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Congressman Costa Votes to Raise the Federal Minimum Wage

July 18, 2019

Congressman Costa Votes to Raise the Federal Minimum Wage

(Washington, D.C.) - today the House passed the H.R.582 – the Raise the Wage Act, to incrementally raise the federal minimum wage to $15.00 an hour over a six-year period. Congressman Jim Costa (CA-16) made the following statement:

"It's time workers received a fair wage for an honest day's work," said Costa. "As a result of this legislation, over 33 million Americans would receive a raise and many struggling workers and their families would be lifted out of poverty. This gradual increase is a responsible way to put money in the pockets of hardworking families and foster economic growth."

The bill would ensure millions of workers across the country earn enough to support themselves by:

  • Gradually raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 over a six-year period
  • Indexing future increases in the federal minimum wage to median wage growth
  • Guaranteeing tipped, youth and subminimum wage workers are paid at least the federal minimum wage

"In California in 2017, the legislature raised the minimum wage to $10.50 an hour to be incrementally increased to $15.00 by 2023," said Costa. "Ensuring a federal living wage is not only the right thing to do, but it ensures that employees and employers are treated the same across the country. If we can establish a national minimum wage, we can achieve a more level playing field in America for workers and businesses alike."

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