Top Democrats introduce bill to raise minimum wage to $15 by 2025

• Congress has not increased the federal minimum wage in more than a decade.

The state of play: The bill — sponsored by House Committee on Education and Labor Chair Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and Senate Budget Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), among others — has the support of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

• Sanders championed the policy during his presidential runs in 2016 and 2020. He told The Guardian the policy has a better chance of passing with President Joe Biden in the White House.
• The Democratic-controlled House passed a similar measure in 2019, but then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked it from ever receiving a vote.

Between the lines: Sanders told the Guardian the Senate could pass the measure via budget reconciliation, which would only require the simple majority Democrats have in the Senate.

• “It clearly has to be done by reconciliation," Sanders said. "That’s something I’m working very hard on."

Go deeper: McConnell drops filibuster demand, paving way for power-sharing deal