The quest for a minimum wage hike has hit another roadblock.
According to the Washington Post, Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled that the provision to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour cannot be included in Joe Biden’s COVID-19 relief bill. The decision marks a significant blow for Democrats who were hoping to pass the policy through budget reconciliation, a fast-track process that allows some bills to be passed with simply majority rather than the 60 votes needed to avoid a filibuster.
House Democrats included the minimum wage increase in their rescue package that is expected to be approved Friday; however, the Senate decision means the provision will likely be scrapped in order to expedite the passage of Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief bill.
“We are deeply disappointed in this decision,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. “We are not going to give up the fight to raise the minimum wage to $15 to help millions of struggling American workers and their families. The American people deserve it, and we are committed to making it a reality.”
Vice President Kamala Harris does have the ability to overrule the parliamentarian, but White House chief of staff Ron Klain recently told MSNBC’s Joy Reid that it was unlikely to happen.
“Certainly, that’s not something we would do,” he said Wednesday. “We’re going to honor the rules of the Senate and work within that system to get this bill passed.”
The federal minimum has remained at $7.25 an hour since 2009.
Progressives have argued that the increase was relevant to the national budget as it would boost the incomes of tens of millions of people and lower the spending social services. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the hike would lift about 900,000 people out of poverty, but could lead to 1.4 million job losses. Republicans have cited the latter as one of their main objections to the minimum wage increase, and have since proposed raising the minimum wage to just $10 an hour.
President Biden previously said he did not think the provision would survive in his relief package, but reassured the public he would support a standalone bill to increase the minimum wage.
“I’m prepared as the president of the United States on a separate negotiation on minimum wage to work my way up from what it is now,” Biden told CBS News earlier this month. “No one should work 40 hours a week and live below the poverty wage and you’re making less than $15 an hour, you’re living below the poverty wage.”
If Democrats do present a standalone bill, it would need to receive Republican support in order to pass, as it would be subject to the 60-vote rule.
