BY WESLEY P. HESTER

Outgoing U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., is co-sponsoring legislation that would raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $9.80 over two years.

The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2012 would also index the minimum wage to inflation to keep up with future cost-of-living increases.

“Lower income workers continue to get squeezed by stagnant wages and rising cost of living,” Webb said. “In the age of globalization and outsourcing, the average American worker is seeing a different life and a troubling future. While corporate profits are at an all-time high, wages and salaries are at an all-time low as a percentage of GDP. Raising the minimum wage is an important step toward addressing this disparity.”

The bill’s chief sponsor is Democratic Iowa Sen. Thomas Harkin. There are more than a dozen co-sponsors.

Webb was also a co-sponsor of The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, which established the first federal minimum wage increase in a decade.