Recent Press Releases

Washington, D.C. — 

U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.), Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, issued the following comment on a new report released by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) this afternoon which stated that the Democrats’ proposed 40 percent minimum wage hike to $10.10 per hour would result in 500,000 to 1 million fewer jobs, as well as higher consumer costs for middle-class families:

“On the heels of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office’s recent report stating ObamaCare would result in up to 2.5 million fewer full-time workers, CBO has now confirmed that the Democrats’ proposed minimum wage hike could result in as many as 1 million fewer jobs. Despite the fact that unemployment is Americans’ top concern, Democrats continue their insatiable quest to pass heavy-handed government policies that are costing jobs. More than 3.5 million Americans have been unemployed for six months or longer, and the percentage of Americans in the labor force is at a low we haven’t seen since Jimmy Carter was president.

“At a time when household income has dropped nearly $3,600 on the president’s watch, CBO also reports that the Democrats’ minimum wage hike would increase consumer costs for families across the country. It’s time to give lower- and middle-income workers a break, not hammer them with more bad policies.”