CONGRESSWOMAN CLARK VOTES TO RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE GIVING 33 Million AMERICANS A LONG-OVERDUE RAISE

House passes legislation to increase minimum wage for first time in over a decade

(Photo: Clark stands with House leadership after House passes legislation.)

JULY 18, 2019, WASHINGTON, D.C.- Today, Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus Katherine Clark joined the U.S. House of Representatives in passing H.R. 582, the Raise The Wage Act, which will increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. This is the longest stretch in U.S. history without an increase to the minimum wage and according to the Congressional Budget Office, is estimated to lift 1.3 million workers out of poverty, including 600,000 children.

“For the first time in more than a decade, we voted to raise the minimum wage to $15 dollar an hour. No one working a full time job in America time should be living in poverty, yet that is the reality for so many people in our country. I am proud to join my Democratic colleagues to take this strong step to deliver on our For The People agenda and give working men and women across the country a well-deserved raise.”

The Raise The Wage Act will:

  • Increase wages for up to 33 million American workers, according to independent economic analysis from the Economic Policy Institute
  • Since the last minimum wage increase in 2009 the purchasing power of the minimum wage has declined by more than 15 percent, and today’s minimum wage worker has less buying power than a minimum wage worker had in the 1960’s;
  • Help secure fairness and equality for women, giving nearly 20 million working women a raise, and helping narrow the gender wage gap that disproportionately impacts women of color.

“This isn’t just good for our economy but also our fight for equality,” said Clark. “Right now, women make up two thirds of minimum wage workers, they also face a wage gap, both of which hold them back from reaching their full economic potential. By  raising the minimum wage, we are giving over 20 million women a well-deserved raise.”