MINIMUM WAGE: Murray, Scott Introduce the Raise the Wage Act

Legislation would increase federal minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $12 per hour by 2020

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and U.S. Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA) introduced the Raise the Wage Act, legislation that would increase the minimum wage to $12 by 2020. The Raise the Wage Act would also index the federal minimum wage to the median wage, and gradually eliminate the subminimum tipped wage. The legislation would raise wages for nearly 38 million American workers.

“No one who works hard in a full-time job should have to live in poverty. We owe it to workers across the country to make sure our minimum wage is set to a level that works for them and their families.” said Senator Patty Murray (D-WA). “Raising the minimum wage to $12 by 2020 is a key component to helping more families make ends meet, expanding economic security, and growing our economy from the middle out, not the top down.”

“Raising the minimum wage to $12 by 2020 will give hardworking, underpaid workers a pay raise that has been long overdue,” said Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA). “Bigger paychecks for working families not only help them make ends meet, it also increases consumer demand and grows our economy. No one working full-time should live in poverty, and we can’t build a strong economy on the backs of impoverished workers. America deserves a raise.”

The Raise the Wage Act has 32 Senate cosponsors: Dick Durbin (D-IL), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Bob Casey (D-PA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Gary Peters (D-MI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Harry Reid (D-NV), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Al Franken (D-MN), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tom Udall (D-NM), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).

The Raise the Wage Act has 160 House cosponsors: Nancy Pelosi, Steny H. Hoyer, James E. Clyburn, Xavier Becerra, Joseph Crowley, Ben Ray Luján, Steve Israel, Rosa L. DeLauro, Donna F. Edwards, Karen Bass, Chris Van Hollen, Robert A. Brady, Corrine Brown, John Conyers, Jr., Elijah E. Cummings, Peter A. DeFazio, Eliot L. Engel, Raúl M. Grijalva, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Sander M. Levin, Nita M. Lowey, Frank Pallone, Jr., Linda T. Sánchez, Adam B. Schiff, Louise McIntosh Slaughter, Adam Smith, Bennie G. Thompson, Nydia M. Velázquez, Maxine Waters, Rubén Hinojosa, Susan A. Davis, Joe Courtney, Marcia L. Fudge, Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, Frederica S. Wilson, Suzanne Bonamici, Mark Pocan, Mark Takano, Hakeem S. Jeffries, Katherine M. Clark, Alma S. Adams, Mark DeSaulnier, Pete Aguilar, Joyce Beatty, Ami Bera, Donald S. Beyer, Jr., Earl Blumenauer, Brendan F. Boyle, Julia Brownley, Cheri Bustos, G.K. Butterfield, Lois Capps, Michael E. Capuano, Tony Cárdenas, André Carson, Matt Cartwright, Kathy Castor, Joaquin Castro, Judy Chu, David N. Cicilline, Yvette D. Clarke, Wm. Lacy Clay, Emanuel Cleaver, Steve Cohen, Danny K. Davis, Diana DeGette, John K. Delaney, Suzan K. DelBene, Theodore E. Deutch, Debbie Dingell, Lloyd Doggett, Tammy Duckworth, Keith Ellison, Anna G. Eshoo, Elizabeth H. Esty, Sam Farr, Chaka Fattah, Lois Frankel, Tulsi Gabbard, Ruben Gallego, John Garamendi, Alan Grayson, Al Green, Gene Green, Luis V. Gutiérrez, Janice Hahn, Alcee L. Hastings, Denny Heck, James A. Himes, Michael M. Honda, Jared Huffman, Sheila Jackson Lee, Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr., Marcy Kaptur, William R. Keating, Joseph P. Kennedy III, Daniel T. Kildee, Derek Kilmer, Ron Kind, Ann M. Kuster, James R. Langevin, Rick Larsen, John B. Larson, Brenda L. Lawrence, Barbara Lee, John Lewis, David Loebsack, Zoe Lofgren, Alan S. Lowenthal, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Carolyn B. Maloney, Sean Patrick Maloney, Doris O. Matsui, Betty McCollum, Jim McDermott , James P. McGovern, Jerry McNerney, Gregory W. Meeks, Grace Meng, Gwen Moore, Seth Moulton, Patrick Murphy, Jerrold Nadler, Richard E. Neal, Richard M. Nolan, Donald Norcross, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Bill Pascrell, Jr., Donald M. Payne, Jr., Chellie Pingree, Stacey E. Plaskett, David E. Price, Charles B. Rangel, Kathleen M. Rice, Cedric L. Richmond, Lucille Roybal-Allard , Raul Ruiz, C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, Bobby L. Rush, Loretta Sanchez, John P. Sarbanes, Janice D. Schakowsky, José E. Serrano, Terri A. Sewell, Brad Sherman, Jackie Speier, Eric Swalwell, Mark Takai, Mike Thompson, Paul Tonko, Norma J. Torres, Niki Tsongas, Juan Vargas, Marc A. Veasey, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Peter Welch, John A. Yarmuth, Albio Sires, and Bill Foster.