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WASHINGTON – Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) voted with 230 of his House colleagues today to pass H.R. 582, the Raise the Wage Act of 2019, which would deliver a gradual increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 over the next six years. The first such increase in a decade, this bill would grow paychecks for up to 33 million American workers.

“After a decade spent working harder for less and watching their paychecks shrink with inflation, America’s workers have earned this long-overdue raise, which will put more money in the pockets of millions of working and middle class families and grow local economies in New York and beyond,” Tonko observed, “Working folks are the customer base for every local economy. Paying them their due will let them spend more at local restaurants and businesses, buying things they need and that will better their lives. And making sure every state meets this standard will make New York employers and our entire state more competitive.”

In the years since the last federal minimum wage increase in 2009, workers have experienced a 17 percent pay cut as a result of inflation. Currently 1 in 9 full-time workers making minimum wage are in poverty, and there are nearly twice as many women earning minimum wage as men. According to a Congressional Budget Office review of a similar proposal, the Raise the Wage Act would lift 1.3 million Americans out of poverty, including 600,000 of America’s children.

“The Raise the Wage Act will not be enough on its own to address the vast chasm of economic inequality that continues to undermine American workers,” Tonko added, “but it will at least help them afford the necessities for themselves and their families. I am proud to support this bill and will continue to fight to defend the people who have always driven America forward: her working families.”

The Raise the Wage Act of 2019:

• Gradually raises the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 over the next six years, lifting millions of workers out of poverty, stimulating local economies, and restoring the value of minimum wage;
• Indexes future increases in the federal minimum wage to median wage growth to ensure the value of minimum wage does not once again erode over time;
• Guarantees tipped workers, youth workers, and workers with disabilities are paid at least the full federal minimum wage by phasing out the sub-minimum wages that allow these workers to be paid below $7.25 an hour. 

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