115th CONGRESS

3rd Session

H. R. 1515
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for the increase of the federal
minimum wage for low-skilled workers to $15 USD per hour.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 26, 2018
Mr. Don Beyer of Virginia (for himself, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Ms. Pelosi of California, and Mr.
Hoyer of Maryland) introduced the following bill; to be referred to the Committee on Education
and Labor

A BILL
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for the increase of the federal
minimum wage for low-skilled workers to $15 USD per hour.

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 “Fair Wages For Americans (FWA) Act of 2018”.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

(a) Findings.—Congress finds the following:

(1) In 2016, the date of the last US Census Bureau poverty estimates, over 12.7%
of Americans lived under the federal poverty line, leaving more than 43,100,000
Americans disadvantaged in American society due to their income.
 (2) A full-time worker earning the Federal minimum wage earns an income below
the Federal poverty threshold for a family of 2, consisting of 1 adult and 1 child.

(3) The current Federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour does not adequately
provide for adequate living conditions in today’s economy.

(b) Sense Of Congress.—It is the sense of Congress that—

(1) the minimum wage should be set at $15 per hour, a level high enough to allow
2 full-time minimum wage workers to earn an income above the national housing
wage; and

(2) 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 206 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is amended—

(1) in subsection (a)(1)—

(A) by striking “and” at the end of subparagraph (B);

(B) by inserting at the end the following:

“(D) $10.50 an hour, beginning on January 1, 2019;”;

“(E) $12.50 an hour, beginning 12 months after that 1st of January; and”; and

“(F) $15.00 an hour, beginning 24 months after that 1st of January:”.