John Kline: Minimum Wage for Home-Care Workers Will Force Some People into Institutions

Updated below. U.S. Rep. John Kline (R-MN) stated his objection to the Obama Administration's reclassification on Tuesday of home care workers so they will get minimum wage and overtime. 

Kline and Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) argue, the New York Times reported, that the move would make home care more costly and would “limit access to in-home care for vulnerable Americans. ... Faced with higher costs, some individuals will have no choice but to leave their homes and enter institutional living.” 

Kline represents Lakeville in Congress and chairs the House Education and the Work Force Committee, on which Walberg also serves. 

Update (3:30 p.m. Wednesday): Mike Obermueller, a DFLer set on repeating his 2012 challenge to Kline in the 2014 election, issued this statement:

“I support a minimum wage increase because it’s needed to ensure we have good-paying jobs that build a thriving middle class. Congressman Kline refuses to listen to working families in Minnesota. Unlike Congressman Kline, I think the home care workers providing this critical care should be receiving the same basic protections like all working Americans. ... Many communities are facing a looming workforce crisis in attracting and retaining home care workers. These workers provide invaluable care for our family, friends and neighbors by help elderly and disabled living independently in their homes, rather than expensive nursing homes and other institutions.”

Related at Lakeville Patch: 

• Mary Liz Holberg: Unionizing Child Care Providers Resonates with Voters
• Dave Thompson: Repeal 'Harmful' Child-Care-Provider Union Law
• Day Care Providers Rally at Minnesota Senate
• DFLer Thomas Craft Files to Try to Oust John Kline
• Election 2012: Kline Beats Obermueller