“The Paying Hourly Americans Stronger Earnings (PHASE)-in $15 Wage Act (H.R. 2080), introduced today in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-7), is ill-conceived and harmful. At this time when working moms and their families urgently need a raise, we should recognize the national minimum wage as the essential federal protection it is and reject all efforts to weaken it by allowing regional adjustments. This must not be a race to the bottom and we must ensure that the action Congress takes gives hard-working people a raise, rather than perpetuating wages that are artificially low in some regions.

“The federal minimum wage has not kept up with inflation and millions of workers, especially women, desperately need a raise. Moms across the nation have spoken out time and again to demand an increase to the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour so they will be able to afford necessities like healthy food, housing, childcare and health care. A regional minimum wage would undermine that effort and would disproportionately harm women and people of color.

“America's moms will not stand for this. We call on Congress to reject this damaging bill and instead quickly pass the Raise the Wage Act, which would establish a uniform federal minimum wage of $15 per hour, phase out the tipped wage and, in doing so, boost families, communities and our economy. Anything less is unacceptable and would cause harm.”