Last week, Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced S. 2013, the Higher Wages for American Workers Act of 2025, which would raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $15 per hour in January after enactment with annual automatic increases indexed to inflation. Similar legislation has been introduced this Congress by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA), the Raise the Wage Act (H.R. 2743 and S. 1332) that would incrementally raise the federal minimum wage to $17 per hour by 2030 and eliminate the tip credit. The federal minimum wage last increased in 2009.