Barack Obama 2016-01-01 1 Statement on the Oregon Legislature's Passage of Legislation To Raise the Minimum Wage March 2, 2016 I commend the Oregon Legislature and Governor Kate Brown for taking action to raise their State's minimum wage. Since I first called on Congress to increase the Federal minimum wage in 2013, 18 States and the District of Columbia have acted on their own. These efforts will boost the paychecks of hard-working Americans and help support millions of workers trying to make ends meet. Today, more than half of our States guarantee their workers a wage higher than the Federal minimum. That's progress. But Congress needs to keep up with the rest of the country. They need to act and finally give America a raise. And until they do, I'll continue to encourage States, cities, counties, and companies to act on their own to support hard-working families.