[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 122 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 122
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to provide for the calculation of
the minimum wage based on the Federal supplemental poverty threshold
for a renter family of 4, with 2 children under the age of 18, as
determined by the Bureau of the Census, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 3, 2025
Mr. Green of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Education and Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to provide for the calculation of
the minimum wage based on the Federal supplemental poverty threshold
for a renter family of 4, with 2 children under the age of 18, as
determined by the Bureau of the Census, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Original Living American Wage Act''
or the ``Original LAW Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) In 2022, there were approximately 37,900,000 Americans
living in poverty who were denied access to opportunities due
to income, housing, education, jobs, and health care.
(2) A full-time worker earning the Federal minimum wage
earns an income that is just $20 above the Federal poverty line
for a single-person household and $5,360 below the poverty line
for a two-person household.
(3) The average fair market rent for a 1-bedroom apartment
is more than 110 percent of the monthly income of a full-time
worker earning the minimum wage. In comparison, the generally
accepted definition of affordability is for a household to pay
not more than 30 percent of its income on housing.
(4) Two full-time workers earning the Federal minimum wage
earn an income below the national housing wage, which is the
amount a person must earn to afford a 1-bedroom apartment for
the average rental price without spending more than 30 percent
of their income.
(5) In 2023, data from the Living Wage Calculator of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology indicated that the median
average living wage across single adults and single adults with
one child spanning all 50 States was $26.59 per hour or
approximately $48,154.49 annually.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Federal minimum wage should, at a minimum, be
adjusted any time that inflation rises to 5 percent or above
over 2 consecutive years so that a wage earner's annual income
will be not less than 40 percent above the Supplemental Poverty
Threshold for a renting family of 4, as determined by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics;
(2) the minimum wage should be set at a level high enough
to allow 2 full-time minimum wage workers to earn an income
above the national housing wage; and
(3) Congress, any of the several States, the District of
Columbia, any territory or possession of the United States, any
Indian tribe, or any local or municipal government of a State
may establish a higher minimum wage requirement than that
established in this Act.
SEC. 3. MINIMUM WAGE.
Section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206)
is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(1)--
(A) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph
(B); and
(B) by inserting at the end the following:
``(D) $10.59 an hour, beginning January 1, 2026;
``(E) $14.59 an hour, beginning January 1, 2027;
``(F) $18.59 an hour, beginning January 1, 2028;
``(G) $22.59 an hour, beginning January 1, 2029;
``(H) $26.59 an hour, beginning January 1, 2030;
and
``(I) the amount determined by the Secretary under
subsection (b), beginning January 1, 2031.''; and
(2) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c) and
inserting after subsection (a) the following:
``(b)(1) Subject to paragraph (3), not later than October 1, 2030,
and every 7 years thereafter, the Secretary shall determine the minimum
wage rate applicable under subsection (a)(1) based on the formula
described in paragraph (2). The Secretary shall publish such wage rate
in the Federal Register not later than November 1 of each year in which
a minimum wage rate is determined under this paragraph.
``(2) For the 7-year period beginning on January 1, 2031, and each
succeeding 7-year period, the minimum wage rate determined by the
Secretary under paragraph (1) shall be a minimum hourly wage sufficient
for a person working for such wage for 1,799 hours per year to earn an
annual income in an amount that is 40 percent higher than the Federal
supplemental poverty threshold for a renter family of 4, with two
children under the age of 18, as published by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics for the year preceding the year in which the wage rate is
being so determined.
``(3) If the minimum wage rate determined by the Secretary under
paragraph (1) would result in a lower minimum wage rate than the
minimum wage rate in effect at the time of such determination, the
Secretary may not adjust the minimum wage rate so in effect.''.
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