Governors Shumlin & Hassan Urge Congress to Raise the Minimum Wage

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin, Chair of the Democratic Governors Association, and New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan, Vice Chair of the Democratic Governors Association, today sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Reid, Minority Leader McConnell, Speaker Boehner and Minority Leader Pelosi urging Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour.
“No American working more than 40 hours a week should have to live in poverty,” Governors Shumlin and Hassan write in the letter. “Raising the minimum wage will strengthen the economy by giving Americans more money to spend and invest, increasing economic growth. Our states need more good paying jobs so that our citizens can afford their basic needs and have enough purchasing power to boost their local economies.”
In the last year alone, the minimum wage has increased in 14 states with Democratic governors.
The defining mission of Democratic governors is to strengthen the middle class by raising wages and expanding economic opportunity. That’s in stark contrast to Republican governors, who have systematically pursued a failed, top-down economic philosophy that rewards the wealthiest and well-connected at the expense of the middle class and investments in education and public safety.
Florida Governor Rick Scott described how the idea of raising the minimum wage makes him “cringe.” Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker mocked it as “political grandstanding.” Michigan Governor Rick Snyder said it isn’t a burning issue. Maine Governor Paul LePage, RGA Chair Chris Christie, and New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez have all vetoed minimum wage hikes. Billionaire Bruce Rauner, the Republican candidate for Governor of Illinois, has even said his state’s minimum wage should be cut by a dollar an hour as Connecticut Republican Tom Foley “distanced himself” from a proposal to raise the wage in his state.
Read the full text of the Governor Shumlin and Governor Hassan’s letter here.