WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Patty Murray, D-Wash., introduced the Raise the Wage Act, legislation that would increase the minimum wage to $12 by 2020. The Raise the Wage Act would also index the federal minimum wage to the median wage, and gradually eliminate the subminimum tipped wage. The legislation would raise wages for nearly 38 million American workers. U.S. Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, D-Va., introduced a companion bill in the U.S. House.

“No one who works hard in a full-time job should have to live in poverty. We owe it to workers across the country to make sure our minimum wage is set to a level that works for them and their families,” Murray said. “Raising the minimum wage to $12 by 2020 is a key component to helping more families make ends meet, expanding economic security, and growing our economy from the middle out, not the top down.”

“Now, raising the minimum wage isn’t the only step we need to take to expand economic security to for our families. That’s why we are also working to expand paid sick days, make sure women get equal pay for equal work, and cut taxes for the middle class … I have seen firsthand back in my home state of Washington that when workers succeed, businesses succeed, and our economy succeeds—so we owe it to workers across the country to make sure our federal wage floor is set to a level that actually works for them and their families.”