Congresswoman Kathy Castor today urged her colleagues to throw a lifeline to hard-working American men and women by voting to increase the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour.

“It is no secret that health care costs more these days,” said Castor. “So does paying the rent or mortgage insurance. Wages just have not kept up. In a country where the average CEO earns more before lunchtime than a minimum wage worker earns all year, this Congress must take action.”

The increase in the minimum wage will help women in particular, who comprise nearly two-thirds of all minimum wage workers. Many serve in the lowest paying jobs in our hometowns, as child care workers, food servers, and cashiers. Many are women of color in our most impoverished communities, struggling to make ends meet, bringing home just $10,712 a year

“Imagine trying to stretch $10,000 over an entire year, while trying to feed, house, clothe and pay for health care for yourself and your family, not to mention the many little crisis that occur as part of life that can wreck carefully planned budgets,” Castor said. “We can and must do better for our neighbors back home.

The voters of Florida recently raised the minimum wage to $6.40 an hour, but even that increase does little to help those living at or on the brink of poverty. The $7.25 wage will increase the wages of over half a million Floridians.

In district 11 alone, over 40 percent of residents live in poverty, according to the United Way of Tampa Bay. The children in our neighborhoods will be the direct beneficiaries of this increase to their parents’ income. They will now bring home an additional $4,400, equivalent to 15 months of groceries or two years of health care, enabling them to keep up with the rising cost of living.

Minimum wage is at its lowest level in 50 years. This bill is an important first step toward improved economic security for 1.4 million mostly female and minority single parents in our neighborhoods.

“American workers are long overdue for a raise,” Castor said. “Let’s act in a bipartisan way to improve the lives of women and families in our communities who are in desperate need of a helping hand.”