Minimum Wage Center Stage in SOTU
Minimum wage centerpiece of 2014 agenda. CNN:
“[President Obama] asked Congress to get on board with a Democratic
proposal to raise the federal minimum to $10.10 per hour. But he also
urged everyone from companies to small businesses, mayors, governors and
state legislators not to wait for Congress … Obama also promised an
executive order to raise the minimum wage for some government contract
workers. While the action is relatively narrow and affects less than
half a million people, the hope is that this will spur Congress to
follow suit for all low-wage workers in the U.S. … If the legislation
passed, a full-time minimum wage worker would see a bump in pay from
about $15,000 a year to roughly $21,000. That could lift a family of
three above the poverty line.
The increase directly and indirectly could raise pay for up to 28 million workers…”
The increase directly and indirectly could raise pay for up to 28 million workers…”
Obama announces 12 executive actions in SOTU.
“Raising the Minimum Wage through Executive Order to $10.10 for Federal
Contract Workers … A New Starter Savings Account to Help Millions Save
for Retirement … four new [manufacturing] institutes through executive
action this year … Government-wide Review of Federal Training Programs …
the President will convene a group of CEOs and other leaders around
supporting best practices for hiring the long-term unemployed …”
And urges passage of infrastructure legislation. The Hill:
“Lawmakers in the House and Senate are currently conferencing on an $8.2
billion bill to boost ports and waterways known as the Water Resources
Development Act (WRDA). The chambers are also in the early stages of
considering a renewal of the current surface transportation bill, which
authorizes the 18.4 cents-per-gallon federal gas tax that pays for most
federal transportation projects. There is an approximately $20 billion
shortfall between the amount of revenue the gas tax brings and the $54
billion per year that is currently being spent by the federal government
on road and transit projects. Obama suggested on Tuesday
night that lawmakers ‘take the money we save with this transition to
tax reform to create jobs rebuilding our roads, upgrading our ports,
unclogging our commutes…’”
Obama to highlight state-level minimum wage initiatives. AP:
“An appearance this morning (Wednesday) at a Costco in Lanham, Md ., gave Obama an
opportunity to highlight efforts that many states are undertaking to try
to improve wages for their workers. Maryland’s Democratic governor is
pushing to raise the state’s minimum wage to $10.10.”
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