The Breadth of the Budgetary Effects of the Raise the Wage Act of 2021 Compared with Certain Other Reconciliation Legislation
Report
CBO provides information on the breadth of the budgetary effects of the Raise the Wage Act of 2021 compared with certain other reconciliation legislation the agency has analyzed.
Senator Bernie Sanders asked for information about the breadth of the budgetary effects of the Raise the Wage Act of 2021 (S. 53, as introduced on January 26, 2021) as compared with certain other reconciliation legislation that the Congressional Budget Office has analyzed in the past. The bill would raise the federal minimum wage, in annual increments, to $15 per hour by June 2025 and then adjust it to increase at the same rate as median hourly wages.
As CBO noted in a report published last week, an increase in the minimum wage would have broad economic effects that would, in turn, affect most areas of the budget. The set of budgetary effects incorporated in CBO’s analysis of the bill is therefore more extensive than the set incorporated in most cost estimates.
