There's a renewed effort to raise the minimum wage for the lowest-paid workers in Pennsylvania, both on a state and national level.

First, there's the push in Washington, D.C., as Democrats control Congress and the White House. President Joe Biden wants a $15 an hour minimum wage by 2025, although he recently said it appears unlikely to survive negotiations over a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.

And, in Pennsylvania, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf is again urging the GOP-controlled legislature to raise the minimum wage, saying the disruption from the coronavirus makes it even more important to increase pay for essential workers.

THE CONTEXT: Pennsylvania is one of 21 states where the minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. All of our neighbors have higher rates, ranging from $8.75 an hour in West Virginia to at least $12.50 an hour in New York. The rate in Pennsylvania hasn't changed since 2009.

Wolf has tried to raise the minimum wage every year since taking office. The closest he came was in 2019 when the Republican-controlled state Senate approved a gradual increase to $9.50 an hour by 2022. But Republicans who control the House never brought that bill up for a vote.

The governor's latest proposal, made as part of his budget plan, would raise the minimum wage to $12 an hour on July 1, gradually increase the rate by 50 cents each year, and reach $15 an hour on July 1, 2027.

Nationally, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025 would raise income for at least 17 million people, but also cost about 1.4 million workers their jobs.

During a news conference Tuesday, Wolf fielded multiple questions about the impact on small shops and the possibility of layoffs. The governor disputed that raising the minimum wage does lead to job losses, but said, even if it does, people need to consider other factors. Minimum wage workers will have more money to spend at Pennsylvania businesses and restaurants, Wolf said, and taxpayers will spend less money on food assistance and health care for low-wage workers.

"If you're making $7.25 an hour, you're taking advantage of a lot of taxpayer-funded programs," Wolf said.

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