Chairman Scott Statement on Shameful Minimum Wage Milestone

Statement

"We are now experiencing the longest period of time without an increase in the federal minimum wage since it was created in 1938. For low-wage workers, this milestone is not merely symbolic. While workers earning the federal minimum wage are better educated and more productive than ever, they have suffered a more than 15 percent pay cut, accounting for inflation, since the last minimum wage increase in 2009. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, there is no place in America where a full-time worker making the $7.25 federal minimum wage can afford a modest two-bedroom apartment.

"The American economy should reward hardworking people. Instead, it is forcing them and their families to live in poverty. The Raise the Wage Act gradually raises the minimum wage to $15 by 2024, which would give nearly 40 million American workers a raise and boost the local economy in communities across the country. I will continue working with my colleagues in Congress to pass this legislation and restore the value of work in America."

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