Democrats reintroduce $15 federal minimum wage plan. Here’s how it would work
Democrats reintroduced a bill on Tuesday that would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour amid a weakened economy during the coronavirus pandemic.
The proposal would gradually increase the federal minimum wage — which has been $7.25 an hour since 2009 — to $15 by 2025. The minimum wage would then be tied to median wage growth, meaning Congress wouldn’t have to pass legislation for future increases. The legislation would also eliminate provisions allowing employers to pay below the minimum wage for tipped workers, teen workers and people with disabilities.
A version of the bill was passed by the Democratic-controlled House in 2019 — but was blocked from receiving a vote in the GOP-controlled Senate by then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Eight states and Washington D.C. have adopted $15 per hour state minimum wages.
“Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the $7.25 federal minimum wage was economically and morally indefensible,” said Rep. Bobby Scott, a Virginia Democrat and chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, who introduced the bill. “Now, the pandemic is highlighting the gross imbalance between the productivity of our nation’s workers and the wages they are paid.”
The Raise the Wage Act of 2021 would increase the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour this year and $11 next year. The minimum wage would then increase to $12.50 per hour in 2023, $14 in 2024 and $15 in 2025.
Increasing the minimum wage has the support of many Democratic lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, from California and President Joe Biden, who included the provision as part of his $1.9 trillion coronavirus emergency plan.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, said that Democrats could use the budget reconciliation process to pass the legislation in the Senate with a simple majority vote instead of the 60 votes normally needed. That would allow Democrats to pass the proposal without a filibuster or any Republican support.
“It’s being discussed. I don’t know that a final decision has been reached,” Durbin said, according to The Hill.
In order for the policy to be eligible for the budget reconciliation tool, it has to be “tied to the budget and impact outlaws and revenue,” CNBC reported. Democrats would have to argue that raising the minimum wage would have a direct impact on the budget.
“There’s an outside chance you could do it through reconciliation, but I think what I take away from this is, in fact, you need a supermajority and Republican support to get this done,” said Sarah Binder, a political scientist at George Washington University and the Brookings Institution, according to the publication.
The policy faces fierce opposition from Republican lawmakers.
Rep. John Rose, a Tennessee Republican, said the wage hike “won’t help the stalled job market.”
Sen. Tim Scott, a Republican representing South Carolina, said he pledged to “fight to protect businesses from these damaging policies.”
Rep. Kevin Brady, a Texas Republican and the ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee, tweeted that raising the minimum wage, “HELPS BLUE STATES that can’t compete anymore for growth, jobs.”
This story was originally published January 26, 2021 at 1:07 PM with the headline "Democrats reintroduce $15 federal minimum wage plan. Here’s how it would work."