Blumenthal Statement On Senate Failure To Advance Minimum Wage Bill

(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) released the following statement after the Senate failed to reach the 60-vote threshold necessary to advance the minimum wage bill, which would have gradually raised the federal minimum wage to $10.10 by 2016. The bill failed by a vote of 54-42.

“Despite this filibuster, I will continue to fight for a fair shot all Americans deserve – increasing pay for working families in poverty. The effect of today’s defeat is to trap millions of families in poverty, suppress economic growth by tens of billions of dollars, and force taxpayers to subsidize employers that pay unfair wages. I am determined that we will bring back this bill, not abandon 17 million workers who are barely surviving on unlivable wages, or 14 million children.”