Himes Joins Effort to Force Vote to Raise Minimum Wage

Press Release

Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) signed a discharge petition to require an immediate vote on a bill to lift the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 (H.R. 1010), which he cosponsors, will raise the purchasing power of minimum wage salaries to help working families afford more basic necessities. This, however, is still less than the $10.74 the minimum wage would be were it adjusted for inflation since its high of $10.56 in 1968. A discharge petition needs the support of 218 members to force a vote. So far 155 members have signed this petition.

"After the worst recession in a generation, our economic recovery has left many working families behind," Himes said. "People who work hard should not have to struggle to meet their basic needs. They deserve and need a vote on this bill."

The legislation introduces a scaled increase in the minimum wage, raising it to $8.20 per hour three months after passage, $9.20 after one year, and $10.10 after two years. The bill also gives the Secretary of Labor authority to increase the minimum wage based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) if warranted up to every three years. Finally, the bill increases tipped minimum wage to $3.00 per hour and also introduces a formula to increase tipped minimum wage as necessary to keep it at 70% of the overall minimum wage.

"The economic benefits of raising the minimum wage reach far beyond any individual family. When a working family brings in more money, that's more they have to spend on necessities like groceries and gas, which they otherwise would have had to go without," Himes said. "This creates demand in the marketplace, which help our businesses to grow and hire more workers. It is well past time we increased the minimum wage to help working families struggling to make ends meet and give our economy as a whole the boost it needs."

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