Obama urges Congress to raise the minimum wage

President Barack Obama gives his State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday Jan. 28, 2014, as Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, listen. AP

WASHINGTON – US President Barack Obama urged Congress on Tuesday to raise the federal minimum wage, challenging legislators to help reverse deepening income disparity across the country.

“Give America a raise,” Obama told Congress in his State of the Union speech, urging support for a proposed bill that would hike the base rate nearly 40 percent.