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According to several members of the Senate Democratic caucus President Obama is considering using an executive order to raise the minimum wage for federal contractors.

The Hill reported,

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President Obama is considering using his executive authority to raise the minimum wage for federal contractors, he told Senate Democrats during a closed meeting at the White House.

Lawmakers present at the Wednesday night session said Thursday that Obama did not bring up the matter himself, but appeared receptive to the idea when questioned on the topic.

“The issue was raised,” Sen. Barbra Boxer (D-Calif.) said Thursday. “He said he was looking at it, as he looks at everything else.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who was also in attendance, offered a similar account and said he has heard from members of the president’s staff that he is seriously considering executive action on the measure.

Most federal contractors make more than minimum wage, so the idea is to stake out the Democratic position in order to pressure Republicans into supporting an increase in the minimum wage for all workers.

A group of 75 economists recently sent a letter to President Obama that supported a minimum wage increase. They argued that increasing the minimum wage would not have a negative effect on employers, “In recent years there have been important developments in the academic literature on the effect of increases in the minimum wage on employment, with the weight of evidence now showing that increases in the minimum wage have had little or no negative effect on the employment of minimum-wage workers, even during times of weakness in the labor market. Research suggests that a minimum-wage increase could have a small stimulative effect on the economy as low-wage workers spend their additional earnings, raising demand and job growth, and providing some help on the jobs front.”

It is not a matter of if President Obama is going to raise the minimum wage for federal contractors, but when. Politically, it is most likely that he will take this step once the Harkin bill to raise the minimum wage is on the Senate floor. Democrats are going to make raising minimum wage a key issue in 2014 and beyond. The minimum wage is a great issue for Democrats, so they aren’t going to give it up even if the Harkin bill doesn’t pass.

The minimum wage issue puts the topic of income inequality in terms that every American can understand. People understand fairness. Republicans are on the wrong side of the minimum wage issue, and Obama’s executive order will likely be one of the first steps in making Republicans pay a steep political price for opposing raising the minimum wage.