Bernie Sanders on minimum wage: what the evidence says · JRE #2341
SUBJECT: MINIMUM WAGE
Not a true/false call. Every claim is logged with its sources; read the exhibits below.
So we put a lot of pressure. We are trying to raise the minimum wage, federal minimum wage to 17 bucks an hour.
What the evidence says 01 / RECORD
On April 8, 2025, Sanders (as ranking member of the Senate HELP Committee) and Rep. Bobby Scott introduced the Raise the Wage Act of 2025, which would raise the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour, phased in over five years from the current $7.25. In the Senate the bill is S.1332 (a House companion, H.R.2743, was introduced by Rep. Scott), and its text amends the Fair Labor Standards Act to step the wage up through $9.50, $11.00, $12.50, $14.00, $15.50, and finally $17.00. Sanders's own statement describes raising the minimum wage to at least $17 an hour and calls the current $7.25 rate a starvation wage. Sanders's claim that he is trying to raise the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour is accurate.