U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand denounced a failed cloture vote on the topic of raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. The vote fell six votes short of breaking a filibuster.

“It is simply unacceptable that a single parent working a full 40 hours a week to support a family still has to live in poverty," she said. "America is a place where hard work is supposed to be rewarded, where anyone can earn their way ahead in our economy. But today, Senate obstruction denied an opportunity to raise the minimum wage to a level that can give millions of hardworking Americans a chance at some basic economic security. Hardworking Americans deserve better. They deserve a fair shot to succeed in our economy.”

Gillibrand is an original cosponsor of and has worked hard to pass the Minimum Wage Fairness Act, the bill that was essentially defeated by the failed cloture vote. A cloture vote is a call the end discussion on a topic and bring the topic itself to a vote. It must have 60 votes to pass. Today's had 54.

The federal minimum wage was last increased in 2009.

Gillibrand says that studies have shown that raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour over three years would increase wages for 1.6 million New Yorkers, including an estimated 856,000 women; boost New York State’s GDP by $656.8 million; support the creation of 3,100 New York jobs; and lift nearly 210,000 New Yorkers out of poverty.

Opponents of raising the minimum wage say that it will only lead to inflation and actually end in higher unemployment because small and big businesses alike will not be able to afford the extra cost of employee salaries.

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