Senator Chris Murphy plans to introduce the "Living Wage for All Act," legislation that would raise the federal minimum wage to $25 an hour. Large employers would be required to meet this wage by 2031, while smaller employers would have until 2038. If enacted, the federal minimum wage would increase to $12 an hour within the first year. The legislation would also eliminate below-minimum wage rates for tipped workers and other categories of employees.

A companion bill was introduced earlier in the year. Supporters state the wage increase is needed to keep pace with the rising cost of housing, health care, and basic necessities. According to MIT's Living Wage Calculator, a $25-an-hour rate is sufficient for a single working adult without children to live self-sufficiently in all but 14 states. The calculator estimates hourly earnings required for self-sufficiency based on family size, food, housing, child care, and transportation.

Hawaii has the highest estimated living wage for a single working adult at $31.01 an hour, followed by Massachusetts and California, which both have estimated living wages above $30 an hour. West Virginia has the lowest estimated necessary income for a single working adult at $19.53 an hour. For a family of four with two working adults, a $25 minimum wage would be sufficient in 11 states, including Iowa, Texas, West Virginia, South Dakota, Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Mississippi. In contrast, two working adults in Massachusetts would need wages of at least $39.61 each to be self-sufficient for a family of four.