Washington, D.C. – Bread for the World urges members of the House of Representatives to quickly pass the Raise the Wage Act (H.R. 582). The Raise the Wage Act was introduced by Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA) and has over 200 co-sponsors. If passed, the Raise the Wage Act would lift wages for 27 million American workers, raising the earnings of the average low-wage worker by $1,600 annually.
“The Bible is clear, ‘the laborer deserves to be paid’ (1 Timothy 5:18),” said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World. “Raising the minimum wage is critical to ending hunger and poverty in the United States.”
The Raise the Wage Act would raise the federal minimum wage this year and increase it annually until it reaches $15 an hour in 2025. Thereafter, the minimum wage would be adjusted each year to keep pace with inflation. If passed, the bill would phase out the tipped minimum wage and sunset the ability of employers to pay workers with disabilities a subminimum wage. Tipped workers experience higher levels of poverty than other workers.
“Poverty and food insecurity in America are driven in part by low wages,” Beckmann said. “If the Raise the Wage Act were enacted almost 1.2 million households would be lifted out of food insecurity.”
