WASHINGTON – Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.), along with 30 of their Republican colleagues, introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn a Department of Labor (DOL) final rule that would mandate unworkable wage hikes for small businesses. Should the rule go into effect, the new minimum salary threshold for overtime pay would be $58,656 – up from the current $35,568 – starting in January 2025, with increases every three years.

“Prices are 20 percent higher today than when Biden took office – it's no wonder wages aren’t keeping pace. Rather than address the problem at its root by exercising fiscal responsibility, the Biden administration is attempting to push the costs of its irresponsible spending onto small businesses,” said Grassley, who serves as Ranking Member of the Budget Committee. “Iowans have shared their concerns about this Overtime Rule, particularly the provisions to increase wages every three years. You bet I’m working to send the Overtime Rule back to the drawing board.” 

“When the free market sets the price of labor, opportunity and prosperity are the result. When the federal government sets the price of labor by one-size-fits-all mandates, small businesses are forced to fire employees and close shop to make ends meet. We’re leading a challenge to this new Biden rule because this White House’s out-of-touch economic policies have been an unparalleled disaster for American wages,” Braun said. 

Grassley and Braun are joined by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), John Thune (R-S.D.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Steve Daines (R-Mt.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), John Kennedy (R-La.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.).

Supporting stakeholders include the National Restaurant Association, the International Franchise Association and Heritage Action. 

Read the full CRA resolution HERE. 

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