Texas 2021 - 87th 3rd C.S.

Texas House Bill HCR6 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87S30145 BK-D
2	2	By: Reynolds H.C.R. No. 6
3	3
4	4
5	5	CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
6	6	WHEREAS, Federal law sets the federal minimum wage at $7.25
7	7	an hour; and
8	8	WHEREAS, The last time Congress raised the federal minimum
9	9	wage was in 2007; that year, the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 was
10	10	passed to gradually raise the federal minimum wage from $5.15 an
11	11	hour to $7.25 an hour in 2009; the Act included small business tax
12	12	relief provisions and was signed into law by President George
13	13	W. Bush; and
14	14	WHEREAS, Speaking at a 2006 news conference, President Bush
15	15	said that he supported increasing the federal minimum wage, adding
16	16	that to achieve this and other goals, Congress needed to put aside
17	17	partisan differences and work constructively to address the vital
18	18	issues confronting our nation; and
19	19	WHEREAS, In the 14 years since President Bush signed the last
20	20	federal minimum wage increase into law, the desire for Congress to
21	21	raise the federal minimum wage has grown stronger in the states; and
22	22	WHEREAS, To account for cost of living increases, 29 states
23	23	have set their minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage,
24	24	though not at the level of a living wage; 14 states, including
25	25	Texas, have set their minimum wage in line with the federal minimum
26	26	wage; and
27	27	WHEREAS, Supporters of a living wage emphasize that
28	28	increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour would reduce
29	29	poverty and grow the economy; their review of previous minimum wage
30	30	increases found little or no evidence that raising the minimum wage
31	31	reduces employment; and
32	32	WHEREAS, Demonstrating that paying workers more reduces
33	33	turnover, several companies, including Amazon, Walmart, and
34	34	Target, are now paying many hourly workers at least $15 an hour; a
35	35	2017 Quinnipiac University poll found that a majority of Americans
36	36	would support a minimum wage of $15 an hour; and
37	37	WHEREAS, Offering a Texas perspective, noted American
38	38	economist Dr. James K. Galbraith, a professor at The University of
39	39	Texas at Austin, wrote that states such as Texas would benefit from
40	40	raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour because such states
41	41	have too many low-wage workers, too much poverty, and too many
42	42	people who are getting food stamps and other welfare because they
43	43	aren't getting paid enough; and
44	44	WHEREAS, The well-being of this nation depends on a strong
45	45	and vibrant economy, and Congress should heed the advice of experts
46	46	such as Dr. Galbraith and raise the minimum wage; now, therefore,
47	47	be it
48	48	RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas,
49	49	3rd Called Session, hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the
50	50	United States to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour; and,
51	51	be it further
52	52	RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
53	53	copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
54	54	the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
55	55	Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
56	56	members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
57	57	this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a
58	58	memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.