Senator Schatz, Colleagues Introduce Raise the Wage Act to Help Workers, Economy
Legislation Would Increase Federal Minimum Wage To $12 Per Hour By 2020
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) joined other Senate Democrats in introducing a bill to raise the minimum wage to $12 by 2020 to help more families make ends meet, expand economic opportunity, and help build an economy that works for all families, not just the wealthiest few.
“If you work hard and play by the rules, you should be able to support your family. But too many working families today can barely make ends meet because our federal minimum wage has not kept up with the cost of living,” said Senator Schatz. “Raising the minimum wage would lift millions of families out of poverty and put them on the path to the middle class, helping build a stronger, more resilient economy for everyone.”
In the House of Representatives, Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.) introduced a companion bill to raise the minimum wage to $12 by 2020.
In addition to Senators Schatz and Murray, Senate cosponsors of the Raise the Wage Act include the following: Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore,), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai‘i), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).
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