Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) — Increasing the U.S. minimum wage may lift about 900,000 Americans out of poverty while leading to as many as 1 million job losses, according to a report from the Congressional Budget Office.
The report is the second this month that injects the nonpartisan budget office into a political fight in Congress. Like the CBO's Feb. 4 report on Obamacare, this one probably won't bridge the divide, as leaders from each party said the report reinforced their position.
"With unemployment Americans' top concern, our focus should be creating — not destroying — jobs for those who need them most," said Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Republican House Speaker John Boehner, who opposes a minimum-age increase. Representative Chris Van Hollen, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, said the report "confirms that raising the minimum wage is in the best interest of our country."
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