Table 301 restauranteur testifies before Senate Budget Committee.

Founder of Greenville's Table 301 Group Carl Sobocinski testified before the U.S. Senate Budget Committee in Washington on Thursday against implementing a "Raise the Wage Act" during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The legislation calls for a 100% increase on the federal minimum wage over five years from $7.25 to $15 and the elimination of separate tip credits, according to a news release from the S.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association.

Sobocinski, who also serves as a National Restaurant Association liaison for the S.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association, does not oppose an increase in the federal minimum wage, according to the release, but argued that a $15 minimum wage and elimination of a separate tip wage would further maim an already battered industry.

He prompted senators to consider a bill that he said would be more suited to keeping businesses open and people in jobs rather than one spurring closures and layoffs, especially as 17% of all U.S. restaurants have closed doors permanently or long term and have eliminated 2.5 million...

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