The US Senate has rejected a bid by Democrats to advance an increase in the country’s federal minimum wage. The proposal forms part of Democratic President Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package, but saw seven senators from his party vote against it.
The proposal seeks to raise minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025, from $7.25 currently. Its rejection has therefore stalled US Senate Democrats’ effort to advance the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid bill. Along with another contentious issue, that is the size and duration of federal unemployment payments.
The vote on the minimum wage has become the longest open vote in modern Senate history lasting nearly 12 hours. It overtook a 2019 vote on an amendment to prohibit the President from attacking Iran without authorization.
Seven Democrats and one independent aligned with them joined all 50 Republicans in opposing the increase. This led to a 42-58 vote in favour of the opposition, well short of the 60 votes needed to advance it.
The Democrats voting against the proposal were Senators Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Tom Carper and Chris Coons of Delaware, and Jon Tester of Montana. Senator Angus King, the independent from Maine who caucuses with the Democrats, also voted against it.
Reconciliation Process
The House of Representatives earlier passed the minimum wage proposal as part of its version of Biden’s relief package. However, a top Senate official, Elizabeth MacDonough, ruled that it can’t be included in the bill under the strict rules governing the reconciliation process. The Democrats are using reconciliation to fast-track the bill through the Senate.
Liberal lawmakers argued that Democrats should overrule MacDonough’s guidance and push through the proposal over Republican opposition anyway. But, the margin of defeat in the vote showed they wouldn’t have had the numbers to pass it unilaterally.
The Democrats who voted against however signalled that they would be willing to negotiate once the stimulus package became law.
One of them, Senator Kyrsten Sinema , in a statement, has called for the bill to be introduced to Senate independently. After the passing of $1.9 trillion COVID aid.
“Senators in both parties have shown support for raising the federal minimum wage. And the Senate should hold an open debate and amendment process on raising the minimum wage, separate from the Covid-focused reconciliation bill.”
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the Chairman of the Budget Committee, vowed to keep pressing on the legislation. He is a longtime activist of raising the federal minimum wage, which remains unchanged since 2009.
“If anybody thinks that we’re giving up on this issue, they are sorely mistaken. If we have to vote on it time and time again, we will — and we’re going to succeed.”
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