New Mexico's two Democratic senators are throwing their support behind legislation that would raise the federal minimum wage to $12 by 2020.
Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich said Wednesday that if the legislation were to pass and be signed into law, nearly 38 million workers would see an increase in wages.
Introduced by Democrats last week, the bill would raise the minimum wage for tipped workers and index the federal minimum wage to the national median wage.
Many states and cities have already acted on their own to raise wages. But critics say some businesses have trouble affording higher wages without raising prices.
Udall and Heinrich argue that raising the wage would put more money in the pockets of New Mexican families and that in turn would boost local economies.
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