Sen. Bernie Sanders thinks the nation’s $7.25 minimum wage is abysmal. And the calls to raise it to $15 an hour aren’t enough either.
That’s why the Vermont independent and chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions wants to raise the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour over the next five years.
Sanders has long led the effort to increase the federal minimum wage, which has stagnated at $7.25 an hour since 2009. His new bill that would raise it to $17 an hour will be marked up by the Senate HELP committee on June 14.
Progressive advocates and labor organizations have fought for the minimum wage to be raised to at least $15 an hour, but Sanders said inflation has outpaced the calls for just a $15 minimum wage.
“Frankly, it is embarrassing for us to be here today and have to talk about a reality where people need to work two or three jobs to put food on the table for their kids,” Sanders said, joined by organized labor leaders and workers.
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Which states have a higher minimum wage than $7.25 an hour?
Some 20 states currently have a minimum wage that is not higher than the federal rate of $7.25 an hour.
Sanders argued an increase to the minimum wage was popular among independent and Republican voters, pointing to a ballot initiative in deep red Nebraska in 2022 where almost 60% of voters approved raising the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour.
He also noted more than 60% of Florida voters in 2020 approved raising the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour as well, a state President Joe Biden lost by over 3%.
“It tells you that this is not a red issue, not a blue issue, it’s an American issue,” Sanders said.
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Sanders’ $17 an hour minimum wage unlikely to get through Senate
His bill is unlikely to make it through the Senate, where it will need 60 votes to pass – meaning nine Republicans would have to join the 51 Democrats to approve a minimum wage hike.
Advocates for raising the minimum wage were the closest they have ever been to raising it to $15 an hour in 2021 when the House approved its inclusion in Biden’s COVID-19 relief bill. The provision died in the Senate after an official ruled the raise could not be included in the bill due to procedural limitations.
Regardless, Sanders introduced an amendment to the bill to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, but eight Democratic senators joined the 50 Republicans at the time to vote against the amendment.
Even if the bill does pass the Senate, it has an almost next-to-zero chance of getting through the Republican-controlled House.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bernie Sanders wants to raise minimum wage to $17 an hour. Here’s why