I’m fighting to raise the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour.
Raise the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour.
Occurrences
Evidence
legacy_unverified · Source version not recorded · locator unknown
The Raise the Wage Act of 2025 would gradually raise the minimum wage to $17 by 2030.
legacy_unverified · Source version not recorded · locator unknown
H.R. 2743 sets $17.00 an hour beginning 5 years after the effective date.
legacy_unverified · Source version not recorded · locator unknown
The U.S. Code page says the text contains laws in effect on June 24, 2026, and sets the general federal minimum wage at $7.25 an hour beginning 24 months after May 25, 2007.
legacy_unverified · Source version not recorded · locator unknown
The Department of Labor states: “The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009.”
legacy_unverified · Source version not recorded · locator unknown
Congress.gov lists H.R.2743 as introduced April 8, 2025; its latest action was referral to the House Committee on Education and Workforce, and its tracker status is “Introduced,” not passed or law.
legacy_unverified · Source version not recorded · locator unknown
The introduced bill would amend 29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1) to set minimum wage steps ending at “$17.00 an hour, beginning 5 years after such effective date.”
legacy_unverified · Source version not recorded · locator unknown
The House Clerk records Roll Call 496 on H.R.582, Raise the Wage Act, as passed 231-199; “Clark (MA)” is listed as voting “Aye.”
legacy_unverified · Source version not recorded · locator unknown
The House-passed text would amend the minimum wage schedule to reach “$15.00 an hour, beginning 6 years after such effective date,” followed by indexing.
Assessments
The promised outcome was to raise the federal minimum wage to $17 per hour. As of the cited 2026 federal law and Department of Labor records, the general federal minimum wage remains $7.25 per hour. H.R. 2743 in the 119th Congress proposed a path to $17, but it was only introduced and referred to committee, not enacted. Clark also voted for the 2019 Raise the Wage Act, a serious House effort to raise the federal minimum wage, but that bill targeted $15 rather than $17 and did not become law. The promise therefore was not delivered, though there was meaningful legislative effort toward minimum-wage increases.
The promised outcome was not achieved. As of June 11, 2026, the federal minimum wage remains $7.25 per hour, not $17. Katherine Clark did support the goal through congressional action, including cosponsoring Raise the Wage Act proposals and appearing as a cosponsor on H.R. 2743 in the 119th Congress, which would phase the federal minimum wage up to $17.00, but that bill was only introduced and referred to committee and did not become law. Under the federal office context, that is a serious legislative effort without delivery, so this counts as failed delivery with effort rather than partial fulfillment.