U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, running for the Democratic nomination to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., doubled down Wednesday on his support for raising the minimum wage, drawing fire from the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF).
“What helps workers, businesses, and the economy as a whole?” Murphy asked on Wednesday. “Raising the minimum wage. That's why I'm sponsoring the Raise the Wage Act in the House. The Raise the Wage Act would raise the federal minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2020, and it would benefit more than 2.2 million Floridians.
“This is the right approach to growing our economy,” Murphy insisted. “Here's why I support this measure: It's proven. Increasing the household income for working families means they have more money to spend at local businesses -- and more money to support their families. Americans support raising the minimum wage.”
Last month, Murphy doubled down on his efforts to woo liberals. This week he joined U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., in bringing out the Raise the Wage Act, which would increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $8 in 2016 and increase it by a dollar each year until it reaches $12 an hour -- and containing a provision in 2021 to automatically raise it each year based on the median wage. President Barack Obama proposed raising the minimum wage to $10.10 last year. Murphy has been calling for a higher minimum wage and voted for Obama's $10.10 proposal.
The RPOF fired back at the Democratic Senate candidate, insisting Murphy‘s proposal would hurt the economy.
“Patrick Murphy’s idea for raising the minimum wage does not help hard-working families and individuals," said Wadi Gaitan, a spokesman for the RPOF. "Rather, it would cost the economy up to 1 million jobs and hurt the most vulnerable. If Murphy was truly concerned he would focus on common-sense, bipartisan solutions that grow our economy and create better-paying jobs.”
U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., has also left the door open to running for the Senate. A St. Leo University poll released on Wednesday shows Murphy slightly ahead of Grayson but a plurality of Democrats remain undecided.
Grayson has been an active proponent of raising the minimum wage, sponsoring a bill to raise it to $10.50 back in 2013 and continuing to champion a higher minimum wage since then.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
