Biden’s minimum wage push faces uphill battle with IDP

Elected President Joe BidenJoe Biden Fear of intruders calls for additional FBI investigation into National Guard troops: AP Iran condemns US businessman on espionage charge: reports DC, state capitals see few problems, heavy security amid protest concerns MOREThe proposal to increase the minimum wage to $ 15 per hour is an early source of biased division in its broader COVID-19 assistance plan.

Biden received honors from progressives for including a policy to raise the federal minimum wage for the first time in more than a decade, in his $ 1.9 billion relief package launched Thursday.

But some lawmakers on the other side of the aisle were quick to criticize the component of his plan, arguing that it would hamper the recovery, rather than help it.

“Forcing a minimum wage of $ 15 into a coronavirus bill will do nothing but shut down the millions of small businesses that are already life-supporting and will force those who survive to lay off employees,” he said. het Sen. Tim ScottTimothy (Tim) Eugene Scott Harris resigned Monday from Senate McConnell says he will not decide whether he will vote to condemn Trump. McConnell will not repeat the role as Trump’s main defender. (RS.C.).

Pennsylvania Sen. Pat ToomeyPatrick (Pat) Joseph Toomey’s government used the Patriot Act to collect visitor files on the site in 2019. The Court of Appeals ruled that the NSA’s collection of telephone data illegally withdraws Dunford from the chair of the Coronavirus surveillance panel. (R), which does not want re-election, said COVID-19 relief should focus on expanding vaccinations and not raising the minimum wage.

“If the federal government requires a universal minimum wage of $ 15, many low-income Americans will lose their current jobs and find fewer jobs in the future,” he said.

Biden, who set a goal to pass the dual-aid relief package, appeared to anticipate the ensuing GOP setback by noting Thursday that raising the minimum wage is popular, even in red states.

“People tell me it’s going to be hard to succeed. “Florida just passed it on, as divided as the state, they just passed it,” he said.

President TrumpDonald Trump Iran accuses US businessman of espionage charges: reports DC, state capitals see few issues, heavy security amid concerns over pardon Pardon seekers pay Trump allies tens of thousands to lobby president: NYT MORE Florida has won the past two elections, and the state has a Republican governor and two GOP senators.

However, voters in the Sunshine State approved a voting initiative in November to raise the minimum wage to $ 15.

“The rest of the country is also ready to move,” Biden said.

Twenty states and numerous communities raised their own minimum wage rates on January 1st.

Nationwide poll indicates broad support for a minimum wage of $ 15. A Pew poll in 2019 found that 67 percent of Americans supported a rate of $ 15, while a more recent Ipsos poll from August showed that 72 percent of respondents increased the minimum wage by a certain amount, including 62 percent of Republicans.

But getting ten Republicans from the Senate to support Biden’s COVID-19 proposal and avoid a GOP filibuster is likely to be challenging.

Moderates like Sens. Susan CollinsSusan Margaret Collins Arrest tests Trump’s grip on Senate GOP ‘Almost Heaven, West Virginia’ – Joe Manchin and a 50-50 Senate McConnell are teaching Trump more about political power for the last time (R-Maine), Lisa MurkowskiLisa Ann Murkowski Democratic lawmaker says ‘assassination party’ hunted on Pelosi during riots. The indictment hears Trump’s grip on Senate GOP ‘Almost Heaven, West Virginia’ – Joe Manchin and a 50-50 Senate MORE (R-Alaska) and Mitt RomneyWillard (Mitt) Mitt Romney’s arrest tests Trump’s grip on Senate GOP ‘Almost Heaven, West Virginia’ – Joe Manchin and a 50-50 Senate The Hill’s Morning Report – Biden asks Congress for the biggest aid response in US history to expand (R-Utah) did not respond to requests for comment from The Hill.

A bill in 2019 that would have gradually raised the minimum wage until it reached $ 15 in 2025 was never raised by the Senate majority leader. Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellGraham calls on Schumer to hold the vote to reject the article of accusation against Trump Rove: the chance of conviction increases if Giuliani represents Trump in the Senate indictment. (R-Ky.).

Sen. Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth WarrenBiden wants to use Rohit Chopra to lead CFPB, Gensler for SEC chairman: reports Biden tax increase proposals face bumpy road ahead. Porter loses seat in the House panel overseeing the financial sector. (D-Mass.), A progressive who praised Biden’s proposal, said Democrats should use legislative solutions if enough Republicans do not come on board.

“Let us be clear: if Republicans want to drag their feet while working families struggle, the Democratic majority must use all available legislative tools to enforce it,” did she tweet, an apparent reference to budget reconciliation, a tool that enables Democrats to pass legislation by a simple majority.

But policies that do not have a direct effect on the budget, or are only related to the budget, are prohibited by conciliation legislation, which means that raising the minimum wage is likely to remain subject to an IDP filibuster.

While Democrats can get a large portion of Biden’s COVID-19 package without Republican support through Congress, they will have little choice but to secure GOP votes if they want to raise the minimum wage.

In the House, where Democrats can easily accept their preferential policies even with a slim majority, the opposition to GOP is already clear.

Rep. Jason SmithJason Thomas Smith READ: Republicans Who Vote to Challenge Election Results House IDP raises concerns about Biden’s top cabinet nominees Jason Smith will serve more as a Republican on the House Budget Committee. (Mo.), the top Republican on the Budget Committee, called Biden’s proposal a liberal wish list and decided to add more ‘rules, costs and burdens for small businesses’.

“Using an economic crisis as an excuse to advance an unrelated agenda is the kind of politics that hard-working Americans are tired of,” he said.

A report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on the Democratic minimum wage bill from 2019 states that there are a variety of possible outcomes for jobs, with job losses ranging from about zero to 3.7 million.

In the middle scenario, the economy would have 1.3 million fewer jobs, even if 1.3 million were taken out of poverty. About 17 million people will see their income increase, the CBO estimates.

Conservative groups such as the Job Creators Network say that changes to the tax code are preferable to raising the minimum wage.

“A better approach to helping workers at the grassroots and small businesses is the Biden government’s proposal to expand the earnings-credit line,” the group’s president Alfredo Ortiz said.

This approach, which Biden incorporated as part of its COVID-19 emergency relief plan, places the government on duty to increase the incomes of low-wage workers, rather than businesses.

Brian Gardner, Washington’s chief policy strategist at Stifel Financial Corp., said he expected Biden’s proposal to be broken down by negotiations.

“We view yesterday’s release as a starting bid,” he said, predicting that a final package would offer less than half what Biden had proposed.

Getting an agreement on the minimum wage will be an early test for Biden’s campaign assurance that he will be able to work across the aisle to advance Democratic priorities.

Sen. Chuck GrassleyChuck Grassley Accusation hearing tests Trump’s grip on Senate GOP McConnell on the verge of Trump going to school for last night health care: Biden unveils COVID-19 aid plan | Resurrection after holiday hits new deadly records | Senate reports more than a broken system for insulin price increases (R-Iowa), who until recently chaired the Senate Finance Committee, was skeptical about the package and said “few of the line items in this proposal seem to undermine the bill’s own good intentions,” but also said a bit sounded optimism. .

“I am open to more relief in the face of this crisis, but I will have to examine the proposal more closely and perhaps even see changes before I can offer my full support,” he said.