Congressional Budget Office: Federal $15 Minimum Wage Would Increase Pay for 17 Million Workers

According to CNBC, a new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025 would increase pay for 17 million workers. CNBC notes that the federal minimum wage has been $7.25 since 2009.

The House of Representatives could vote on the Democrat-backed Raise the Wage Act later this month. However, the Republican-held Senate is likely to oppose the legislation, notes CNBC. Opponents claim that a $15 minimum wage would cut positions for low-wage workers due to higher costs for employers. The CBO projects that such job cuts would affect 1.3 million workers and that a wage increase would “reduce business income and raise prices” and “reduce the nation’s output slightly.”

In addition to the 17 million workers currently earning less than $15 per hour, another 10 million people “otherwise earning slightly more” than $15 an hour could also see a wage hike, according to the CBO. Further, 1.3 million Americans would be elevated above the poverty level.