Watch Live: Bernie Sanders Announces Legislation To Raise Minimum Wage To $15

Senator Bernie Sanders will hold a press conference to announce a new bill that would raise the minimum wage to $15.

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) this morning will announce he is introducing a bill to raise the minimum wage far higher than the Obama administration has called for. Sanders’ legislation calls for a $15 minimum wage.

“The simple truth is that working people cannot survive on the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, or $8 an hour or $9 an hour,” The Hill reports Sanders saying. “If people work 40 hours a week, they deserve not to live in dire poverty.”

Reps. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) will introduce a companion bill in the House, and are expected to appear with Senator Sanders this morning. 

Sanders is also a Democratic presidential candidate who is attracting huge crowds due to his very popular messages about income inequality and the wage gap, social security and Medicare, protecting the middle class, child poverty, and other important social issues. 

You can watch Sen. Sanders’ press conference live at 11:00 AM EDT via Periscope, by visiting Sanders’ Twitter page.

 

Image by Marc Nozell via Flickr and a CC license