Josh Hawley, Peter Welch Propose Raising Federal Minimum Wage To $15 By 2026, Tied To Inflation

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) have proposed legislation to raise the federal minimum wage from its current rate of $7.25 to $15 per hour.

What Happened: The Higher Wages for American Workers Act, introduced by Senators Hawley and Welch on Tuesday, aims to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour and tie future increases to inflation. Currently, the inflation-adjusted federal minimum wage is at its lowest level since the 1940s. This proposal is part of Hawley’s wider “Pro-Worker Framework for the 119th Congress,” which includes strengthening protections for union jobs and collective bargaining.

“For decades, working Americans have seen their wages flatline. One major culprit of this is the failure of the federal minimum wage to keep up with the economic reality facing hardworking Americans every day,” said Senator Hawley.

If enacted this year, the bill would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour beginning in January 2026, with future increases tied to inflation.

Senator Hawley’s support for raising the federal minimum wage marks a break from the Republican Party’s traditional opposition, reflecting a broader shift during the Donald Trump era as the GOP embraces more populist policies to appeal to working-class voters.

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Why It Matters: This move follows Hawley’s previous efforts to support working-class Americans. In April 2025, Hawley proposed a substantial tax cut aimed at those earning less than $80,000 annually. This proposal, which aimed to make standard income tax breaks refundable against payroll taxes, was touted as a potential “historic” tax reduction for working families across the country.

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Earlier this year, he teamed up with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to introduce legislation to cap credit card interest rates at 10%. In recent weeks, Hawley has been urging his party against cuts to Medicaid benefits in Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill.’

The proposed minimum wage increase is another step in Hawley’s ongoing efforts to address financial hardship and high living costs faced by many Americans. Notably, In January, Scott Bessent as a Treasury Secretary nominee, had opposed raising the minimum wage rate on a federal level citing it as a state or regional issue.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.