Minimum Wage

Democrats want to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour. It last increased in 1997 and is at its lowest level in 50 years, after adjustments for inflation.

Party leaders say the increase, which would be spread over two years, is overdue: A full-time worker paid the minimum wage now makes about $10,700, which is below the poverty line for one adult supporting two children. An increase in the minimum wage would benefit at least 7.3 million people, including 1.8 million parents, Democrats said.

Many voters support an increase in the minimum wage. Six states passed minimum-wage ballot measures this month. Democrats say their initiative does not carry significant cost; some Republican opponents say increasing the wage would strain small businesses.

The minimum wage was 25 cents when it was first introduced during the Great Depression by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938. Congress has since voted eight times to increase it, including under Republican presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald R. Ford and George H.W. Bush. The last increase was passed in 1996, with a second stage that took effect in 1997 and brought it to $5.15.