Continuing his efforts to oppose the Biden administration’s push to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., pointed to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
The CBO released the report on Monday and it found that 1.4 million Americans would lose their jobs if the minimum wage rose to $15 an hour even as 900,000 Americans would no longer live in poverty.
Scott weighed in on the report on Monday, saying it showed why raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour is a bad idea.
“I spent my life in business, and I know what it’s like to have to make payroll and make the tough choices to succeed. President Biden continues to push his job-killing agenda, including a $15 minimum wage, despite all evidence showing that it will devastate our economy and small businesses. Just last week, Senate Democrats overwhelmingly joined Republicans in voting against raising the national minimum wage to $15 during the pandemic,” Scott said.
“We know that enacting a $15 minimum wage now would be catastrophic for small businesses and the jobs they provide families and now we have data showing its impacts would stretch far beyond our battle against COVID-19. A new report from the CBO confirms that raising the minimum wage to $15 will increase the national debt by $70 billion and eliminate 1.4 million jobs. That is unacceptable. Instead of making every attempt to kill the American Dream and destroy small businesses, Democrats should work on creating a strong economy so every family has the opportunity to succeed,” Scott added.
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
