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Shown Here: Introduced in House (01/03/2019)
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 122 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 122
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to provide for the calculation of
the minimum wage based on the Federal poverty threshold for a family of
4, as determined by the Bureau of the Census.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 3, 2019
Mr. Green of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to provide for the calculation of
the minimum wage based on the Federal poverty threshold for a family of
4, as determined by the Bureau of the Census.
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 ``Original Living Wage Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) In 2015, there were approximately 43,100,000 Americans
living in poverty who were separated from the opportunities of
the Nation by their income, their housing, and their access to
education, jobs, and health care.
(2) A full-time worker earning the Federal minimum wage
earns an income below the Federal poverty threshold for a
family of 4, consisting of 2 adults and 2 children.
(3) The average fair market rent for a 1-bedroom apartment
is more than 65 percent of the monthly income of a full-time
worker earning the minimum wage. In comparison, the generally
accepted definition of affordability is for a household to pay
not more than 30 percent of its income on housing.
(4) Two full-time workers earning the Federal minimum wage
earn an income below the national housing wage for a 1-bedroom
apartment, the amount a person needs to earn to afford a 1-
bedroom apartment at average rent.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Federal minimum wage should, as a minimum, be
adjusted every 4 years so that a person working for such a wage
may earn an annual income that is not less than 25.5 percent
higher than the Federal poverty threshold for a family of 4, as
determined by the Bureau of the Census;
(2) the minimum wage should be set at a level high enough
to allow 2 full-time minimum wage workers to earn an income
above the national housing wage; and
(3) 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 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206)
is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(1)--
(A) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph
(B);
(B) by inserting ``and'' at the end of subparagraph
(C); and
(C) by inserting at the end the following:
``(D) not less than the amount determined by the
Secretary under subsection (b), beginning September 1,
2018;''; and
(2) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c) and
inserting after subsection (a) the following:
``(b)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), not later than June 1, 2018, and
once every 4 years thereafter, the Secretary shall determine the
minimum wage rate applicable under subsection (a)(1) based on the
formula described in paragraph (3). The Secretary shall publish such
wage rate in the Federal Register not later than October 1 of each
year.
``(2) If the minimum wage rate determined by the Secretary under
paragraph (1) would result in a lower minimum wage rate than the
minimum wage rate in effect at the time of such determination, the
Secretary shall not adjust, pursuant to this subsection, the minimum
wage rate so in effect.
``(3) The minimum wage rate determined by the Secretary under
paragraph (1) shall be the minimum hourly wage sufficient for a person
working for such wage for 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year, to earn
an annual income in an amount that is 25.5 percent higher than the
Federal poverty threshold for a family of 4, with two children under
the age of 18, and living in any of the 48 contiguous States, as
published by the Bureau of the Census for the year in which the wage
rate is being so determined.''.
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