WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker John Boehner (BAY’-nur) says President Barack Obama likely has the authority to raise the minimum wage for new federal contract workers. But the speaker warned against any other unilateral steps that could encroach on the Constitution.

Boehner told reporters at a Capitol Hill news conference Tuesday that a unilateral increase in the minimum wage is bad policy that will cost low-income Americans their jobs. He says that will hurt the people the president intends to help.