Miller Announces Congress’s First eForum to Showcase Nationwide Importance of Increasing the Minimum Wage to $10.10 per Hour
WASHINGTON—People and organizations now have an opportunity to share their stories and research with the U.S. House of Representatives on the importance of increasing the minimum wage, thanks to an eForum announced today by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), author of a bill to increase the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour.
“Study after study demonstrates the pressing need to raise the minimum wage. Academics and advocates will tell you that increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour will boost the economy, strengthen our local communities, and create jobs. And workers will tell you how an increase in the federal minimum wage will help them pay for the basics, such as utility bills, rent and groceries,” says Miller, senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee. “This eForum is an opportunity to gather evidence from wide-ranging sources, including a powerful and growing coalition of businesses; religious, non-profits, community, civil rights, and labor organizations; and affected workers from across the country. This repository of data and personal stories will be an essential tool as we further document the importance of increasing the minimum wage.”
The Fair Minimum Wage Act (H.R. 1010) was introduced by Rep. Miller on March 6, 2013, and currently has 195 cosponsors. The bill would raise the minimum wage in three steps to $10.10, and then provide for automatic, annual increases linked to changes in the cost of living. It would also gradually raise the minimum wage for tipped workers, which currently stands at just $2.13 an hour. Last month, committee Democrat Tim Bishop (D-NY) launched a discharge petition to force action on this broadly supported legislation that will give at least 25 million Americans a raise192 House Democrats have signed on to the discharge petition.
“No one who works full time should live in poverty. Unfortunately, our outdated minimum wage has left too many families in this country struggling to make ends meet,” says Miller. “There is a growing consensus that an increase in the minimum wage is long overdue. It is time for Congress to raise the minimum wage now. With no official hearings on the issue currently scheduled in the House, this eForum may be the only opportunity for this chamber of Congress to gather facts from around the country and shed light on this critical issue.”
For more information on the Fair Minimum Wage Act, click here.
The eForum can be found on the Committee Democrats website: democrats-edworkforce.house.gov/eforum
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