Kelly, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Raise Minimum Wage to $17 by 2030, Benefitting Nearly 22 Million Americans

Today, Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) joined a group of his colleagues in introducing the Raise the Wage Act, bicameral legislation to ensure American workers earn a living wage, drive economic growth, and reduce income inequality by raising the minimum wage to $17 for all workers. Last year, nearly one in four workers in the U.S. made less than $17 per hour. The Raise the Wage Act will raise the federal minimum wage to $17 over five years. According to analysis by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), passing the Raise the Wage Act  would provide raises to over 22 million workers across the country by 2030.  

“At a time when Trump and Musk are looking to rig the economy even more for their billionaire friends, I’m fighting for regular American workers who deserve a dignified wage,” said Kelly. “Hardworking Americans earning minimum wage should still be able to get ahead and pursue their American dream. It’s past time we do right by workers and raise the minimum wage.” 

Today, the value of the current federal minimum wage—$ 7.25 per hour—is the lowest it has been since 1956 and has declined by over 32 percent since it was last increased in 2009. Across every state in the country, a living wage for a worker in a family with two working adults and one child is greater than $17 per hour, according to the Economic Policy Institute’s (EPI) Family Budget Calculator. Many of these low-wage workers face persistent economic insecurity, struggling to put food on the table and afford basic necessities, including housing, health care, and childcare. 

Black and Hispanic workers disproportionately feel the burden of these low wages as compared to their white counterparts, and that disparity is even worse for women of color. Nearly 40 percent of Hispanic women and 35 percent of Black women make less than $17 per hour.  

Along with Kelly, other senators supporting this legislation are Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).  

More than 85 organizations endorsed the Raise the Wage Act, including Service Employees International Union (SEIU), AFL-CIO, American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN), Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, Communications Workers of America (CWA), Economic Policy Institute (EPI), Equal Pay Today, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), National Education Association (NEA), National Employment Law Project (NELP), The National Partnership for Women & Families, National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), One Fair Wage, Oxfam America, Patriotic Millionaires, UNITE HERE, United Autoworkers (UAW), United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), United for Respect, and United Steelworkers (USW).  

Read the bill text here.  

Read the fact sheet here.