Democrats in Congress are uniting around a proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $12 an hour, the New York Times reported today. Within the next several days, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) plans to introduce a bill to increase the minimum wage, in steps, from its current level of $7.25 to $12 by 2020. The measure has little chance of passing the Republican-controlled Congress in the near future, but it is the latest indication of Democrats’ rising ambitions for lifting the wage floor. The party is determined to elevate the issue in next year’s congressional and presidential elections.
