Press Releases

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) today cosponsored the Raise the Wage Act, which would increase the federal minimum wage over seven years and index it to inflation.

“Strong economic growth can only be achieved when all working families have the opportunity to succeed,” DelBene said. “To build an economy that works for everyone, we need to ensure Americans working a 40-hour week aren’t living below the poverty line. Congress should raise the federal minimum wage to restore the middle class and help families thrive.”

The Raise the Wage Act, introduced by Rep. Bobby Scott (VA-03) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), would gradually increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour by 2024. It would also index future minimum wage increases to inflation and slowly eliminate the tipped minimum wage, which is currently $2.13 an hour. Tipped workers would then make the same as other minimum wage earners.

The bill would give more than 40 million hard-working Americans a raise, including the parents of 18 million children. Nearly two-thirds of minimum wage workers and more than 70 percent of workers in tipped professions are women.

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