In opposition to the Biden Administration’s proposal to increase the Federal minimum wage to $15.00 an hour over a five-year period, Senators Tom Cotton and Mitt Romney introduced a bill, titled the “Higher Wages for American Workers Act”, which proposes to increase the Federal minimum wage only to $10.00 an hour over the same period of time. The press release provides:
“Rather than destroy 1.4 million jobs like a $15 minimum wage, this proposal would raise wages for 3.5 million workers without harming the very workers it’s intended to protect.”
This table shows the proposed “Higher Wages for American Workers Act” increases in the minimum wage over time:
Year |
Federal Minimum Wage |
Small Businesses |
Youth Minimum Wage |
Current |
$7.25 |
$7.25 |
$4.25 |
Post-Pandemic Year 1 |
$8.00 |
$7.75 |
$4.75 |
Year 2 |
$8.75 |
$8.25 |
$5.25 |
Year 3 |
$9.50 |
$8.75 |
$5.75 |
Year 4 |
$10.00 |
$9.25 |
$6.00 |
Year 5 |
$10.00 |
$9.75 |
$6.00 |
Year 6 |
Indexed to Inflation |
Equal to Federal Minimum Wage |
Indexed to Inflation |
Compare and contrast the above to the proposed minimum wage increases in the $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021”, which does not categorize types of workers:
Year |
Federal Minimum Wage |
Current |
$7.25 |
Year 2021 |
$9.50 |
Year 2022 |
$11.00 |
Year 2023 |
$12.50 |
Year 2024 |
$14.00 |
Year 2025 |
$15.00 |
Year 2026 and beyond |
Indexed to the percentage increase, if any, in the median hourly wages of all employees |
I hope this is of value.