WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), marked the first increase in the federal minimum wage in the past 10 years which takes effect today. This minimum wage increase is part of a broader effort by the new congressional leadership to support families who work for a living, including making college more affordable, reducing energy costs, tax breaks for middle and low-income Americans, and expanding children’s health coverage—all in a fiscally responsible budget.

Rep. Markey said, “Today millions of working families are getting a pay raise. For too long, the minimum wage has stagnated, leaving workers struggling to make ends meet while housing, health care, and energy prices have skyrocketed. Nearly 13 million hard-working Americans will benefit from raising the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour. I am proud that my home state of Massachusetts has already taken similar action, increasing the Commonwealth’s minimum wage to $7.50 effective January 1, 2007. A total of twenty-eight states along with the District of Columbia have a state minimum wage above the current federal level. Finally, today, the federal government is catching up and recognizing that an honest day’s work deserves fair day’s pay.”

It has been 10 years since American workers have seen an increase in the federal minimum wage—the longest increase gap in the history of the law. Over that decade, inflation has all but erased the effect of the last raise – leaving millions of families behind – with the minimum wage reaching its lowest effective level in more than half a century. The 70 cent raise that takes effect today will be followed by two more 70 cent increases annually—for a total of $2.10 an hour, or $4,400 by July 2009.

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