- Senator Kyrsten Sinema became the second Democratic senator to oppose the $ 15 minimum raise.
- Sinema said it is not an appropriate provision for Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion bailout package.
- The opposition of Sinema and Joe Manchin may end up preventing the wage increase for now.
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A second Democratic senator opposed the inclusion of a $ 15 minimum wage in President Joe Biden’s aid package, possibly delivering a major blow to the proposed salary increase.
“What is important is whether or not it is directly related to Covid’s short-term relief. And if it is not, then I will not support you in this legislation,” Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona told Politico in an interview published Friday. -market. “The provision of the minimum wage is not appropriate for the reconciliation process.”
She continued, “It’s not a budget item. And it shouldn’t be there.”
Sinema, a moderate, is not alone among Democrats in their resistance to the $ 15 salary increase. Senator Joe Manchin told reporters last week that he was in favor of a smaller increase to $ 11, saying “he is responsible it’s reasonable”.
The $ 15 minimum wage increase is just one component of Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion federal bailout package. It also includes $ 1,400 in direct payments, $ 400 in federal unemployment benefits, assistance to state and local governments and $ 160 billion in funds for vaccine distribution and virus testing, among other measures.
But the wage provision has been a lightning rod for criticism among Republicans and some Democrats. Republicans argue that rising wages will cost jobs during an economic crisis. But the provision is defended by Senator Bernie Sanders as a critical measure to increase underpaid hourly wages.
The Vermont senator told Insider this week that it would be “a reconciliation if I had anything to say about it – the only way we can get it approved”. Under the plan, wages would be gradually increased from $ 7.25 an hour to $ 15 over five years.
But opposition from two Democratic senators may end up rejecting it for now. Democrats are using a legislative maneuver with strict rules called reconciliation to approve the bailout package with a simple 51-vote majority in the Senate. Vice President Kamala Harris is the tiebreaker in the equally divided chamber.
This means that every Democratic senator must support the bailout plan, or else legislative pressure fails. It is also unclear whether the salary increase will end up unblocking the strict budgetary guidelines interpreted by the Senate parliamentarian.
Even if it doesn’t, ignoring the parliamentarian to include the measure in legislation – a possible option – risks further fracturing Senate Democrats, as they are trying to act quickly and approve Biden’s package in early March. .
“We are feeling great,” Sanders told Capitol reporters on Friday. “We think we have a good chance, we are working hard to get the minimum wage in the parliamentarian’s office.”
Sanders did not answer Insider’s questions when asked whether Democrats should replace the Senate MP. Manchin told Insider “without comment” when asked about the inclusion of the salary increase in the aid package.
Biden said recently that he does not think the salary increase would survive the reconciliation process. Instead, the president said he was ready for a separate legislative push for a $ 15 minimum wage.
“We are kind of right in the middle of sausage making and legislation,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Friday. “We will see where it ends on the other side, but the president remains committed to raising the minimum wage.”
Sanders seemed to reject the idea earlier this week, telling Insider: “There are no Republican votes for a $ 15 minimum wage.”