Minimum Wage

During his tenure in the Senate, the federal minimum wage was raised 16 times, despite frequent opposition from Republicans who claimed such measures would hurt the economy and force many people to lose their jobs. In 1996 Kennedy told the New York Times that when the health-insurance and minimum-wage bills were passed by Congress on Aug. 2 of that year it was the most satisfying day of his career. And in a hint of the presidential candidate he would end up endorsing in 2008, he said making more progress would require voting for "hope."

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