The battle to maintain a minimum wage increase in President biden
Joe Biden Winter storm hits southern USA. Biden writes a Valentine’s Day post for Biden’s wife plans to focus on coronavirus at the first G7 meetingThe COVID-19 aid package is heating up, with key players on both sides of the issue preparing for the fight.
The debate threatens to create deep divisions among Democrats as they move forward with an economic rescue package without the support of the Republican Party.
External groups are also putting pressure on progressive and moderate Democrats to raise the rate from $ 7.25, where it has been since 2009, to $ 15 an hour.
Here are the main protagonists in the fight for the minimum wage.
Sen. Bernie Sanders
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Sanders, one of the biggest advocates of raising the minimum wage, is swearing that the final version of the coronavirus relief package will include a fee increase to $ 15.
The bailout package will be the result of a budget reconciliation process that bypasses the 60-vote limit for legislation, meaning that Democrats can pass the measure if everyone stays together.
“It will be a reconciliation if I have anything to say about it. The only way to get it approved – we are not going to get the 60 votes we need – the only way to do that with 50 votes is through reconciliation, ”he said last week.
The reconciliation process gives Sanders a great deal of power from his position as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee.
The Vermont senator is the author of the Raise the Wage Act, which would gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour by 2025.
Sen. Joe Manchin
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Manchin, a decisive center vote, said he opposes a national wage increase to $ 15 an hour.
Instead, the West Virginia Democrat suggested supporting a smaller increase, noting that $ 11 an hour would be more appropriate for his home state.
Manchin’s opposition can be problematic for Democrats, who need each senator in his 50-member caucus to support a COVID-19 relief plan that is in line with Biden’s proposal, which includes the $ 15 salary, the in order to make the package cross the finish line without any GOP support.
This is increasing the chances that the device will need to be discarded for the rest of the legislation to be approved.
President biden
Biden included the $ 15 salary increase in his $ 1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, but recently said the text may have to be abandoned.
“I did, but I don’t think it will survive,” Biden told CBS News earlier this month, citing the Senate’s onerous rules on budget reconciliation.
“But I think we should have a minimum wage alone, $ 15 an hour,” he added.
Biden said he is prepared to negotiate separately raising the minimum wage, an approach that could win over some moderate Democrats.
AFL-CIO
The AFL-CIO, a key constituent for Democrats, has been one of the loudest groups calling for a $ 15 minimum wage.
The labor organization is maintaining pressure on Congress to deliver results, with President Richard Trumka broadcasting cable news to publicize the benefits of a pay rise.
“In fact, it would help millions of workers out there now,” he recently told CNBC.
Trumka added that the economy would also benefit because these workers would increase consumer demand and, in turn, create new jobs.
“Workers have waited long enough. This delayed increase will boost the economy, reduce poverty and ensure that working families have the basic economic security we deserve. Whatever it takes, our members expect Congress to do that, ”Bill Samuel, AFL-CIO’s director of government affairs, told The Hill last week.
US Chamber of Commerce
The House, a powerful pro-business lobby group, has defended against raising the minimum wage, emphasizing that the COVID-19 aid package should be more targeted at those most affected by the pandemic.
“No, we do not support a minimum wage of US $ 15 and we hope that this is not in the final package. This must be a package that aims to help American families now. This should be about a package that is getting targeted, temporary, and timely relief for the people who are suffering the most, ”said new CEO Suzanne Clark at Fox Business last week.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said this month that raising the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour by 2025 would lead to the loss of 1.4 million jobs, while adding $ 54 billion to the budget deficit in 10 years. . But it would also lift 900,000 people out of poverty.
“The CBO report confirms that a $ 15 minimum wage would result in significant job losses,” Glenn Spencer, senior vice president of the House’s Employment Policy Division, told The Hill. “We look forward to working with Congress on independent legislation that will provide a fair and reasonable increase in the minimum wage.”
Sen. Chris Coons
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Coons, a close ally of Biden, did not co-sponsor the Sanders Salary Increase Act, but he also did not explicitly say that he would oppose the inclusion of the $ 15 clause in the final coronavirus aid bill.
The Delaware senator will be closely monitored by opponents and proponents, in part because of his close ties to Biden, with many hoping he will help keep the White House’s priorities intact as Congress moves toward final approval.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.)
Sinema is another Democrat who can create headaches for party members who are in favor of a pay rise sooner or later.
Sinema said recently that the salary increase should not be included in the coronavirus relief package.
“The provision of the minimum wage is not adequate for the conciliation process. It is not a budget item. And it shouldn’t be there, ”said the Arizona Democrat Political this week.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer
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Schumer, co-sponsor of the Raise the Wage Act, said he is working to see if it is possible to pass Sanders’ bill in the COVID-19 relief plan.
On Tuesday, Schumer said the Democrats “are trying to work the best we can with the congressman to get the minimum wage. That’s all I’m going to say. “
For the Democrats’ COVID-19 relief plan to be approved by reconciliation, all proposals in the final bill must be directly related to the budget so that it can be approved by a simple majority.
The relief bill is quickly becoming the first major test of Schumer’s ability to hold his caucus together.
Senate Parliamentarian
Elizabeth MacDonough, the Senate MP, will play a decisive role in determining whether the minimum wage increase can be approved as part of the budget reconciliation process.
The main obstacle for Democrats who support raising the minimum wage is whether its inclusion is in line with Byrd’s rule. The rule details the requirements to protect legislation that can be passed in the reconciliation process.
MacDonough will soon find himself in an unenviable position, which led to the dismissal of one of his predecessors. In 2001, during the debate over tax cuts proposed by former President George W. Bush, the then Senate majority leader, Trent Lott (R-Miss.), Removed the MP after a dispute over whether the plan qualified. for reconciliation.