Sen. Rand Paul: Right-to-work laws 'would be great for the country'

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is expected to introduce right-to-work legislation on Wednesday, arguing on “Mornings with Maria” that it will benefit the whole country.

“It's a great draw,” he told host Maria Bartiromo on Wednesday regarding the legislation, which would give workers across the country the right not to join a union.

A source told Fox Business to expect Paul and South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson’s National Right to Work co-sponsored legislation on Wednesday.

States have the authority to determine whether workers can be required to join a labor union to get or keep a job under right-to-work laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Paul noted that 28 states, including Kentucky, have right-to work laws.

“It’s a great excitement for people to come to the state,” Paul said.

“Boeing and others went to South Carolina because it’s a right-to-work state,” he went on to note. “Many of the car manufacturers went to Alabama because it’s a right-to-work state so right-to-work is a great draw and really why don’t we make it for the whole country? Then the whole country becomes a great draw.”

Paul reintroduced the National Right to Work Act in February 2019 as well.

“The National Right to Work Act stands up for all American workers by ensuring their ability to choose to refrain from joining or paying dues to a union as a condition for employment,” the Kentucky senator said at the time. “It respects their fundamental right to freedom of association, and it is time for the federal government to follow the lead of Kentucky and other states by passing Right to Work.” 

The bill was introduced in a previous session of Congress, but it did not receive a vote.

Paul argued that right-to-work laws have been “good for 28 different states” and that he believes “it would be great for the country.”

“If Congress refuses to do this, it will still be an advantage for Kentucky and people can come to Kentucky, but I’d like to make it an advantage for the entire country,” he said.

Paul also weighed in on the minimum wage increase debate on Wednesday telling Bartiromo, “It’s a real mistake to have the government get in there and destroy jobs for young people.”

Paul made the comment one day after Republican Sens. Mitt Romney and Tom Cotton unveiled a proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $10 per hour by 2025, a change tied to mandatory E-Verify for businesses designed to prevent employers from hiring undocumented workers.

The senators said the bill -- Higher Wages for American Workers Act -- would provide tandem benefits to Americans: Raising the pay floor for the first time in decades, while also preserving jobs for documented workers.

The Republican measure comes as President Biden and congressional Democrats push to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour over the next four years as part of a broader coronavirus relief package.

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“Whether it’s $15 dollars or $10, if the government sets the wage above the market wage, it causes unemployment,” Paul said on Wednesday, citing “hundreds and hundreds of studies,” which he noted “show that fixing a minimum wage causes unemployment.”

A study released by the Congressional Budget Office earlier this month revealed that the Democratic push to increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour by 2025 would cut employment by 1.4 million.

The measure would also add $54 billion to the nation's deficit over the next decade, according to the CBO study, the result of higher prices for goods and services, such as long-term health care.

“A $10 minimum wage will cause less unemployment, but it’s still a problem,” the Kentucky senator said. “The government shouldn’t be in this and the people that get hurt the worst are those most disadvantaged, black teenagers’ unemployment goes through the roof when you set minimum wage.”

Paul noted that “the most important thing for any teenager, white or black, is that first job and they don’t get it if you set the wage higher than what the market will set it at, so I think it’s a big mistake and it’s a disservice to our youth.”

He also said on Wednesday that Democrats’ massive COVID-19 relief bill is “a big mistake.”

House Democrats are on track to pass Biden’s nearly $2 trillion coronavirus relief package by the end of the week as Congress races to provide a fresh round of aid to families and businesses still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.

The measure, which includes a third $1,400-stimulus check for Americans earning less than $75,000, would increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour.

But deficit-weary Republicans have criticized the size and scope of the legislation, arguing the aid should be better targeted to those who need it the most and slamming Democrats for including certain provisions.

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The nation's deficit totaled a record $3.1 trillion for the 2020 fiscal year, and the national debt is on track to hit $28 trillion.

“We don’t have $2 trillion sitting around here so it’s all going to be borrowed,” Paul said.

He added that “people don’t see the unforeseen complications of this down the road and what it does for our currency, what it ultimately does to our economy.”

“Even if they say it’s for legitimate purposes, at this point, I think, really if you want to fix Covid, you open the economy, it’s on the decline,” Paul went on to say.

He noted that he believes the U.S. is “really rounding the bend now” and stressed that “this is not the time to put the country further into debt.”

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Fox Business’ Megan Henney contributed to this report.