U.S. Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) have introduced the Higher Wages for American Workers Act, which would more than double the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by Jan. 1, 2026. The bill would also allow the federal minimum wage to increase with inflation in future years.
“For decades, working Americans have seen their wages flatline,” Hawley said in a statement. “One major culprit of this is the failure of the federal minimum wage to keep up with the economic reality facing hardworking Americans every day. This bipartisan legislation would ensure that workers across America benefit from higher wages.”
The current federal minimum wage of $7.25 has not changed since July 2009.
This bipartisan bill is the fifth time Congress has introduced legislation to increase the minimum wage. A $15 federal minimum wage was originally part of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan at the beginning of his presidential term in 2021, and the Raise the Wage Act was introduced shortly after by House Democrats, proposing to eliminate the tip credit and raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.
The same legislation had been introduced (and failed) during the Trump administration in 2019, but failed to pass in the Senate both times. In July 2023, the bill was reintroduced and adjusted for inflation to $17 an hour, although it was not passed.
Most recently, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) reintroduced the Raise the Wage Act to Congress last month, which would not only gradually increase the minimum wage to $17 an hour over the course of five years, but would also eliminate the subminimum wage for tipped, disabled, and youth workers gradually over seven years. That bill was not voted on yet in Congress.
This current bill offers a more moderate approach to the minimum wage increase and does not include anything about the subminimum wage.
“We’re in the midst of a severe affordability crisis, with families in red and blue states alike struggling to afford necessities like housing and groceries,” Welch said in a statement. “A stagnant federal minimum wage only adds fuel to the fire. Every hardworking American deserves a living wage that helps put a roof over their head and food on the table — $7.25 an hour doesn’t even come close.”
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