Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., on Tuesday introduced legislation seeking to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour starting in 2026, with increases in subsequent years to match the cost of inflation.
Hawley, considered one of the most conservative representatives in the House, is co-sponsoring the legislation, called the “Higher Wages for American Workers Act,” with Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., reported CBS News.
“For decades, working Americans have seen their wages flatline. One major culprit of this is the failure of the federal minimum wage to keep up with the economic reality facing hardworking Americans every day,” Hawley said in a statement. “This bipartisan legislation would ensure that workers across America benefit from higher wages.”
Welch, in another statement, said the United States is in the “midst of a severe affordability crisis,” while families in both red and blue states are struggling to afford housing and groceries.”
He said minimum wage was partly responsible.
“A stagnant federal minimum wage only adds fuel to the fire,” Welch said. “Every hardworking American deserves a living wage that helps put a roof over their head and food on the table — $7.25 an hour doesn’t even come close.”
According to the Department of Labor, the federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour and has not risen since 2009.
Traditionally, conservatives have opposed a federal minimum wage hike, arguing that the move would be too costly for businesses and consumers.
However, Hawley has been pushing Republicans to embrace a shift toward President Donald Trump’s brand of populism, which has been swaying working-class voters to the right.
The minimum wage legislation is part of a package of proposals he has suggested called the “Pro-Worker Framework for the 119th Congress.”
His proposals include plans to strengthen protections for union workers, along with collective bargaining and organizing.
Hawley joined with independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to introduce legislation capping credit card rates at 10%, and during the last Congress, he introduced legislation requiring companies that have revenues of $1 billion or more to pay employees at least $15 per hour.
Hawley has also in recent weeks urged his party to reject cuts to Medicaid as part of the budget reconciliation bill.
Hawley’s home state of Missouri approved a ballot measure in November to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour but did not approve part of the law allowing inflation cost-of-living adjustments.
Most states have already approved minimum wage levels above the $7.25 federal rate, reported The Hill. Nearly a dozen will have rates at or above $15 an hour taking effect this year.
However, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee have never set minimum wage rates, and Georgia, Oklahoma, and Wyoming have rates below $7.25 per hour, but all eight states default to the federal rate.
Some business advocacy groups still oppose minimum rate hikes, including Hawley’s proposed bill.
“This proposal would more than double the minimum wage and slash over 800,000 jobs,” Rebekah Paxton, research director at the Employment Policies Institute, said in a statement to The Hill. “An overwhelming majority of economists agree that drastic minimum wage hikes cut employment, limit opportunities for workers and shutter businesses.”
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