Democrats cannot include a $ 15.9-hour minimum wage in the $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, a Senate official ruled Thursday that derailed a party priority and a million-dollar increase for now. of Americans.
Senate MP Elizabeth MacDonough determined that lawmakers could not include politics under budget conciliation, CNBC confirmed. She and her staff heard arguments from Democrats and Republicans about whether the proposal met strict standards for the deficit effects needed to include it in the process.
Reconciliation allows the Senate to pass bills with a simple majority, in this case without Republicans who are wary of another massive bailout package. However, Democrats faced challenges in approving the pay rise regardless of whether chamber rules allowed it in legislation.
House Democrats included the $ 15-per-hour minimum wage in the bailout bill they plan to pass Friday. It is now unclear whether House leaders will amend their plan before approving it and sending it to the Senate.
A protester attends a rally organized by fast food workers and supporters to celebrate the order of the California labor commissioner for the company to hire and compensate workers who went on strike for protections against coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Los Angeles, California, on February 18th. 2021.
Lucy Nicholson | Reuters
“We are deeply disappointed with this decision,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y. “We will not give up the fight to raise the minimum wage to $ 15 to help millions of troubled American workers and their families. The American people deserve it, and we are committed to making it a reality.”
The bill would raise the federal wage cap to the 2025 threshold and then index future inflation hikes. 900,000 people would be lifted out of poverty, but it would cost 1.4 million jobs, according to the Congressional Budget Office earlier this month.
The proposal would give an increase of up to 27 million people, the OBC said.
Democrats consider a minimum wage hike, halted at $ 7.25 an hour since 2009, while controlling both houses of Congress and the White House. But as Republicans question whether a $ 15 salary would make it difficult for small businesses in parts of the country, politics will not get 60 votes in a Senate division between 50 and 50 per party.
Senate Budget Committee ranking member Lindsey Graham, RS.C., cheered on MacDonough’s decision Thursday.
“Very pleased, the Senate MP has ruled that an increase in the minimum wage is an inappropriate policy change in reconciliation. This decision reinforces the reconciliation that cannot be used as a vehicle to pass a major legislative change – by any of the parties – with a simple majority of votes, “he said in a statement.
Republican Sen. Mitt Romney and Tom Cotton offered a GOP-style response to the minimum wage push, proposing a plan that would raise the wage to $ 10 an hour and put restrictions on hiring undocumented immigrants. Arkansas, the state Cotton represents, has a minimum wage of $ 11.
Democratic leaders will reject the framework proposed by Romney and Cotton.
Democrat Sensor Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona opposed a minimum wage of $ 15 per hour. Manchin said he supported $ 11 an hour.
The ruling removes the biggest remaining point of contention among Senate Democrats when they try to approve the aid package before March 14, when unemployment aid programs expire.
– CNBC’s Ylan Mui contributed to this report
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