The top Senate Democrats are working out a plan to penalize big companies that don’t have a minimum wage of $ 15 an hour, two sources confirmed to The Hill.
Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee Ron Wyden
Ronald (Ron), Lee WydenHouse Democrats, reject COVID-19 .9T relief bill with rising minimum wage House expects narrow vote on COVID-19 relief package On The Money: Democrats fight to save a rise in the minimum wage Personal income increases, inflation remains low after the stimulus explodes MORE (D-Ore.) And president of the budget Bernie Sanders
Bernie SandersHouse Democrats pass COVID-19 .9T relief bill with rising minimum wage The House expects a narrow vote on the COVID-19 relief package On The Money: Democrats Struggle to Save a Rise of the minimum wage Personal income increases, inflation remains low after the stimulus explodes MORE (I-Vt.) They drew up their “Plan B” after the parliamentarian ruled that a direct increase in the minimum wage to $ 15 per hour did not meet the arcane rules of the budget governing what can be included in the bill. coronavirus relief.
According to the backup plan, outlined Friday by Wyden, large corporations would receive a 5 percent tax penalty if they paid workers less than a certain amount, with the amount increasing over time. Democrats were also looking to give tax incentives to small businesses to raise their salaries.
But Democrats have stopped working hard, with a family source telling The Hill that there was concern that working out the details could slow the overall coronavirus bill. Democrats want to get the bill President Biden
Joe BidenNoem announces response to South Dakota coronavirus, blocks CPAC speech On The Trail: Cuomo and Newsom: A story of two conflicting governors, Biden celebrates vaccine approval, but warns that “current improvement could reverse “MOREat the counter before the unemployment benefit expires in a matter of weeks.
“We worked over the weekend and it became clear that completing‘ plan B ’with the caucus would slow the pace and run the risk of going over the unemployment benefit cliff on March 14,” he said the source.
A source close to Sanders confirmed that he was also not making any progress in offering the idea as an amendment to the coronavirus bill, which he initially promised to do on Thursday night.
“He is engaged in raising the minimum age to $ 15 per hour and is working on strategies to achieve this,” the source added.
The decision, which was first published by The Washington Post, is the latest setback for progressives, who hoped to use the coronavirus relief bill to raise the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour.
The House passed sweeping $ 1.9 trillion legislation over the weekend with the minimum wage hike included. But because of the MP’s decision, and neither the White House nor key Democrats willing to ignore that advice, the language is expected to be removed this week when the Senate passes Bill COVID-19.
Even if the MP had ruled on the minimum wage of $ 15 an hour, he would probably have faced changes in the Senate because the proposal does not have the support of 50 Democratic senators. Sen. Joe Manchin
Joseph (Joe) ManchinProgressives smokes by Senate setbacks Politics, not racism or sexism, explain opposition to Biden House cabinet candidates Democrats in House approve 9Q COVID-19 bill with rise of the minimum wage (DW.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) Have expressed opposition and there have been ongoing talks between a wider group about things like prone workers and how to structure themselves on the rise.
Neither Manchin nor Sinema had publicly weighed in on the backup plan, but the White House gave “Plan B” a public reception.
“Our focus will be on the urgent priority of overcoming this package and delivering the much-needed relief: $ 1,400 bailout for most Americans, funding to control this virus, help reopen our schools, and help needed for the people who have been hardest hit by this crisis, “a spokesman said on Friday.