum wage for the first time in ten years. For too long, Washington dragged its feet on this fundamental issue of economic fairness for working men and women.

"Helping small businesses at the same time is the right way to go. Three-quarters of America's jobs are in small businesses, and the provisions I included to promote the hiring of disabled veterans and help small businesses more easily write off improvements to their properties will help stimulate investment and make America's small businesses stronger.

"Giving American workers and the businesses that employ them a raise is good for workers, it is good for the economy, and it is the right thing to do. This is a win-win, for workers and employers."

More details about Senator Salazar's small business tax credit package, the Business RAISE Act, are available here.

Having been passed by the House, HR2 now goes on to Conference Committee to iron out the differences between the two bills.

http://salazar.senate.gov/news/releases/070201minwage.htm