Breaking: 3 Republicans Defect, Help House Dems Pass Massive Min. Wage Hike to $15/Hr
The House of Representatives passed legislation Thursday that would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025.
“The measure would gradually hike the U.S. pay floor to $15 by 2025, then index further hikes to median wage growth,” as CNBC noted. “It would also phase out lower minimum wage paid to tipped workers.”
If the bill became the law, it would represent the first federal minimum wage hike since 2009, when the minimum hourly pay went up to $7.25.
The legislation passed in a largely party-line vote, 231-199.
But three Republicans did break ranks and join with their Democratic colleagues in voting “yes” on the “Raise the Wage Act.”
Those three Republicans were Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Francis Rooney of Florida and Chris Smith of New Jersey, per CNN’s Haley Byrd.
Three Republicans just voted with Democrats to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025:
Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick
Florida Rep. Francis Rooney
New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith— Haley Byrd (@byrdinator) July 18, 2019
Six Democrats, meanwhile, voted “no” on the bill.
And here are the six Democrats who opposed the bill:
NY Rep. Anthony Brindisi
SC Rep. Joe Cunningham
OK Rep. Kendra Horn
UT Rep. Ben McAdams
OR Rep. Kurt Schrader
NM Rep. Xochitl Torres Small— Haley Byrd (@byrdinator) July 18, 2019
“This is an historic day,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said on the House floor Thursday before the chamber voted, according to The Washington Post.
“Today we wake up for a day of jubilation because of the sense of fairness this legislation engenders. We wake up with a smile on our face, showing the world with all the love in our hearts, and that love in our hearts is about fairness for the American people,” she added.
Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, who introduced the legislation, expressed similar sentiments.
“I commend my colleagues for taking this important step towards creating an economy that works for everyone,” Scott said in a statement.
“Now, Senate Republicans must decide to either stand with American workers or turn their backs on hardworking people across the country,” he added.
But it’s highly unlikely that will happen.
As The Post pointed out, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has said the upper chamber does not plan to take up the legislation.
Even if it did, the bill would face an uphill battle, considering Republicans hold 53 seats in the Senate, compared to 47 senators who caucus with Democrats.
Most House Democrats supported the legislation despite the Congressional Budget Office reporting earlier this month that while raising the minimum wage to $15/hour would lift 1.3 million people out of poverty, it would also cost 1.3 million people their jobs and “reduce business income and raise prices.”
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