WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), incoming chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking Housing and Urban Affairs, joined incoming Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT), incoming Senate HELP Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA), House Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA), Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), and Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) in announcing the introduction of legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025.
The Raise the Wage Act of 2021 would gradually increase the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025. Beginning in 2026, the federal minimum wage would be indexed to median wage growth. According to an independent analysis conducted by the Economic Policy Institute, the Raise the Wage Act would increase wages for nearly 32 million Americans, including roughly a third of all black workers and a quarter of all Latino workers.
“For too many people in this country, hard work isn’t paying off,” said Brown. “While costs for Ohio families are rising and workers are more productive than ever, wages aren’t keeping up. It’s long past time that we recognize the value of work in our country, and that’s why I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing this legislation and honoring the Dignity of Work.”
Along with Sen. Brown, Sanders, and Murray, the Senate companion is being cosponsored by 35 Members: Leader Schumer (D-NY), Sens. Baldwin (D-WI), Bennet (D-CO), Blumenthal (D-CT), Booker, (D-NJ), Cantwell (D-WA), Cardin (D-MD), Casey (D-PA), Duckworth (D-IL), Durbin (D-IL), Feinstein (D-CA), Gillibrand (D-NY), Heinrich (D-NM), Hirono (D-HI), Kaine (D-VA), Klobuchar (D-MN), Leahy (D-VT), Lujan (D-NM), Markey (D-MA), Merkley (D-OR), Murphy, (D-CT) Ossoff (D-GA), Padilla (D-CA), Peters (D-MI), Reed (D-RI), Rosen (D-NV), Schatz (D-HI), Smith (D-MN), Stabenow (D-MI), Van Hollen (D-MD), Warner (D-VA), Warnock (D-GA), Warren (D-MA), Whitehouse (D-RI), and Wyden (D-OR).
To read the bill text of the Raise the Wage Act, click https://bit.ly/3chyVFw
