Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Says he is optimistic about the Democrats’ chances of enacting a minimum wage hike in the coronavirus stimulus bill, despite at least two Democrats having expressed opposition.
“We feel very good. We think we have a good chance,” Sanders, chairman of the Senate Budgets Committee, said at the Capitol on Friday. ‘We have millions of workers who work for starvation wages. We need to raise the minimum wage to a living wage of $ 15 an hour and that’s what the American people want and that’s what I intend. ‘
Moderate democratic sens. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., Have both said they are against including the $ 15 minimum wage in the stimulus package.
“What’s important is whether it is directly related to Covid assistance in the short term. And if it isn’t, then I’m not going to support it in this legislation,” Sinema told Politico in an interview published Friday.
US Senator Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., Cheers during former President Trump’s State of the Union speech at the Capitol Building in Washington, Feb. 4, 2020 (Getty Images)
SERIOUS RIPS THE $ 15 MINIMUM WAGE Hike AS A “ PROGRESSIVE DREAM ” SOLVING MORE THAN A MILLION JOBS
Democrats barely hold a majority in the Senate – 50-50 while Vice President Kamala Harris cuts ties – meaning any Democratic defection could spell disaster for the chances of a pay rise. (Only 48 senators are actually Democrats. But two independents – Sanders and Senator Angus King, I-Maine – confer with the Democrats.)
US Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Talk to Reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. (Associated Press)
Republicans have criticized raising the minimum wage – especially during the pandemic, when so many small businesses are struggling.
DEMS ON HOME COMMITTEE APPROVES $ 15 MINIMUMLON IN STIMULUS PACKAGE, DESPITE CBO WARNING 1.4 Million RISKS
The independent Congressional Budget Office said a $ 15 minimum wage would likely increase the wages of about 27 million workers, but also cost about $ 1.4 million workers their jobs as business owners cut back to pay their workers more.
Under the Democrats’ proposal, the pay rise would be phased in until 2025.
The federal minimum wage, which stands at $ 7.25, hasn’t been raised since 2009, although many states have higher minimum wages.
US Joe Manchin, DW.Va. (Getty Images)
Democrats are trying to pass the measure through reconciliation, which means they only need a simple majority, but that requires it to go through the office of the impartial Senate MP.
Sanders told reporters they are “working very hard” to get the measure through the process.
If the minimum wage hike doesn’t stay in the stimulus package, Democrats will likely introduce a standalone law, The Wall Street Journal reported.
A minimum wage of $ 15 has been a goal of Sanders and other progressives for years.
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Late last month, when he introduced the Raise the Wage Act of 2021, he said, “No one in America can make it on $ 8, $ 10 or $ 12 an hour. In the United States of America, a job should lift workers out of poverty. don’t keep them in there, “USA Today reported.