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Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jan 3, 2025
Original Living American Wage Act or the Original LAW Act
This bill increases the federal minimum wage according to a formula specified in the bill.
First, the bill increases the minimum hourly wage to $10.59 beginning on January 1, 2026, and increases the minimum hourly wage by $4 annually from January 1, 2027, through January 1, 2030.
Next, beginning on January 1, 2031, the Department of Labor shall increase the minimum hourly wage every seven years according to a specified formula.
The formula establishes the minimum hourly wage as the wage sufficient for a person working 1,799 hours per year (approximately 35 hours per week) to earn an annual income that is 40% higher than the federal supplemental poverty threshold for a renter family of four, with two children under the age of 18, as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the preceding year. However, if this formula results in a reduction, the minimum hourly wage may not be lowered.
People & committees
Rep. Green, Al [D-TX-9] · D–TX
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Jul 21, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-01-03 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed Original Living American Wage Act would raise the federal minimum wage in yearly steps, reaching $26.59 an hour in 2030. Starting in 2031, it would link the rate to a federal poverty measure for a renting family of four, with recalculation every seven years and no decreases. The changes would affect workers and employers covered by the amended minimum-wage provisions.
This Act may be cited as the Original Living American Wage Act or the Original LAW Act.
Section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206) is amended—
(D) $10.59 an hour, beginning January 1, 2026; (E) $14.59 an hour, beginning January 1, 2027; (F) $18.59 an hour, beginning January 1, 2028; (G) $22.59 an hour, beginning January 1, 2029; (H) $26.59 an hour, beginning January 1, 2030;
For the 7-year period beginning on January 1, 2031, and each succeeding 7-year period, the minimum wage rate determined by the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall be a minimum hourly wage sufficient for a person working for such wage for 1,799 hours per year to earn an annual income in an amount that is 40 percent higher than the Federal supplemental poverty threshold for a renter family of 4, with two children under the age of 18
If the minimum wage rate determined by the Secretary under paragraph (1) would result in a lower minimum wage rate than the minimum wage rate in effect at the time of such determination, the Secretary may not adjust the minimum wage rate so in effect.
The bill's findings offer housing costs and living-wage estimates as reasons for raising wages. They assert that average rent for a one-bedroom apartment exceeds 110 percent of a full-time minimum-wage worker's monthly income and cite a 2023 living-wage estimate of $26.59 an hour. These are statements in the proposed findings, not established effects of the bill.
The average fair market rent for a 1-bedroom apartment is more than 110 percent of the monthly income of a full-time worker earning the minimum wage.
In 2023, data from the Living Wage Calculator of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology indicated that the median average living wage across single adults and single adults with one child spanning all 50 States was $26.59 per hour or approximately $48,154.49 annually.
The bill expresses Congress's view that wages should be adjusted when inflation reaches 5 percent or more over two consecutive years, with annual earnings at least 40 percent above the specified poverty threshold. It also calls for wages that let two full-time minimum-wage workers exceed the national housing wage—the earnings needed to afford an average-priced one-bedroom rental using no more than 30 percent of income. These are statements of policy preference; the operative adjustment schedule appears in section 3.
It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the Federal minimum wage should, at a minimum, be adjusted any time that inflation rises to 5 percent or above over 2 consecutive years so that a wage earner’s annual income will be not less than 40 percent above the Supplemental Poverty Threshold for a renting family of 4, as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics;
the minimum wage should be set at a level high enough to allow 2 full-time minimum wage workers to earn an income above the national housing wage;
the national housing wage, which is the amount a person must earn to afford a 1-bedroom apartment for the average rental price without spending more than 30 percent of their income.
Subject to paragraph (3), not later than October 1, 2030, and every 7 years thereafter, the Secretary shall determine the minimum wage rate applicable under subsection (a)(1) based on the formula described in paragraph (2).
The statement of congressional policy also says Congress, states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories and possessions, Indian tribes, and local governments may establish higher minimum wages than the bill specifies.
(b) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that—
Congress, any of the several States, the District of Columbia, any territory or possession of the United States, any Indian tribe, or any local or municipal government of a State may establish a higher minimum wage requirement than that established in this Act.
The proposed hourly minimum would become $10.59 on January 1, 2026; $14.59 on January 1, 2027; $18.59 on January 1, 2028; $22.59 on January 1, 2029; and $26.59 on January 1, 2030. A rate determined under the new formula would apply beginning January 1, 2031.
(D) $10.59 an hour, beginning January 1, 2026; (E) $14.59 an hour, beginning January 1, 2027; (F) $18.59 an hour, beginning January 1, 2028; (G) $22.59 an hour, beginning January 1, 2029; (H) $26.59 an hour, beginning January 1, 2030; and (I) the amount determined by the Secretary under subsection (b), beginning January 1, 2031.
For 2031 onward, the bill would set seven-year wage periods. The formula would require an hourly rate that produces annual earnings 40 percent above the federal supplemental poverty threshold when someone works 1,799 hours a year. That poverty measure would be for a renting family of four with two children under 18, using the Bureau of Labor Statistics figure for the year before the rate is determined. The family description sets the calculation benchmark, rather than restricting the wage to workers with that family structure.
For the 7-year period beginning on January 1, 2031, and each succeeding 7-year period, the minimum wage rate determined by the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall be a minimum hourly wage sufficient for a person working for such wage for 1,799 hours per year to earn an annual income in an amount that is 40 percent higher than the Federal supplemental poverty threshold for a renter family of 4, with two children under the age of 18, as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the year preceding the year in which the wage rate is being so determined.
The Secretary would have to determine the formula-based rate by October 1, 2030, and every seven years afterward, subject to the protection against decreases. The Secretary would have to publish the rate in the Federal Register, the government's official publication for such notices, by November 1 of each determination year.
Subject to paragraph (3), not later than October 1, 2030, and every 7 years thereafter, the Secretary shall determine the minimum wage rate applicable under subsection (a)(1) based on the formula described in paragraph (2). The Secretary shall publish such wage rate in the Federal Register not later than November 1 of each year in which a minimum wage rate is determined under this paragraph.
If the formula produced a rate below the minimum wage already in effect, the Secretary would be prohibited from adjusting that existing rate downward.
If the minimum wage rate determined by the Secretary under paragraph (1) would result in a lower minimum wage rate than the minimum wage rate in effect at the time of such determination, the Secretary may not adjust the minimum wage rate so in effect.
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated July 21, 2025, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Education and Workforce on January 3, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2025-07-21T19:44:15Z. 2025-01-03: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce. 2025-01-03: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-01-03. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated rider was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; accompanying materials could bear on formal earmark status.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow carve-out, special exemption, or preferential treatment was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Jul 21, 2025. How PlainBill uses AI