Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today released the following statement on the announcement by San Francisco-based Gap that it will raise the minimum hourly wage for its U.S. employees:

“I want to congratulate the leadership of Gap for raising the minimum hourly wage for its employees to $9 in 2014 and $10 in 2015. I understand that 65,000 employees will benefit from this decision.

“The economic pressures facing America’s workers are severe and growing. I have spoken to women in Los Angeles with two children who work two minimum wage jobs just to rent an apartment and put food on the table—and yet still remain at or below the poverty line. This income inequality threatens to undermine the fundamental fairness and stability of our economy and will impact future generations.

“The fastest way to reverse these inequities is to raise the minimum wage. I call on Congress to follow the example of California and companies like Gap and do the right thing: increase the minimum wage for all workers across the country.”

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