Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal, chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told CNN’s Dana Bash on ‘State of the Union’ that raising the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour ‘is absolutely essential and I believe the Senate will do it’ . ‘ California representative Ro Khanna, meanwhile, defended the pay rise as a “very reasonable” increase in an interview with CNN’s “Inside Politics” earlier Sunday morning.
Some congressional Democrats doubt whether the provision will be allowed under the protective rails of reconciliation, a budget process that requires each provision to comply with a strict set of rules, while a handful of moderate members have made it clear privately and in public statements that they do not support legislation that includes it.
“I know there are questions about whether the Senate can do it. But I can tell you, Dana, this minimum wage increase of $ 15 would mean that 30 million Americans would get an increase. A million Americans would come out of poverty, “30% of the minimum wage is black; 25% is Latinx,” Jayapal told Bash.
The congresswoman added that she spoke “fairly regularly” with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, as well as Nancy Pelosi and the White House, about the proposal. Sanders, who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, remained confident that the provision did not violate the Byrd rule, which keeps ‘strange’ measures out of the budget.
Senate MP Elizabeth MacDonough, who applies the Byrd rule, has yet to determine whether the minimum wage measure is within the rules of reconciliation. Senators can challenge the parliamentarian’s decisions and vote to abstain from the Byrd rule, but they will need a 60-vote majority to do so.
CNN reported earlier that the MP was “stoic” during a meeting with Democratic collaborators this week on whether the provision of minimum wage through reconciliation would be permissible, and according to her confidence of a Democratic assistant not to her side either way not.
Asked on Sunday whether she would support the Covid-19 assistance package without the minimum wage increase in the package, Jayapal said she thinks it will be included.
“I think it’s going to be taken up, so I do not think we’ll have to make the decision, and I think we’ll have to fight hard for it,” she said.
Khanna told Abby Phillip, CNN, that he intends to vote for the final relief package, but argued that it is always progressive Democrats who are asked to compromise.
“I will vote for the final package. But my question is: why are the moderates not asked this question? Why do they not sometimes have to compromise?” he said. “I mean, I’ve voted for every CARES package in Congress so far. And there have been many times that there have been provisions that I did not like … Now, my question is, why not have the same question for the moderates? “Maybe they do not agree with the minimum wage, but the overwhelming Americans agree with it. So they can vote for the final package, even if they do not agree with some of the terms.”
The minimum wage portion of the Covid-19 emergency relief package has been a point of contention from the outset. Sanders and progressive Democrats believe this is necessary and that they could have delivered an important legal victory early in the Biden government. But Republicans are strongly opposed to its inclusion, and if included in the final package, it will destroy any hope of dual support for the plan.
Biden has said on several occasions that although he supports a minimum wage of $ 15, he is skeptical that it can be passed on through reconciliation, and two moderate Democrats, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Cinema of Arizona, have made it clear that they will not support the final agreement. if the minimum wage increase forms part of it.
This story was updated on Sunday with additional details.
CNN’s Jeremy Herb, Ryan Nobles, Veronica Stracqualursi, Phil Mattingly, Lauren Fox, Tami Luhby and Manu Raju contributed to this report.