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WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) voted to pass the Raise the Wage Act, landmark legislation that would gradually increase the federal minimum wage to $15 over six years. A study released by the Economic Policy Institute, found that an increase to the minimum wage would effect over 104,300 people in Michigan’s 12th Congressional District.

“Simply put, there is no place in America where a full-time worker can live on $7.25 an hour, let alone support a family,” said Dingell. “By gradually increasing the minimum to $15, we are putting money in the pockets of hardworking men and women. This will be good for workers, good for business, and good for the economy.”

It has been over 10 years since there’s been an increase in the federal minimum wage – the longest stretch in history. According to the Congressional Budget Office’s review of a similar proposal, the Raise the Wage Act would lift 1.3 million Americans out of poverty, including 600,000 children. The Raise the Wage Act is an important step toward delivering on House Democrats’ promise to restore the value of work and raise wages for American workers. 

The Raise the Wage Act of 2019 would:

• Gradually raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 over the next six years, lifting millions of workers out of poverty, stimulating local economies, and restoring the value of minimum wage;
• Index future increases in the federal minimum wage to median wage growth to ensure the value of minimum wage does not once again erode over time;
• Guarantee tipped workers, youth workers, and workers with disabilities are paid at least the full federal minimum wage by phasing out the subminimum wages that allow these workers to be paid below $7.25 an hour. 

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