WASHINGTON— Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12), Vice Chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee and original cosponsor of H.R. 582: Raise the Wage Act, issued the following statement on the importance of raising the federal minimum wage.

“Today, I was proud to vote to pass the Raise the Wage Act to raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2025. Millions of working families who earn the minimum wage and who have seen their wages frozen for the past decade need this raise, and they need it now.”

“I spoke today and earlier this week on the House Floor on the need to give these hardworking Americans this long-overdue and much-deserved pay increase.”

“Someone earning the federal minimum wage only takes home about $1,250 a month, which is below the poverty line and less than half of what the average family needs to make ends meet. It’s not even enough to cover the cost of rent. That is completely unacceptable. No one working a full-time job should be struggling to put food on the table.”

“Studies have shown that lifting the minimum wage to $15 an hour would give 33 million people a raise, including 14 percent of workers in New York. More than half of those who would benefit from the increase are older than 25, and a disproportionate number are women. That means the pay raise would benefit millions of families and help close the gender pay gap.”

“I’m proud that today the House took a stand for hardworking Americans and I urge my Senate colleagues to do the same by supporting the Raise the Wage Act.”

Related documents
Vice Chair Maloney's speech on the minimum wage in the House of Representatives
JEC issue brief on the federal minimum wage

Press contact:
Randy Woods
Randy_Woods@jec.senate.gov
(202) 224-2599