Despite the fact that the majority of Americans support raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, the Senate excised that provision in President Biden’s COVID-19 relief bill. The effort to include the minimum wage increase in the American Rescue Plan failed because not a single Republican Senator would vote for the relief bill. In order to deliver urgent relief to millions of Americans suffering due to the effects of the pandemic, the Democrats had to advance the bill using the budget reconciliation process, which allows legislation dealing with taxes or spending to be passed with a simple majority. The Senate parliamentarian ruled that the minimum wage increase could not be included in the bill, and seven Democrats joined Republicans in defeating an amendment, introduced by Bernie Sanders, that would have overrode that decision.
Even if raising wages to a livable level didn’t work this time, our very own Rep. Stephanie Murphy has introduced a bill that would do just that. Her bill, “The Raise the Wage Act of 2021” will gradually raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 by 2025. You can find a fact sheet for her legislation here.
It’s more important than ever to empower our local leaders who have the courage to fight for the American worker. Contact Rep. Stephanie Murphy’s office at: https://murphy.house.gov/contact/ to let her know you support her bill to give nearly 34 million Americans a raise.