The Living Wage For All Act — House Bill H.R. 8555  

Introduced April 28, 2026 · Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce

THE PROBLEM

The federal minimum wage has been frozen at $7.25 an hour since 2009, and the subminimum wage for tipped workers at $2.13 since 1991. Meanwhile, MIT's Living Wage Calculator shows $25 an hour is the bare minimum a single adult needs to cover housing, food, transportation, and health care anywhere in the United States — and 45–50% of American workers earn less than that today. Prices are hard to bring down. Wages can rise.

WHAT H.R. 8555 DOES

• Raises the federal minimum wage to $25 an hour, starting at $12 in year one. Corporations with $1 billion or more in annual revenue, or 500 or more U.S. employees, go first and reach $25 in five annual steps. Every other employer gets 12 years, so small businesses have time to adjust.
• Ends the freeze permanently. Once the wage reaches $25, it is indexed to two-thirds of the national median wage, so the floor rises with the economy instead of stagnating for another 17 years.
• Ends the subminimum wage for tipped workers. Every tipped worker is guaranteed the full minimum wage with tips on top, and the bill ensures workers keep every dollar of their tips.
• Phases out the subminimum wages for youth workers and workers with disabilities, with a hard sunset: no new subminimum-wage certificates after enactment.
• Extends minimum wage protections to incarcerated workers (Section 10), a provision only in the House bill.

WHO'S BEHIND IT

Lead sponsor Rep. Delia Ramirez (IL-03), with co-leads Reps. Analilia Mejía (NJ-11), Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), and Lateefah Simon (CA-12). The bill has 30 cosponsors as of July 14, 2026, including Pennsylvania's own Reps. Chris Deluzio (PA-17) and Summer Lee (PA-12), and more than 100 organizations back it, including the NAACP, the National Education Association, SEIU, the American Federation of Teachers, and One Fair Wage. A Senate companion, led by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), was unveiled June 25, 2026.

THE EVIDENCE

• Voters are already there. In battleground congressional districts, 55% support raising wages to $25 and only 30% oppose — a 25-point margin that holds after voters hear the opposition's best arguments. In major cities, 66% support $30. Asked unprompted what a worker needs to get by, voters across parties answer about $26 an hour.
• Where wages rise, the sky doesn't fall. Washington, D.C. reached record restaurant employment after raising the tipped wage. Chicago's tipped workers saw the fastest pay growth in the nation — 49% over four years. Seven states already pay the full minimum wage with tips on top and show the same or faster restaurant growth than subminimum-wage states.
• It pays for itself. A $25 federal living wage would save at least $65 billion a year in safety-net spending, with employment effects that are neutral or positive.

THE ASK

Cosponsor H.R. 8555, the Living Wage For All Act. To sign on, contact Rep. Ramirez's office, or write the coalition at saru@onefairwage.org and we will coordinate directly.