{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-welch-introduce-legislation-to-increase-federal-minimum-wage-to-15-per-hour/", "Hawley, Welch Introduce Legislation to Increase Federal\u00a0Minimum\u00a0Wage to $15 Per Hour", "2025-06-10", "2025", "2025-06", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "Today, U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) introduced the Higher Wages for American Workers Act, which would increase the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour and allow the federal minimum wage to increase with inflation in subsequent years. When adjusted for inflation, the current federal minimum wage is lower than at any point since the 1940s. Meanwhile, the cost of housing, healthcare, and education has skyrocketed, leaving millions of full-time workers struggling to make ends meet.\n\n\u201cFor decades, working Americans have seen their wages flatline. One major culprit of this is the failure of the federal minimum wage to keep up with the economic reality facing hardworking Americans every day. This bipartisan legislation would ensure that workers across America benefit from higher wages,\u201d Senator Hawley said.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re in the midst of a severe affordability crisis, with families in red and blue states alike struggling to afford necessities like housing and groceries. A stagnant federal minimum wage only adds fuel to the fire. Every hardworking American deserves a living wage that helps put a roof over their head and food on the table\u2013$7.25 an hour doesn\u2019t even come close,\u201d said Senator Welch. \u201cTimes have changed, and working families deserve a wage that reflects today\u2019s financial reality. I\u2019m proud to lead this bipartisan effort to raise the minimum wage nationwide to help more folks make ends meet,\u201d Senator Welch added.\n\nIf signed into law this year, the Higher Wages for American Workers Act would:\n\nIncrease the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour starting in January 2026.\n\nAllow the federal minimum wage to increase with inflation in subsequent years.\n\nRead the full bill text here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:34:38Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-welch-introduce-legislation-to-increase-federal-minimum-wage-to-15-per-hour/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9805886074900627, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}