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As we work toward a recovery from this pandemic, we have a responsibility to rebuild our economy in a way that gives everyone a fair shot.
For too long, the minimum wage in our country has been unlivable. Millions of frontline workers have put their lives on the line to feed us, care for us, and keep us safe, all while making poverty wages. It’s long past time we gave struggling families and heroic workers a raise.
In the richest country in the history of the world, no one should have to lose sleep over how to feed their children, pay their rent, or afford their medication. Now, a report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition has confirmed that there is nowhere in the country where a worker earning a minimum wage salary for 40 hours a week can afford a two-bedroom apartment — and only in 7% of counties across the country would they be able to afford a one-bedroom apartment. That is unacceptable.
The last time Congress raised the federal minimum wage was in 2007, marking the longest time in the 82-year history of the federal minimum wage that Congress has gone without passing legislation to raise it. Here in California, we know that every worker deserves the dignity of a livable wage. That’s why I’m so proud to be an original co-sponsor of the Raise the Wage Act of 2021, a bill that would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour and end the subminimum wage for tipped workers — which is currently just $2.13 an hour.
In order to keep making progress on crucial issues like raising the federal minimum wage, Democrats have to keep our majority in the House — that means we can’t afford to lose a single seat.
Can you chip in today to help with my re-election campaign and ensure I have the resources to win in 2022? Anything you can spare will keep us fighting for American workers and families.
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