(1) In 2009, there were over 43,600,000 Ameri-
cans living in poverty who were separated from the 
opportunities of the Nation by their income, their 
housing, and their access to education, jobs, and 
health care. 
(2) A full-time worker earning the Federal min-
imum wage earns an income below the Federal pov-
erty threshold for a family of 2, consisting of 1 adult 
and 1 child. 
(3) The average fair market rent for a 1-bed-
room apartment is more than 65 percent of the 
monthly income of a full-time worker earning the 
minimum wage. In comparison, the generally accept-
ed definition of affordability is for a household to 
pay not more than 30 percent of its income on hous-
ing. 
(4) Two full-time workers earning the Federal 
minimum wage earn an income below the national 
housing wage for a 1-bedroom apartment, the 
amount a person needs to earn to afford a 1-bed-
room apartment at average rent. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
(1) the Federal minimum wage should, as a 
minimum, be adjusted every 4 years so that a person 
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working for such a wage may earn an annual income 
that is not less than 15 percent higher than the 
Federal poverty threshold for a family of 2, as deter-
mined by the Bureau of the Census; 
(2) the minimum wage should be set at a level 
high enough to allow 2 full-time minimum wage 
workers to earn an income above the national hous-
ing wage; and 
(3) Congress, any of the several States, the Dis-
trict of Columbia, any Territory or possession of the 
United States, any Indian tribe, or any local or mu-
nicipal government of a State may establish a higher 
minimum wage requirement than that established in 
this Act. 
SEC. 3. MINIMUM WAGE. 
Section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 
(29 U.S.C. 206) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(1)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub-
paragraph (B); 
(B) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub-
paragraph (C); and 
(C) by inserting at the end the following: 
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‘‘(D) not less than the amount determined 
by the Secretary under subsection (b), begin-
ning September 1, 2012;’’; and 
(2) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub-
section (c) and inserting after subsection (a) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(b)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), not later than June 
1, 2012, and once every 4 years thereafter, the Secretary 
shall determine the minimum wage rate applicable under 
subsection (a)(1) based on the formula described in para-
graph (3). The Secretary shall publish such wage rate in 
the Federal Register not later than October 1 of each year. 
‘‘(2) If the minimum wage rate determined by the 
Secretary under paragraph (1) would result in a lower 
minimum wage rate than the minimum wage rate in effect 
at the time of such determination, the Secretary shall not 
adjust, pursuant to this subsection, the minimum wage 
rate so in effect. 
‘‘(3) The minimum wage rate determined by the Sec-
retary under paragraph (1) shall be the minimum hourly 
wage sufficient for a person working for such wage for 
40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year, to earn an annual 
income in an amount that is 15 percent higher than the 
Federal poverty threshold for a family of 2, with one child 
under the age of 18, and living in any of the 48 contiguous 
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States, as published by the Bureau of the Census for the 
year in which the wage rate is being so determined.’’. 
Æ 
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