Progressives Call on White House to Overrule Senate Rules-Keeper

(Bloomberg) -- Progressive members of Congress sent President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris a letter demanding that they set aside the ruling of the Senate Parliamentarian and include a minimum-wage increase in the Covid-19 relief package.

“Eighty-one million people cast their ballots to elect you on a platform that called for a $15 minimum wage,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter. “We urge you to keep that promise and call on the presiding officer of the Senate to refute the Senate parliamentarian's advice.”

The letter was led by Progressive Caucus Deputy Whip Ro Khanna, and signed by 22 members of Congress including Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal, Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.

The move follows the Senate rules-keeper's judgment last week that the $15-an-hour minimum wage measure could not be included in Biden's $1.9 trillion pandemic-relief package via the reconciliation process, which involves strict limits. Progressives urged the White House to either ignore the ruling or change the rules within the chamber.

The White House has said that Harris, who as vice president presides over the Senate, won't overrule the parliamentarian.

Deadline Looming

The letter's signers cited precedent for disregarding a Senate parliamentarian's ruling, and highlighted the disproportionate impact the current $7.25 federal minimum wage has on women and people of color.

Senate Budget Chairman Bernie Sanders said last week that he would seek to have tax penalties included in the relief bill for businesses that did not pay workers at least $15-per-hour. However, Senate Democrats have shelved that option.

Democrats are attempting to push the relief package through by March 14 when the existing extension of supplemental benefits expires -- a time frame that leaves little room to work out compromises.

With a 50-50 partisan split in the Senate, Democrats need all their caucus to support the measure. Moderate Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have both raised concerns over the minimum-wage proposal, and could block the overall package if they vote against it.

The House passed its version of the stimulus bill, which included the minimum-wage hike, early Saturday. Two moderate Democrats, Jared Golden of Maine and Kurt Schrader of Oregon, voted against it.

Progressives have floated other options to pursue the push on wages, including ending the filibuster in the Senate -- which would allow legislation to pass with a simple majority and prevent the Republican minority from holding up legislation.

But even if the filibuster was eliminated, progressives would still be faced with the challenge of moderate Democrats opposing some of their initiatives.

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