Miller Applauds Rule to Raise Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors, Calls on Congress to Act
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a final rule to raise the minimum wage for workers on federal service and construction contracts to $10.10 per hour. The rule, which implements an executive order announced by President Obama on February 12, will benefit nearly 200,000 American workers. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), praised the passage of the rule and called on Congress to enact his Fair Minimum Wage Act (H.R. 1010) to raise the national minimum wage for all workers from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour.
“Nobody who works full time should have to raise their family in poverty—that is a fundamental promise of the American Dream. Today, the Obama administration has upheld that promise for hundreds of thousands of federal contractors. It is time for Congress to fulfill this promise for millions more hard-working Americans. It is time we raise the national minimum wage.
“Our outdated minimum wage leaves too many families in this country struggling to make ends meet. Until Congress acts, they will continue to suffer. Unfortunately, Republicans refuse to allow an up or down vote on H.R. 1010 and remain out of step with public opinion.
“Nationwide, support for increasing the minimum wage is unequivocal. Americans know that it is good for the economy, good for businesses’ bottom line, and good for individual workers. Congress must get on board with the rest of the country and raise the minimum wage.”
Rep. Miller is the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee and the House author of the Fair Minimum Wage Act (H.R. 1010), which was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). The Miller-Harkin bill would raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 in three annual stages and index it to inflation thereafter, while also raising the minimum wage for tipped workers for the first time in more than 20 years.
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