Mazie Hirono: “I rise in support of the Minimum Wage Fairness Act because it is time to give everyone a fair shot. More and more States…”

“I rise in support of the Minimum Wage Fairness Act because it is time to give everyone a fair shot. More and more States are voting to raise the minimum wage. Last week, the Hawaii State legislature passed a bill to raise the minimum wage in my home State. Hawaii's bill would increase the wage from $7.25 to $10.10, and increase the tip wage to at least $9.35. Hawaii will become the tenth State enacting a wage increase since President Obama's 2013 State of the Union Address. In 2014 alone, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Minnesota, West Virginia, and Washington, DC have enacted wage increases. Hawaii will become the 26th State with the higher minimum wage than the current Federal minimum wage. It is time for Congress to join with the States that are leading the charge to give hard-working families a raise. I am going to share a few reasons why the Senate should vote to raise the minimum wage. First, today's Federal minimum wage is a poverty wage. If the minimum wage had kept up with inflation since 1968, the minimum wage today would be about $10.68. This means that minimum-wage workers today earn less than $15,000 per year working full time. If someone is supporting a child or an elderly parent, that would put their family income below the Federal poverty line. The bill we are considering today would raise the Federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 by 2016 and index it to inflation afterward.…”