U.S. Senate Democrats drop minimum wage plan for $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill

[turbinetree]

Source: Reuters

BUSINESS NEWS MARCH 1, 2021 6:06 AM UPDATED AN HOUR AGO

By Susan Cornwell 4 MIN READ

The House of Representatives narrowly approved the bill to fight the pandemic and boost the economy early Saturday. The action now moves to the Senate, where Democrats do not expect much if any Republican help, even though polls indicate a majority of Americans - around 70% - favor the measure.

Over the weekend, top Democrats abandoned a controversial plan to use U.S. tax policy as an incentive for businesses to more than double the minimum wage to $15 per hour, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. The proposal would have complicated Senate passage.

Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris may have to cast a tie-breaking vote in a chamber where Republicans control 50 seats and Democrats and their allies control the other 50. Even this outcome depends on all the Democrats staying united behind the first major bill to come through Congress in the Biden administration.


Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Additional reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Mary Milliken, Nick Zieminski and Chizu Nomiyama




Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-congress/u-s-senate-democrats-drop-minimum-wage-plan-for-1-9-trillion-covid-19-relief-bill-idUSKCN2AT228

[Jose Garcia]

1. Put it up for a vote as a stand-alone bill

Yes, I know that it will be filibustered, but let those who are opposed to it be on the record instead of saying that they were opposed to a pork-laden stimulus bill.

[LiveToLurk]

2. Yep, totally agree:

Get everything else passed asap.

[Demsrule86]

9. It won't make it to the floor...

[Jose Garcia]

10. It will make it to the floor of the House, and Senators would have to vote on cloture

[Demsrule86]

12. And? How does that help us?

[bucolic_frolic]

3. I've felt all along this should be an incremental issue

Well thought out, considered, slow, steady, and relentless. Responsible government. The idea that you can rapidly push wage increases and forgive $50,000 in student debt and it's all just good for the economy is bogus. There are ramifications to tax policy. Inflation, loss of benefits due to higher income, even division - everyone else wants debt forgiveness too, and frugal people without debt want compensation too.

No matter what they do there will be political pushback in some form.

[Magoo48]

6. The wage increase is hardly being "rapidly pushed" anywhere. It's been out there

for long enough now that $15 per hour doesn’t cut it anymore. I blame conservative Dems who refuse to be part of a team striving for the common welfare of the most people. We have a difficult enough time without having to deal with corporate lapdogs in our own party.

[cayugafalls]

4. We knew this was going to happen.

Well, at least, I knew it was going to happen. Talking to my dad last night and he was worried that it was DOA and I told him the wage increase would be dropped to get stimulus to people in need.

Incremental change will work best.

[jorgevlorgan]

5. The Wyden proposal is dead. Great

[speak easy]

7. The Wyden proposal needed more work.

As drafted, there was an incentive for big corps to reclassify employees as contractors.

[jorgevlorgan]

8. Ew

Not sure how a wage increase will get through now, though. Maybe through a defense bill? Still it would be hard to see how ithat would be able to get through without 60 votes. The last time it happened Dems had 60 seats.

[Deminpenn]

11. Min wage will be passed like it was the last time,

as part of a "must pass" bill like Defense.