WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) joined U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), U.S. Representative Bobby Scott (VA-03), and House and Senate leadership to introduce the Raise the Wage Act of 2019. The bill would gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 in 2024, index future minimum wage increases to median wage growth, and ensure all workers are paid at least the full federal minimum wage by phasing out the subminimum wages for tipped workers, youth workers, and workers with disabilities. 

“It’s offensive to me that a full-time worker making the federal minimum wage is only paid $15,000 a year. That’s not a living wage. How can anyone afford to pay their bills and put food on the table for their families? We need to rethink how we value work and increase the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour,” said Murphy. 

“Raising the federal minimum wage would give hardworking American families much needed support as they contend with the rising cost of housing, health care and child care. A robust minimum wage would help ensure the promise of the American Dream is within reach for all, not just some. Congress must finally pass this bill and give American workers their long overdue raise,” said Blumenthal. 

“Just a few short years ago, we were told that raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour was ‘radical.’ But a grassroots movement of millions of workers throughout this country refused to take ‘no’ for an answer. It is not a radical idea to say a job should lift you out of poverty, not keep you in it. The current $7.25 an hour federal minimum wage is a starvation wage. It must be increased to a living wage of $15 an hour,” said Sanders. 

“No person working full-time in America should be living in poverty. The Raise the Wage Act will increase the pay and standard of living for nearly 40 million workers across this country. Raising the minimum wage is not only good for workers, it is good for businesses, and good for the economy. When we put money in the pockets of American workers, they will spend that money in their communities. This bill is a stimulus for Main Street America,” said Scott. 

Joining Murphy, Blumenthal, and Sanders in the Senate are U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). 

To read the bill text of the Raise the Wage Act, click here. 

To read the section-by-section of the Raise the Wage Act, click here. 

To read a fact sheet on Raise the Wage Act, click here. 

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