Congresswoman Slaughter Cosponsors Legislation to Raise the Wage

Press Release

Congresswoman Slaughter (NY-25) is helping lead the fight to give hardworking Americans a long-overdue wage increase by raising the federal minimum wage. Congresswoman Slaughter signed on as an original cosponsor of the Raise the Wage Act to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $12.00 by 2020. The bill, introduced in both the House and Senate, would also gradually eliminate the subminimum tipped wage system and index the federal minimum wage to keep pace with the rising median wage.

"I'm proud to stand with the hardworking Americans in Rochester, throughout Monroe County, and across the country to advocate for a bigger paycheck," Rep. Slaughter said. "We've said it before: no one who works full time should have to live in poverty. The Raise the Wage Act would allow those who work hard earn enough to get them above the poverty line. This is a step in the right direction, but there's more to be done."

In 2007, the Democratic-led Congress enacted a law phasing in an increase in the federal minimum wage to $7.25. Rep. Slaughter brought the bill to the floor as chairwoman of the House Committee on Rules. Since the minimum wage reached $7.25 six years ago in 2009, the minimum wage has not kept pace with inflation or the growth in the median wage, resulting in low-wage workers continuing to fall behind. In fact, the real value of today's minimum wage is less than it was in 1956.

Under the Raise the Wage Act, the federal minimum wage would start to rise almost immediately. Beginning January 2016 or three months after the date of enactment of the Raise the Wage Act, the federal minimum wage would increase by $0.75 to $8.00 per hour, followed by $1.00 per hour increases every year until it reaches $12.00. Starting in 2021, the federal minimum wage would keep pace with rising wages overall through automatic annual increases to keep the ratio of the minimum wage constant with the median wage.

"As we work to address increasing wage inequality in our country, the minimum wage bill would help narrow the growing gap in wages," continued Rep. Slaughter. "In New York, 2,038,000 workers, including 356,000 working mothers, stand to benefit from a raise in the wage. Money in the pockets of working families can mean more money spent in local stores and in local economies." Raising the wage to $12.00 an hour would impact families across the state, including 996,000 children in New York.

Congresswoman Slaughter called on congressional Republicans to join with Democrats and cosponsor the Raise the Wage Act. In the last Congress, Republicans voted eight times to block attempts to raise the wage over the two-year session, making the American people work harder for less.

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