Payne Cosponsors Legislation to Raise the Federal Minimum Wage to $12 by 2020
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr. (NJ-10) cosponsored the Raise the Wage Act of 2015, legislation to create more opportunities for American families to get ahead by raising the federal minimum wage to $12.00 by the year 2020.
“No one who works hard, takes responsibility, and plays by the rules in this country should be forced into poverty or struggle to support his or her family,” said Congressman Payne, Jr. “Increasing the minimum wage would ensure that workers receive a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work, and it would help close the staggering wage gap between the wealthiest Americans and low-income households. This legislation will create avenues to economic prosperity for hardworking New Jersey families and help build lasting economic security for our communities.”
The Raise the Wage Act of 2015 would:
- Increase the national minimum wage from $7.25 to $12.00 by the year 2020
- Index the minimum wage to the median wage starting in 2021
- Eliminate the tipped minimum wage gradually by raising the cash wage from the current $2.13 per hour to match the regular minimum wage
The Economic Policy Institute estimates that raising the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $12.00 by 2020 would give almost 38 million hard-working Americans a raise, including the parents of nearly 18.7 million children.
In New Jersey, 964,000 workers (nearly one in four) would benefit from this legislation.