I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 283 

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to provide for the calculation 

of the minimum wage based on the Federal poverty threshold for a 

family of 2, as determined by the Census Bureau. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 12, 2011 

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas (for himself, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. HASTINGS

of Florida, and Mr. BACA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to provide for 

the calculation of the minimum wage based on the Federal poverty threshold for a family of 2, as determined 

by the Census Bureau. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Living American Wage 

5 (LAW) Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) In 2009, there were over 43,600,000 Ameri2 cans living in poverty who were separated from the 

3 opportunities of the Nation by their income, their 

4 housing, and their access to education, jobs, and 

5 health care. 

6 (2) A full-time worker earning the Federal min7 imum wage earns an income below the Federal pov8 erty threshold for a family of 2, consisting of 1 adult 

9 and 1 child. 

10 (3) The average fair market rent for a 1-bed11 room apartment is more than 65 percent of the 

12 monthly income of a full-time worker earning the 

13 minimum wage. In comparison, the generally accept14 ed definition of affordability is for a household to 

15 pay not more than 30 percent of its income on hous16 ing. 

17 (4) Two full-time workers earning the Federal 

18 minimum wage earn an income below the national 

19 housing wage for a 1-bedroom apartment, the 

20 amount a person needs to earn to afford a 1-bed21 room apartment at average rent. 

22 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con23 gress that— 

24 (1) the Federal minimum wage should, as a 

25 minimum, be adjusted every 4 years so that a person 


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1 working for such a wage may earn an annual income 

2 that is not less than 15 percent higher than the 

3 Federal poverty threshold for a family of 2, as deter4 mined by the Census Bureau; 

5 (2) the minimum wage should be set at a level 

6 high enough to allow 2 full-time minimum wage 

7 workers to earn an income above the national hous8 ing wage; and 

9 (3) Congress, any of the several States, the Dis10 trict of Columbia, any Territory or possession of the 

11 United States, any Indian tribe, or any local or mu12 nicipal government of a State may establish a higher 

13 minimum wage requirement than that established in 

14 this Act. 

15 SEC. 3. MINIMUM WAGE. 

16 Section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 

17 is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub20 paragraph (B); 

21 (B) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub22 paragraph (C); and 

23 (C) by inserting at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(D) not less than the amount determined 

2 by the Secretary under subsection (b) beginning 

3 September 1, 2011;’’; and 

4 (2) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub5 section (c) and inserting after subsection (a) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(b)(1) Not later than June 1, 2011, and once every 

8 4 years thereafter, the Secretary shall determine the min9 imum wage rate applicable under subsection (a)(1) based 

10 on the formula described in paragraph (2). The Secretary 

11 shall publish such wage rate in the Federal Register not 

12 later than October 1 of each year. If such determination 

13 results in a lower minimum wage than that then in effect, 

14 the Secretary shall not adjust the minimum wage then in 

15 effect pursuant to this subsection. 

16 ‘‘(2) The minimum wage rate determined by the Sec17 retary under paragraph (1) shall be the minimum hourly 

18 wage sufficient for a person working for such wage 40 

19 hours per week, 52 weeks per year, to earn an annual in20 come in an amount that is 15 percent higher than the 

21 Federal poverty threshold for a family of 2, with one child 

22 under the age of 18, and living in the 48 contiguous 

23 States, as published for each such year by the Census Bu24 reau.’’. 

Æ 


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