Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) Told Politico in an interview that she is not in favor of raising the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour as part of the $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package that Congress is considering.
Why it matters: The opposition to the $ 15 minimum wage of Sinema and Senator Joe Manchin (DW.Va.) – another moderate Democrat who has tremendous influence in a 50-50 senate – is a major blow to President Biden’s hopes to through budget reconciliation. allowing the Senate to bypass the usual 60-vote threshold.
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Said the $ 15 minimum wage provision will be on the house bill she plans to send to the Senate in the next two weeks.
- But Biden himself acknowledged this week that the main campaign promise is unlikely to make it to the last bailout package passed by Congress. He said he would push for it in a standalone bill.
What they say: “What’s important is whether it is directly related to short-term COVID lighting. And if that is not the case, then I am not going to support it in this legislation ”, Sinema told Politico. “The minimum wage is not suitable for the reconciliation process. It is not a budget item. And it shouldn’t be there. “
The big picture: Sinema, like Manchin, is against the scrapping of the 60-vote legislative filibuster to meet major progressive priorities. “I want to restore the 60-vote threshold for all elements of the Senate’s work,” the 44-year-old Arizona senator told Politico.
Go deeper: CBO says the $ 15 minimum wage would raise unemployment but lift 900,000 out of poverty