U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) introduced a bill Tuesday with U.S. Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vermont) to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, making him one of the few Republicans to support the cause.
The bipartisan bill, dubbed the “Higher Wages for American Workers Act,” would raise the minimum wage starting in January 2026 and allow it to increase on the basis of inflation in subsequent years. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, which hasn’t changed since 2009.
“For decades, working Americans have seen their wages flatline,” Hawley said in a statement. “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. This bipartisan legislation would ensure that workers across America benefit from higher wages”
It is unclear whether the legislation will be taken up for a vote.
An analysis by the Congressional Budget Office in 2024 found that although the earnings and family income of most low-wage workers would increase with a federal minimum wage hike, it would inversely cause other low-income workers to lose their jobs and their family income to fall.
During an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press in December, President Donald Trump said he would “consider” raising the minimum wage but wasn’t sure what that increase should look like.
What is the minimum wage in Missouri?
With the passage of Proposition A in November, Missouri’s minimum wage was bumped to $13.75 an hour for non-tipped employees. Prop A also sets for the minimum wage to increase to $15 an hour in 2026, with adjustments each year after that based on the Consumer Price Index.
But a bill repealing most of Prop A — including future adjustments based on inflation — recently passed both the Missouri House and Senate, with Gov. Mike Kehoe expected to sign the bill into law. If signed, the bill would go into effect on August 28, meaning there wouldn’t be any more adjustments beyond the increase to $15 an hour in 2026.
What is the living wage in Missouri?
A living wage is essentially an estimate of how much a person working full time needs to earn per hour to afford the cost of their household’s minimum basic needs — housing, child care, food, etc. — where they live.
According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s living wage calculator, the living wage in Missouri for an adult with no children is $20.87 an hour, $37.08 for an adult with one child, $47.26 for an adult with two children and $58.15 for an adult with three children, as of February 2025.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Hawley proposes $15 federal minimum wage hike. What is Missouri’s?