First District Congressman Doug LaMalfa has voted against HR 582, the “Raise the Wage” Act. This bill would raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $15.00 an hour. LaMalfa said increasing the minimum wage would be very harmful, leading to loss of jobs and increasing costs. He also said it would force many small businesses to close and cause larger businesses to scale back employees hours or eliminate many jobs altogether.