Rep. Lee, Colleagues Reintroduce Bill to Raise Minimum Wage
**For Immediate Release**
Rep. Lee, Colleagues Reintroduce Bill to Raise Minimum Wage
WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 8, 2025 — Congresswoman Summer Lee (PA-12), a member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce joined Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03)and Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, in reintroducing the Raise the Wage Act of 2025. According to the Economic Policy Institute, this legislation would gradually raise the minimum wage to $17 by 2030, providing roughly 22 million Americans with a long-overdue raise.
“Enough is enough,” said Rep. Lee. “We’ve watched big CEOs rake in million-dollar bonuses while their workers struggle just to put food on the table. Raising the minimum wage is about fairness, dignity and respect for hardworking people who’ve been kept down for far too long. It’s shameful that in one of the richest countries in the world, full-time work can still leave families trapped in the endless cycles of poverty. Real prosperity isn’t measured by corporate profits but by how well everyday folks can care for their families, pay their bills, and plan for their futures. It’s past time for working families to get every single dollar they’ve earned and deserve.”
After more than fifteen years with no increase in the federal minimum wage—the longest period in U.S. history—millions of our nation’s workers are working full-time jobs but are still struggling to make ends meet. The Raise the Wage Act is good for workers, good for business, and good for the economy. When we put money in the pockets of workers, they will spend that money at local businesses.
The Raise the Wage Act of 2025 would:
- Gradually raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $17 by 2030.
- Index future increases in the federal minimum wage to median wage growth to ensure the value of minimum wage does not once again erode over time.
- Guarantee tipped workers are paid at least the full federal minimum wage by phasing out the subminimum wage for tipped workers, which will ensure decent, consistent pay without eliminating tips.
- Guarantee teen workers are paid at least the full federal minimum wage by phasing out the rarely used subminimum wage for youth workers.
- End subminimum wage certificates for workers with disabilities to provide opportunities for workers with disabilities to be competitively employed and participate more fully in their communities.
The Raise the Wage Act of 2025 has 142 original House co-sponsors, including Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), Greg Casar (TX-35), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Alma S. Adams (NC-12), Gabe Amo (RI-01), Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Becca Balint (VT-00), Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44), Joyce Beatty (OH-03), Donald S. Beyer (VA-08), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Brendan F. Boyle (PA-02), Shontel M. Brown (OH-11), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Salud O. Carbajal (CA-24), André Carson (IN-07), Sean Casten (IL-06), Kathy Castor (FL-14), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), Judy Chu (CA-28), Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), James E. Clyburn (SC-06), Herbert Conaway (NJ-03), Gerald E. Connolly (VA-11), Joe Courtney (CT-02), Angie Craig (MN-02), Jason Crow (CO-06), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Diana DeGette (CO-01), Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-03), Suzan K. DelBene (WA-01), Christopher R. Deluzio (PA-17), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Sarah Elfreth (MD-03), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Cleo Fields (LA-06), Bill Foster (IL-11), Valerie P. Foushee (NC-04), Laura Friedman (CA-30), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), John Garamendi (CA-08), Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Dan Goldman (NY-10), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Al Green (TX-09), Steven Horsford (NV-04), Steny Hoyer (MD-05), Val T. Hoyle (OR-04), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Glenn Ivey (MD-04), Jonathan L. Jackson (IL-01), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Hank Johnson (GA-04), Julie Johnson (TX-32), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Bill Keating (MA-09), Robin L. Kelly (IL-02), Timothy M. Kennedy (NY-26), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Rick Larsen (WA-02), Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM-03), Ted Lieu (CA-36), Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Seth Magaziner (RI-02), John W. Mannion (NY-22), Doris O. Matsui (CA-07), Lucy McBath (GA-06), Sarah McBride (DE-At Large), Jennifer McClellan (VA-04), Betty McCollum (MN-04), Morgan McGarvey (KY-03), James P. McGovern (MA-02), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Robert Menendez (NJ-08), Grace Meng (NY-06), Kweisi Mfume (MD-07), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Joseph D. Morelle (NY-25), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Frank J. Mrvan (IN-01), Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Joe Neguse (CO-02), Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-At Large), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Frank Pallone Jr. (NJ-06), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19),Brittany Pettersen (CO-07), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Deborah K. Ross (NC-02), Patrick Ryan (NY-18), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Linda T. Sánchez (CA-38), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Janice D. Schakowsky (IL-09), Bradley Scott Schneider (IL-10), Terri A. Sewell (AL-07), Brad Sherman (CA-32), Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Darren Soto (FL-09), Melanie A. Stansbury (NM-01), Haley M. Stevens (MI-11), Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10), Thomas R. Suozzi (NY-03), Eric Swalwell (CA-14), Mark Takano (CA-39), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02), Mike Thompson (CA-04), Dina Titus (NV-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Jill N. Tokuda (HI-02), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Lori Trahan (MA-03), Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), Maxine Waters (CA-43), Nikema Williams (GA-05), and Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24).
The Raise the Wage Act of 2025 has been endorsed by 85 organizations including, AFL-CIO, American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), American Council of the Blind, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), American Friends Service Committee, American Public Health Association, Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), Autistic People of Color Fund, Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN), Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, California LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network, Care in Action, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement & Research (CLEAR), Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues, Coalition on Human Needs, Communications Workers of America (CWA), Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd U.S. Provinces, the Council for Global Equality, Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR), Dēmos, Economic Policy Institute (EPI), Equal Pay Today, Family Values @ Work, Feminist Majority Foundation, First Focus Campaign for Children, Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), The General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church, Gig Workers Rising, Indivisible, Institute for Policy Studies’ Poverty Project, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), Justice for Migrant Women, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Legal Momentum, Milwaukee Area Service & Hospitality Workers Union, MomsRising, Movement Advancement Project (MAP), National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, National Association of Social Workers, National Black Worker Center, National Center for Law and Economic Justice (NCLEJ), National Coalition for the Homeless, National Council of Jewish Women, National Disability Institute, National Disability Rights Network (NDRN), National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), National Education Association (NEA), National Employment Law Project (NELP), National Employment Lawyers Association, National Immigration Law Center (NILC), The National Partnership for Women & Families, National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, New Disabled South, Oasis Legal Services, One Fair Wage, Oxfam America, Patriotic Millionaires, People Power United, Popular Democracy in Action, Pride at Work AFL-CIO, Public Advocacy for Kids, Public Justice Center, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Southern Poverty Law Center, Union for Reform Judaism, UNITE HERE, United Autoworkers (UAW), United Church of Christ, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), United for Respect, United Steelworkers (USW), Voices for Progress, Worker Justice Center of New York, Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group, Working Partnerships USA, Workplace Fairness, Workplace Justice Lab, and Worksafe.
To read the bill text for the Raise the Wage Act of 2025, click here.
To read the fact sheet on the Raise the Wage Act of 2025, click here.
To read the section-by-section Raise the Wage Act of 2025, click here.
Congresswoman Summer Lee serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Education and the Workforce. Since taking office in January 2023, she has delivered historic levels of federal investment totaling over $2.4 Billion brought back to Western PA, including over $580 million for infrastructure, over $110 million for affordable transit, over $500 million to keep clean energy manufacturing at home in Pennsylvania, and over $55 million on clean energy efforts in and around schools to help keep our kids and communities safe. These investments will help improve Western Pennsylvania’s infrastructure and transit, ensure cleaner air and drinking water, lower housing costs, fund research institutions, fuel clean manufacturing, fund STEM innovation and entrepreneurship, boost workforce development, and create thousands of good paying union jobs. Lee and her team have also delivered casework and constituent services to over 3,400 constituents with issues ranging from helping our seniors and disabled community access Medicare and social security to helping folks secure housing and helping families with immigration support and passports.