[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4637 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4637

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to provide for the calculation of 
the minimum wage based on the Federal poverty threshold for a family of 
                 3, as determined by the Census Bureau.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 13, 2007

Mr. Al Green of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                to the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to provide for the calculation of 
the minimum wage based on the Federal poverty threshold for a family of 
                 3, as determined by the Census Bureau.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Living American Wage (LAW) Act of 
2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) In 2007, there are 37,000,000 Americans living in 
        poverty who are separated from the opportunities of the Nation 
        by their income, their housing, and their access to education, 
        jobs, and health care.
            (2) A full-time worker earning the Federal minimum wage 
        earns an income below the Federal poverty threshold for a 
        family of 3, consisting of 2 adults, and 1 child.
            (3) A full-time worker earning the Federal minimum wage 
        earns an income below the average rent for a 1-bedroom 
        apartment.
            (4) Two full-time workers earning the Federal minimum wage 
        earn an income below the national housing wage, the amount a 
        person needs to earn to afford a 2-bedroom apartment at average 
        rent.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the Federal minimum wage should, as a minimum, be 
        adjusted every 4 years so that a person working for such a wage 
        may earn an annual income that is not less than 5 percent 
        higher than the Federal poverty threshold for a family of 3, as 
        determined by the Census Bureau;
            (2) 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; and
            (3) Congress or any of the several States may establish a 
        higher minimum wage requirement than that established in this 
        Act.

SEC. 3. MINIMUM WAGE.

    Section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is amended--
            (1) by amending subsection (a)(1) to read as follows:
            ``(1) except as otherwise provided in this section--
                    ``(A) $5.85 an hour beginning July 24, 2007;
                    ``(B) not less than $6.55 an hour beginning July 
                24, 2008;
                    ``(C) not less than $7.25 an hour beginning July 
                24, 2009; and
                    ``(D) not less than the amount determined by the 
                Secretary under subsection (b) beginning September 1, 
                2008;''; and
            (2) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c) and 
        inserting after subsection (a) the following:
    ``(b)(1) Not later than June 1, 2008, and once every 4 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 October 1 of each year. If such 
determination results in a lower minimum wage than that then in effect, 
the Secretary shall not adjust the minimum wage then in effect pursuant 
to this subsection.
    ``(2) The minimum wage rate determined by the Secretary under 
paragraph (1) shall be the minimum hourly wage sufficient for a person 
working for such wage 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year, to earn an 
annual income in an amount that is 5 percent higher than the Federal 
poverty threshold for a 3-person household, with one person a child 
under age 18, and living in the 48 contiguous States, as published for 
each such year by the Census Bureau.''.
                                 <all>