Biden Plans To Call On Congress To Increase Federal Minimum Wage To $15

It’s nice to see a president working for the people. President-elect Joe Biden revealed a proposal that he will call on Congress to increase America’s federal minimum wage to $15 per hour.

The current rate is $7.25 per hour and has not been raised since 2009, CNBC News reports.

The plan to raise the wage is a part of a larger $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package called the American Rescue Plan, which was established to help boost the economy from the damage of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Hard-working Americans deserve sufficient wages to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads, without having to keep multiple jobs,” the incoming Biden administration wrote in a briefing paper distributed prior to the speech. “But millions of working families are struggling to get by.”

Biden’s goal is to raise the minimum wage and put an end to the tipped minimum and sub-minimum wage for people with disabilities. Doing so will ensure that working Americans can provide for their families, the briefing reported.

The administration also reported that raising the minimum wage will assist workers at the forefront of the pandemic; 40% of forefront workers are people of color.

The proposal has garnered widespread support. Two-thirds of Americans favor raising the minimum wage to $15, a 2019 survey from the Pew Research Center found.

Some states have already taken the matter into their own hands by bringing the local minimum wage to $15, including California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Florida.