Hoyer Statement on the Introduction of the Raise the Wage Act for the 117th Congress

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) released the following statement today after Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott introduced the Raise the Wage Act for the 117th Congress:

"In the previous Congress, the Democratic House Majority passed the Raise the Wage Act in order to ensure that American workers can earn incomes that enable them to make ends meet. Today, Chairman Scott and Members of the Committee on Education and Labor are reintroducing this bill for the 117th Congress. I thank them for their swift action, and I look forward to bringing it to the Floor for a vote.

"It has been more than ten years since the last time Congress raised the minimum wage - and in today's dollars, a minimum wage is lower than it was more than fifty years ago. Raising the minimum wage will not only increase incomes for those earning the smallest paychecks - it will increase wages for tens of millions of workers throughout our economy. As the White House and Democrats in Congress begin our work to build back better, raising wages remains a top priority to ensure that the economy we rebuild will be stronger, fairer, and more replete with opportunities than it was before the pandemic."