Political and Legislative
Senate Drops Proposal That Would Penalize Companies For Not Providing a $15 Minimum Wage
(CNN)Senate Democrats decided Sunday to abandon an alternative proposal to penalize companies for not providing a $15 minimum wage to their employees, the latest indication that boosting the federal minimum wage in this Congress remains an extremely tall order, according to a person involved in the talks.
After the House passed President Joe Biden’s Covid-19 relief bill early Saturday morning — with a provision raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour in stages by 2025 — the bill is expected to hit the Senate floor this week, but without that same provision, which the Senate parliamentarian ruled doesn’t fall within the rules of budget reconciliation, a process that allows Senate Democrats to pass the $1.9 trillion relief plan with just 51 votes.
Senate Democrats had a difficult time crafting the tax provisions in their alternative minimum wage proposal, sources said, so they are looking at other potential avenues to boost the rate. Yet it underscores the dire chances of boosting the wage after the parliamentarian’s ruling.
