President Barack Obama will act to raise the minimum wage for federal contractors from $7.25 to $10.10, fulfilling a big wish for liberals, the White House announced.
The executive order to be announced at Tuesday’s State of the Union address would cover only the fraction of 2 million federal contractors making the minimum wage.
The president will also renew his call for Congress to raise the minimum wage for all workers to $10.10 via a bill from Democrats Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa and Rep. George Miller of California that would then tie it to the rate of inflation.
Surveys released this month by CBS News, Quinnipiac University and the Pew Research Center/USA Today found that three-quarters of Americans support a minimum wage hike.
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) called the proposal a “constitutional violation.”