Washington, DC – The national minimum wage will increase from $6.55 per hour to $7.25 per hour tomorrow.  This 70-cent increase is the last of three increases to take effect under the Fair Minimum Wage Act, which the House passed in 2007 to increase the minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour.  Texas is one of 31 states that will be affected by the increase in the national minimum wage.

“More than 600,000 workers in Texas will receive a raise tomorrow,” Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson said.  “Not only will this wage increase benefit minimum wage workers across our state, it will benefit local economies, as workers spend their increased earnings.”

The Economic Policy Institute estimates that the increased purchasing power resulting from raising the minimum wage will boost consumer spending by more than $5.5 billion nationwide over the next year.

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U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson is the highest-ranking Texan on the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure and a senior member of the Science Committee. She represents the 30th Congressional District of Texas, which, includes Downtown Dallas, Fair Park, Oak Lawn, Old East Dallas, Pleasant Grove, & South Oak Cliff; all of Balch Springs, DeSoto, Hutchins, Lancaster & Wilmer and parts of Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Ferris, Glenn Heights and Ovilla.