The Senate parliamentarian ruled Thursday that Democrats can’t include the $15 per hour minimum wage hike in the COVID-19 economic relief package, the American Rescue Plan. Senate Democrats including Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), had argued it could be included in the budget reconciliation process. There are strict rules for utilizing the budget reconciliation process, such as the “Byrd rule,” which requires that all provisions in the bill be budget-related, and must not increase the federal deficit after a 10-year budget window. Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled that the minimum wage hike did not fit the parameters for budget reconciliation. Some Democrats had already expressed opposition to including a $15 minimum wage provision in the relief bill including Senator Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) who told reporters this week that he believed a $15 minimum wage by 2025 was too high, and would be damaging for more rural states like his own West Virginia. The House is expected to vote Friday on President Biden’s original proposal and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) said in a statement Thursday evening that the House would vote on the version of the bill including the minimum wage hike. The president said he’s prepared to work on a standalone $15 minimum wage proposal saying in a statement Thursday night, he “will work with leaders in Congress to determine the best path forward because no one in this country should work full time and live in poverty.” The White House officially endorsed the House bill Friday in a Statement of Administration Policy and it is expected to pass the House today. This morning, Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) said he’s drafting a “Plan B” to boost the federal minimum wage through the tax code since the parliamentarian shot down language included in a pandemic relief package. The Oregon Democrat issued a statement saying his proposal would impose a 5 percent penalty on the payroll of “big corporations” if any of their workers “earn less than a certain amount.” The penalty would increase over time and also apply in cases where companies replace those workers with contractors.
Prior to the rescue plan vote, the House will consider H.R. 803 – Protecting America’s Wilderness and Public Lands Act. The Rule for the bill makes in order 29 amendments and allows for amendments to be offered en bloc. A full list of amendments can be found here. Along with designating about 1.49 million acres of public land as wilderness and incorporating more than 1,000 river miles into the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, the lands package also would withdraw more than 1.2 million acres of public land from new oil and gas and mining claims.
The Senate stands adjourned until 3:00pm on Monday, March 1, at which time it will continue work on the nomination of Miguel A. Cardona to be Secretary of Education.
President Joe Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden will travel to Houston today to survey the damage from Texas’ recent historic winter storm, the president’s first trip as commander in chief to a state following a natural disaster. Biden is expected to spend most of the day with Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, according to the White House. The president is scheduled to tour an emergency operations center in Harris County, as well as a Houston food bank, where he’ll meet with volunteers. The first lady is also expected to help package food and water for people still struggling to recover from the disaster. Before leaving the state Friday evening, Biden will deliver remarks at a Covid-19 vaccination facility at the NRG Stadium. Previously, President Biden had approved a major disaster Declaration for Texas.
