Dems to pull wage hike out of relief deal

Will not try to override parliamentarian ruling

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats and the White House are retreating on their efforts to include a $15 minimum wage increase in President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill as they aim to move the package forward this week in the Senate.

The House passed the relief bill Saturday with the $15 minimum wage included — even though the Senate parliamentarian had already said the wage increase would not pass muster in the Senate because of the complicated rules governing consideration of the overall bill.

Liberals in the House are pressing the Biden administration to try to overrule the parliamentarian, but White House press secretary Jen Psaki nixed that idea Monday.

“That’s not an action we intend to take,” Ms. Psaki said. She noted that such a move would also require 50 votes in favor in the Senate, which Democrats do not have.

Following the parliamentarian’s ruling, top Senate Democrats scrambled to come up with an alternate approach that would instead penalize companies that don’t pay a $15 minimum wage, but those efforts collapsed over the weekend after they proved not to be viable either.

Instead, Senate Democrats will move forward with a version of the relief bill that does not attempt to raise the minimum wage, according to two Democratic aides who spoke on the condition of anonymity because discussions were private.

An initial vote to advance the legislation could come as early as Wednesday.

Ms. Psaki said raising the minimum wage remains a priority for Mr. Biden but that there was no specific plan on how to do it.

“We don’t have a clear answer on what that looks like at this point,” she said. “It just remains a commitment and something he will use his political capital to get done.”

Ms. Psaki opened Monday’s White House press briefing by emphasizing the urgency of congressional action to finalize the relief bill with just two weeks remaining before a March 14 deadline, at which point enhanced unemployment benefits will expire unless extended.

“We have no time to waste. If we act now, decisively, quickly and boldly, we can finally get ahead of this virus,” Mr. Biden said recently. “We can finally get our economy moving again. And the people of this country have suffered far too much for too long. We need to relieve that suffering. The American Rescue Plan does just that.”

The bill increases the emergency unemployment benefits from $300 to $400 a week and extends them through August. It also includes a new round of $1,400 stimulus checks to most people; $ 130 billion for schools; $350 billion for state and local governments, including $355 million for the City of Pittsburgh and $383 million for Allegheny County; an expanded child tax credit; food assistance and rental relief; and tens of billions of dollars for COVID-19 vaccine distribution and more testing.

“The president’s focus this week and in coming weeks, until it’s passed, is on the American Rescue Plan,” Ms. Psaki said, pointing to widespread needs around the nation. “It’s absolutely critical Congress act, and we certainly hope they do that as quickly as possible.”

Mr. Biden launched a lobbying effort targeting fellow Democrats on Monday to unify them behind the bill.

Democrats don’t have a vote to spare in the Senate, but several moderate-leaning senators have raised concerns about the structure of unemployment insurance benefits and the state and local government funding, among other issues.

No Republicans voted for the legislation in the House, and there is presently no sign of Republican support for the bill in the Senate, either. With the Senate split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, Democratic leaders must ensure they hold their party together in the Senate so the legislation can pass with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., kept up his attacks on the legislation Monday, decrying it as a “bonanza of partisan spending they’re calling a pandemic rescue package” and lamenting that “it didn’t have to be this way.”

Democrats are pushing the legislation forward under a procedure called “budget reconciliation” that allows them to pass it with a simple majority instead of the 60 votes usually required. That means no GOP support is required, but it also limits what provisions that are included to those that have a specific budgetary impact.

The parliamentarian ruled last week that the minimum wage did not pass that test.

If the bill passes and is signed into law, regardless of the minimum wage hike, single tax filers would be eligible to receive up to $1,400 stimulus checks, while joint filers would be able to receive as much as $2,800. Dependents would be worth $1,400, as well, and more people are expected to qualify in that category this time around.