McCaskill: I will fight for Missouri's working families

(From the Claire McCaskill campaign)

Today, Claire McCaskill visited the Springfield Labor Day Picnic where she emphasized her commitment to Missouri’s working families and her consistent record of fighting for a strong middle class.  Claire’s record stands in stark contrast to her opponent, Todd Akin, who has worked to abolish the minimum wage for nearly 110,000 Missouri workers while voting seven times to raise his own, taxpayer-funded salary.

“I’ll always fight as hard as I know how for Missouri’s working families because they deserve a Senator on their side, someone who understands how crucial a strong middle class is to our economy and our character as a nation,” said McCaskill. “Todd Akin’s priorities are backward and too far outside the mainstream--he would eliminate the minimum wage for Missouri’s working families, but still believes taxpayers owe him more money and voted seven times to raise his own pay. I’m proud to represent a state like Missouri, where our families have never been afraid of hard work, but it’s our job to ensure working families are paid fairly for the hard work they do."

In addition to Akin’s opposition to a minimum wage for Missouri’s working families, Akin has voted seven times to raise his own Congressional salary by nearly $40,000 over the course of 10 years.

In the Senate, Claire stood on the side of Missouri’s working families and fighting to protect a strong minimum wage, while Akin has consistently opposed and denounced the minimum wage at both the federal and state level, despite the mainstream understanding from economists and analysts that such laws are critical for a healthy middle class and good for the economy.

As a state lawmaker, Akin voted against establishing a minimum wage in Missouri, and as U.S. congressman he opposed legislation to increase the federal minimum wage to its current level of $7.25 per hour. When asked during a 2012 Senate primary debate if he knew the federal minimum wage, Akin incorrectly guessed it to be around $6 or $7 before expressing his belief that it should be abolished altogether.

BACKGROUND

Akin Did Not Know the Federal Minimum Wage. According to the Associated Press, at a March 2012 GOP primary debate, Akin and none of his GOP opponents "could identify correctly the current federal minimum wage," currently set at $7.25. Akin "said he was guessing the minimum wage was around $6 or $7, called it another example of something wrong that the government is doing." [Associated Press, 3/16/12]

Akin Voted Against Raising the Minimum Wage to Its Current Level. Akin voted against HR 2. The bill increased the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour over the next two years. The bill also extended federal minimum wage requirements to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and set it at $3.55 an hour 60 days after enactment. The wage would rise in 50 cent increments every six months until it reaches the $7.25 per hour level. [Vote 18, 1/10/07]

1989: Akin Opposed Bill To Establish A State Minimum Wage. In October 2000, the St. Louis Post-Dispatchreported that, in 1989, Akin opposed "a bill to establish a state minimum wage. The bill passed, but the governor vetoed it." [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 10/3/00]

Nearly 110,000 Missouri Workers Make the Minimum Wage. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 109,000 workers in Missouri were paid at or below the Federal minimum wage in 2011. [Bureau of Labor Statistics, 3/2/12]

Akin Supported Congressional Pay Raises Seven Times. Akin has voted against efforts to block the annual cost-of-living increases that Members of Congress receive seven times since 2001.

• Akin Supported Congressional Pay Raise in 2007. In 2007, Akin voted in favor of a measure to kill an amendment that would block an automatic pay hike for members of Congress. By voting in favor of the effort to the kill the amendment, Akin voted for a 2.5 percent salary increase ($4,400) for an annual salary of $169,600. The motion to kill the amendment passed 244-181. [Washington Post, 6/28/07, HR 517, Vote #580, 6/27/07]
• Akin Supported Congressional Pay Raise in 2006.  Akin voted to kill an amendment that would block an automatic pay hike for members of Congress. By killing the attempt to block the pay raise, Akin voted to receive a 2 percent increase and an annual salary of $165,200.  The effort to block the anti-pay raiseamendment passed 249-167. [H RES 865, Vote #261, 6/13/06] NOTE: This pay raise was later blocked by the Democratic Congress in 2007.
• Akin Supported Congressional Pay Raise in 2005.  Akin voted in favor of a measure intended to prevent the introduction of an amendment blocking an increase in the annual salary for House members by $3,100 to $165,000. The House blocked a bid by Congressman Jim Matheson (D-UT) to force an up-or-down vote on the pay raise. The effort to block the anti-pay raise amendment passed 263-152. [HR 342,Vote #327, 6/28/05]
• Akin Supported Congressional Pay Raise in 2004. Akin voted in favor of a motion to order the previous question (thus ending debate and possibility of amendment) on adoption of the rule to provide for House floor consideration of the bill that would appropriate $89.8 billion in fiscal 2005 for the departments of Treasury and Transportation and related agencies. If the motion had been defeated, an amendment to block the Congressional pay raise would have been allowed.  The motion passed 235-170.  [H Res 770,Vote #451, 9/14/04]
• Akin Supported Congressional Pay Raise in 2003. Akin voted in favor of a motion to order the previous question (thus ending debate and possibility of amendment) on adoption of the rule to provide for House floor consideration of the bill that would appropriate $89.6 billion in fiscal 2004 spending, including $27.5 billion in discretionary spending, for the departments of Treasury and Transportation and related agencies.  If the motion had been defeated, an amendment to block the Congressional pay raise would have been allowed.  The motion passed 240-173.  [H. Res. 351, Vote #463, 9/4/03]

• Akin Supported Congressional Pay Raise in 2002. Akin voted in favor of a motion to order the previous question (thus ending debate and possibility of amendment) on adoption of the rule to provide for House floor consideration of the bill that would appropriate $35.1 billion in fiscal 2003 Treasury-Postal appropriations.  If the motion had been defeated, an amendment to block the Congressional pay raisewould have been allowed.  The motion passed 258-156.  [H. Res. 488, Vote #322, 7/18/02]
• Akin Supported Congressional Pay Raise in 2001.  Akin voted in favor of a motion to order the previous question (thus ending debate and possibility of amendment) on adoption of the rule to provide for House floor consideration of the bill that would appropriate $32.7 billion in fiscal 2002 for the Treasury Department, U.S. Postal Service, various offices of the Executive Office of the President and certain independent agencies.  If the motion had been defeated, an amendment to block the Congressional payraise would have been allowed.  The motion passed 293-129.  [H Res. 206, Vote #267, 7/25/01]