Calling for an Increase to the National Minimum Tipped Wage and Other Updates

Dear Neighbors,

I hope this message finds you well. As always, if you have questions or concerns, please contact my office by calling (847) 413-1959, emailing me at [email protected], or sending a message through my website at https://krishnamoorthi.house.gov/contact/email. For more frequent updates, I encourage you to follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

My Virtual Town Hall on the Youth Mental Health Epidemic

Congressman Krishnamoorthi speaks on the importance of addressing the ongoing youth mental health epidemic. (Click the image above to watch the full virtual town hall.)

Last week, I hosted a virtual town hall on the ongoing youth mental health epidemic with local experts. Our panel consisted of Dr. Jay Joshi, a physician and Director of the Altruistic Wellness Foundation; Grace Hong Duffin, the CEO of the Kenneth Young Center; Dr. Rekha Kasi, a professor of psychiatry at Rush University; and Dr. Mashana Smith from the Center for Childhood Resilience and a professor at Northwestern University’s School of Medicine. Our four panelists and I shared our thoughts on addressing the youth mental health epidemic and spoke about potential policy approaches to best tackle these issues which have impacted America’s young people particularly hard since the onset of the pandemic in 2020. You can watch the full Zoom town hall on my YouTube channel by clicking here.

Raising the National Minimum Tipped Wage from its Current Abysmal $2.13 Per Hour

Congressman Krishnamoorthi speaks on the House Floor calling for an increased minimum wage for all tipped workers. (Click the image above to watch the Congressman’s full remarks.)

This month, I have taken to the floor of the House of Representatives to speak on the importance of raising the minimum wages for tipped workers from its shockingly low current rate of just $2.13 per hour. These workers, who work everywhere from the waiting tables at restaurants to checking bags at airports, are only guaranteed an hourly minimum wage of $2.13, plus the luck of the tip jar that day, which often leaves millions struggling to keep up with everyday expenses. Congress must act by passing the Raise the Wage Act, which would level the playing field across the board by increasing the federal minimum wage by 2028, and the Good Jobs for Good Airports Act, which would prevent airports from accessing federal funding unless these tipped service workers receive fair wages and benefits. I urge House and Senate leadership to take up these critical lifeline bills to make sure tipped workers are guaranteed better and fairer wages. You can watch my full remarks on the Raise the Wage Act here and my full remarks on the Good Jobs for Good Airports Act here.

My Committee’s Bipartisan Report on Winning Our Competition with the Chinese Communist Party

Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi delivers opening remarks in support of the Select Committee on the CCP’s Policy Proposals. (Click the image above to watch the Ranking Member’s full remarks.)

This week, as Ranking Member of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), I was proud to lead my colleagues in releasing our bipartisan report entitled “Strategy to Win America’s Economic Competition with the Chinese Communist Party.” This report, which Democratic and Republican members came together to develop, outlines a clear strategy to “Reset, Prevent, Build” our economic, trade, and technological relationship with the PRC. Those three pillars draw upon nine hearings, numerous roundtables, meetings, and select committee events all over the country from Silicon Valley to Iowa to Detroit to Wall Street.

Fundamentally, we have concluded the CCP has abandoned the path of economic and political reform, doubled down on repressive activities at home, and has pursued destabilizing activities in the region. The CCP has failed to live up to its international commitments by empowering its state-owned enterprises, massively subsidizing its domestic industry, pursuing unfair trade practices, and closing its markets to the world. It has committed to corrective reforms dozens of times and reneged each time.

It is clear that we need to move forward from our outdated assumptions and “up our game,” leaning into our strengths and undertaking a radical revitalization of America. We can only outcompete the CCP by being the best version of ourselves internally and externally. I’m particularly excited about the third “Build” pillar that demonstrates how we should “up our game” including by attracting the best talent in the world, leading in innovation and manufacturing technologies here at home, strengthening our relationships with our allies and partners, and protecting ourselves against the CCP’s unfair trade policies and human rights abuses.

I am grateful for all the work put in by my colleagues on the committee to make this report possible. I urge House leadership to take up these bipartisan policy recommendations and pass them in legislation as soon as possible. You can read our full report here.

Upcoming Mobile Office Hours

If you are unable to make it to our district office in Schaumburg, our staff are available at mobile office hours throughout the district. Share your concerns, questions, issues and get help navigating federal agencies at convenient locations across the district.

Our Next Wood Dale Office Hours: Tuesday, December 19th: 10:00am – 1:00pm in the Wood Dale Public Library at 520 N Wood Dale Rd, Wood Dale, IL.

Stay Updated Through My Social Media Accounts

The best way to stay up to date on these issues beyond our newsletter is through my social media accounts, which I update multiple times each day. You can follow my Twitter here, my Facebook page here, and my Instagram here. Thank you for staying engaged in our community.

Warm Regards,

P.S. I always enjoy hearing from constituents, so feel free to comment and share my social media posts! Here are the links: Twitter here, Facebook page here, Instagram here and Threads here.