Beehive State News

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) has issued a counterproposal to raise the federal minimum hourly wage to $10, opposing the Democrats' push for a $15 minimum.

The bill which was announced on Tuesday is called the Higher Wages for American Workers Act. Romney's plan is to strategically raise the federal minimum wage over a period of four years while at the same time tightening laws and enforcement on employing illegal immigrants, thereby ensuring the wage boosts benefit legal workers only.

“We must create opportunities for American workers and protect their jobs, while also eliminating one of the key drivers of illegal immigration,” Romney said in a statement as reported by The Epoch Times. 

The bill additionally offers protections for small businesses with an employment base of less than 20 by giving them a longer phase-in period for the increased minimum wage.

"For millions of Americans, the rising cost of living has made it harder to make ends meet, but the federal minimum wage has not been increased in more than ten years,” Romney went on to say, according to The Epoch Times, noting that the bill would “raise the floor for workers without costing jobs.”

Joe Biden's $15 minimum wage has been rejected by many and statistics are there to prove its negative impact. A recent study by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found that increasing the federal minimum wage by 2025 would cost 1.4 million jobs over four years while raising wages for around 27 million people.

The impact of the $10 an hour minimum wage was also examined. In 2019 a study by the CBO revealed that it would have little impact on employment, while boosting the wages of some 3.5 million workers.

The bill makes it mandatory for employers to E-Verify and imposes stricter penalties on those that employ illegal immigrants. 

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) proposed an almost similar bill, requesting a $11 federal minimum wage against President Biden's $15 which is part of the $1.9 trillion stimulus budget.

For Biden's bill to pass without Republicans' support, Manchin will have to vote in his favour but the latter has already announced his disapproval for the $15 minimum wage hike. It is unclear if the proposal could be approved via the budget reconciliation process.

The debate on the hike of minimum wages has been ongoing for years with some economists arguing that raising salaries would boost the economy as spending would increase, thereby lifting the economy. On the other hand, other economists argue it will affect businesses and lead to more job losses.