Democrats unveil legislation raising federal minimum wage to $17 an hour
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced the Raise the Wage Act of 2025 on Tuesday in both chambers with hopes of increasing the federal minimum wage.
The bill would raise the minimum wage to $17 by 2030 according to the Economic Policy Institute. The current federally mandated hourly wage is $7.25 and has not increased since 2009.
'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 22 million workers across this country,' said Scott, who is the ranking member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
'Raising the minimum wage is good for workers, good for business, and good for the economy. When we put money in the pockets of American workers, they will spend that money in their communities,' he added.
The legislation, which has 142 co-sponsors in the House, would index future pay increases while phasing out the subminimum wage for tipped workers and subminimum wage for youth workers in addition to ending subminimum wage certificates for workers with disabilities.
'In the year 2025, a job should lift you out of poverty, not keep you in it. At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, we can no longer tolerate millions of workers trying to survive on just $10 or $12 an hour,' Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats, said in a release. He described current pay rates as a 'starvation wage.'
'Congress can no longer ignore the needs of the working class of this country. The time to act is now,' the ranking member on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions continued.
The lawmakers' proposed legislation would account for a gradual increase in the federal minimum wage over a five-year period.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
19 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
US and China are holding trade talks in London after Trump-Xi phone call
LONDON (AP) — High-level delegations from the United States and China are meeting in London on Monday to try and shore up a fragile truce in a trade dispute that has roiled the global economy, A Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier He Lifeng is due to meet U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at an undisclosed location in the city. The talks are due to last at least a day. They follow negotiations in Geneva last month that brought a temporary respite in the trade war. The two countries announced May 12 they had agreed to a 90-day suspension of most of the 100%-plus tariffs they had imposed on each other in an escalating trade war that had sparked fears of recession. Since then, the U.S. and China have exchanged angry words over advanced semiconductors that power artificial intelligence, 'rare earths' that are vital to carmakers and other industries, and visas for Chinese students at American universities. President Donald Trump spoke at length with Chinese leader Xi Jinping by phone last Thursday in an attempt to put relations back on track. Trump announced on social media the next day that trade talks would be held on Monday in London. 'We are a nation that champions free trade and have always been clear that a trade war is in nobody's interests, so we welcome these talks,' the British government said in a statement.
New York Times
40 minutes ago
- New York Times
10 Questions With Michael Blake
At the first Democratic debate in this year's New York City mayoral race, Michael Blake emerged as a scene-stealer, in part for his curt attacks on former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, the race's front-runner. For those familiar with Mr. Blake, his performance might not have been entirely unexpected. He worked at the White House during the Obama administration, served as a New York State assemblyman and is an associate pastor at a Bronx church who knows how to craft a strong one-liner. That experience, however, has not translated into much success in his bid to become mayor. He has been near the back of the pack in the polls, and his campaign has not qualified for the city's generous public matching funds program. Ahead of the June 24 primary, the leading Democrats in the race visited The New York Times for interviews. We are publishing excerpts from those interviews, and this is the fourth in the series; our conversation has been edited for length and clarity. We asked Mr. Blake, 42, questions about 10 themes, with the occasional follow-up, touching on his push to eliminate credit scores on rent and homeownership applications and whether it's OK to put ketchup on a cinnamon raisin bagel. We've written previously about where Mr. Blake and the other candidates stand on key issues and which candidates are raising the most money in your neighborhood. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
an hour ago
China's exports climb 4.8% in May as shipments to the US fall nearly 10%
China's exports rose 4.8% in May from a year earlier, a bit lower than expected, as shipments to the United States fell nearly 10%, according to data released Monday just hours ahead of another round of trade talks between the U.S. and China. Imports declined 3.4% year-on-year, leaving a trade surplus of $103.2 billion. China exported $28.8 billion to the United States in May, while its imports from the U.S. fell 7.4% to $10.8 billion, the report said. Still, exports to Southeast Asia and the European Union remained robust, growing 14.8% and 12%, year-on-year. 'The acceleration of exports to other economies has helped China's exports remain relatively buoyant in the face of the trade war,' Lynne Song of ING Economics said in a commentary. Still, trade slowed in May from an 8.1% jump in China's global exports in April. Many businesses had rushed orders to try to beat higher tariffs, even as some new import duties took effect or remained in place. Exports will likely rebound somewhat in June thanks to a 90-day suspension of most of the tariffs China and the U.S. imposed on each other in their escalating trade war. 'But with tariffs likely to remain elevated and Chinese manufacturers facing broader constraints on their ability to sustain rapid gains in global market share, we think export growth will slow further by year-end,' Zichun Huang of Capital Economics said in a report. Despite the tariffs truce, the rancor between Beijing and Washington has persisted, with angry exchanges over advanced semiconductors, 'rare earths' that are vital to many industries and visas for Chinese students at American universities. The next round of negotiations was due to take place later Monday in London, following a phone call last week between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Other data released Monday highlight the pressure on the world's second largest economy from slowing exports, since China imports many of the components and materials needed for the goods it assembles for the world. But at the same time, China's own domestic markets are suffering. The government reported that consumer prices fell 0.1% in May, evidence of sluggish demand. The persisting deflation partly reflects lower food prices, economists said. Producer price deflation was worse, contracting 3.3% in May, its lowest level in almost two years, after falling 2.7% in April.
