Bernie Sanders Pushes $15 Minimum Wage Bill, Backed By 21 Democrats

WASHINGTON, DC — Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Patty Murray are pushing a bill with the support of 20 Democrats that would raise the national minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024, an issue that has gained tremendous momentum among left-of-center activists. Wednesday morning, Sanders and some of his Democratic colleagues joined a rally of striking workers in front of the Capitol to raise support for the bill and the cause.

"We are saying loudly and clearly: We won't rest until every worker makes at least $15 an hour," the Vermont Independent said in a Facebook Live post.

"Just a few years ago, if you were to say that we need to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, many people would say, 'You’re crazy!'" Sanders said. "But a grassroots movement of millions of workers, led by Good Jobs Nation and the SEIU, refused to take 'no' for an answer."

In the House of Representatives, Democrats Rep. Keith Ellison, of Minnesota, and Rep. Bobby Scott, of Virginia, will introduce a similar bill in their chamber.

The Senate bill, the Raise the Wage Act of 2017, would start by increasing the minimum wage to $9.25 immediately, slowly rising to $15 in 2024, according to the Washington Post. At that point it would be indexed to inflation, which may make future legislative adjustments unnecessary.

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images News/Getty Images