[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 283 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 283

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 
                 2, as determined by the Census Bureau.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 12, 2011

Mr. Al Green of Texas (for himself, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Hastings 
  of Florida, and Mr. Baca) introduced the following bill; which was 
        referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 
                 2, 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 
2011''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) In 2009, there were over 43,600,000 Americans living in 
        poverty who were 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 2, consisting of 1 adult and 1 child.
            (3) The average fair market rent for a 1-bedroom apartment 
        is more than 65 percent of the monthly income of a full-time 
        worker earning the minimum wage. In comparison, the generally 
        accepted definition of affordability is for a household to pay 
        not more than 30 percent of its income on housing.
            (4) Two full-time workers earning the Federal minimum wage 
        earn an income below the national housing wage for a 1-bedroom 
        apartment, the amount a person needs to earn to afford a 1-
        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 15 percent 
        higher than the Federal poverty threshold for a family of 2, 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, 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.

SEC. 3. MINIMUM WAGE.

    Section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1)--
                    (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph 
                (B);
                    (B) by inserting ``and'' at the end of subparagraph 
                (C); and
                    (C) by inserting at the end the following:
                    ``(D) not less than the amount determined by the 
                Secretary under subsection (b) beginning September 1, 
                2011;''; and
            (2) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c) and 
        inserting after subsection (a) the following:
    ``(b)(1) Not later than June 1, 2011, 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 15 percent higher than the Federal 
poverty threshold for a family of 2, with one child under the age of 
18, and living in the 48 contiguous States, as published for each such 
year by the Census Bureau.''.
                                 <all>