Minimum wage boost hits Senate roadblock
WASHINGTON — The Senate parliamentarian has dealt a potentially lethal blow to Democrats’ drive to raise the minimum wage, deciding that the progressive goal must fall from a covid-19 relief bill the party is trying to speed through Congress, Democratic Senate aides said Thursday.
The finding by Elizabeth MacDonough, the chamber’s nonpartisan arbiter of its rules, comes as Democrats prepare for House approval today of an initial version of the $1.9 trillion package that still includes the minimum wage boost.
President Joe Biden was “disappointed” in the outcome but respected the parliamentarian’s ruling, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. The Senate has a long tradition of obeying the parliamentarian’s decisions with few exceptions, a history that is revered by traditionalists like Biden, a 36-year Senate veteran.
“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,” Psaki said.
“House Democrats believe that the minimum wage hike is necessary. Therefore, this provision will remain in the” bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said.
Democrats are pushing the coronavirus relief measure through Congress under special rules that will let them avoid a Senate filibuster by Republicans, a tactic that Democrats would need an unattainable 60 votes to defeat.
But those same Senate rules prohibit provisions with only an “incidental” impact on the federal budget because they are chiefly driven by other policy purposes. MacDonough said the minimum wage provision didn’t pass that test, according to aides who described her decision on condition of anonymity because it hadn’t been released.
MacDonough’s decision forces Democrats to make politically painful choices about what to do next on the minimum wage, which has long caused internal party rifts.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Democrats “are not going to give up the fight” to raise the minimum wage to $15.
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, hailed MacDonough’s decision. He said it shows the special procedure that Democrats are using to protect the relief bill “cannot be used as a vehicle to pass major legislative change — by either party — on a simple majority vote.”
Progressives seeking to maximize Democratic control of the White House and Congress have wanted party leaders to push aggressively on the issue. The proposal would gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 over five years, well above the $7.25 in effect since 2009.
But Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona have voiced opposition to including the minimum wage increase in the relief bill, and other moderates also have expressed concerns.
That suggests Democrats could well lack the strength they need for it to survive. Democrats control the 50-50 Senate with Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaking vote and can’t lose any of their senators to prevail. Republicans solidly oppose the boost to $15.
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a chief sponsor of the minimum wage effort, blamed “archaic and undemocratic” Senate rules for the setback. He said he’d try amending the overall relief package to erase tax deductions from large corporations that don’t pay workers at least $15 an hour and to provide incentives to small businesses to raise wages.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who leads the near 100-member Congressional Progressive Caucus, said Senate Democrats should include the wage increase in the relief bill anyway and not be stopped by “the advisory opinion of the parliamentarian and Republican obstructionism.”
WHAT NEXT?
Democrats had been anxiously awaiting MacDonough’s decision, but their next steps are not clear. Her ruling pertains only to the Senate, where the legislation will move forward under complex rules that prohibit certain items that don’t have a particular impact on the budget.
Liberals are pushing the Biden administration to try to overrule the parliamentarian’s decision, which Democrats could theoretically attempt to do on the Senate floor. But White House chief of staff Ron Klain has publicly ruled out that approach.
“Certainly, that’s not something we would do,” he told MSNBC host Joy Reid. “We’re going to honor the rules of the Senate and work within that system to get this bill passed.”
Democrats would not likely command the necessary votes to succeed anyway, since at least one Senate Democrat — Manchin — has said he would not vote to overrule the parliamentarian.
Democrats have said they could still pursue a minimum wage boost in free-standing legislation or attach it to legislation expected later this year that is to be aimed at a massive infrastructure program, another Biden priority.
But they’d still face the challenge of garnering 60 Senate votes, a hurdle that has upended Democratic attempts to boost the minimum wage for more than a decade.
The House has advanced stand-alone minimum wage increase bills in the past, but it’s highly unlikely the Senate would agree to any such legislation — at least not at the level that liberals support.
One possibility is trying to find compromise at a lower level — Manchin has endorsed $11 an hour — and trying another way to get it in the bill. For example, Democrats could pass Biden’s relief bill through the Senate without the minimum wage included, and then try to put a different version of it back in and persuade the parliamentarian it should stay.
Several liberal Senate Democrats said Thursday that they need to do whatever it takes — up to and including eliminating the filibuster, the 60-vote rule that gives the minority party enormous sway in the Senate.
Republicans solidly oppose the $15 minimum wage target as an expense that would hurt businesses and cost jobs. They also oppose the overall relief bill, saying it’s too expensive, not targeted enough at people and businesses that most need it, and is really a grab bag of gifts for Democratic allies.
The overall relief bill is Biden’s first legislative priority. It is aimed at combating the year-old pandemic that’s stalled much of the economy, killed half a million Americans and reshaped the daily lives of virtually everyone.
The pandemic relief legislation would provide millions of people with $1,400 direct payments. It contains billions of dollars for vaccines and covid-19 testing, schools, state and local governments, the ailing restaurant and airline industries and emergency jobless benefits, while providing tax breaks to lower earners and families with children.
Democrats are pushing the $1.9 trillion measure through Congress under special rules that will let them avoid a Senate filibuster by Republicans, a tactic that Democrats would need an unattainable 60 votes to defeat.
But those same Senate rules prohibit provisions with only an “incidental” impact on the federal budget because they are chiefly driven by other policy purposes. The parliamentarian decides if provisions pass that test.