Democrats to take another bite at the minimum-wage apple
It’s the progressive Vermont senator’s latest attempt to close the income gap. But it’s expected to gain little traction in this Congress.
DEMS RENEW PUSH FOR $17 MINIMUM WAGE
When an effort by Bernie Sanders to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 failed in 2021, the independent Vermont senator promised it wouldn’t be the last time he would attempt to do so.
This afternoon, Sanders will be joined at the Capitol by Democratic leaders, workers, and employers to introduce the Raise the Wage Act, which they say would give roughly 28 million Americans a long-overdue raise.
The rich got richer — a pandemic story: The legislation is an attempt to close the widening income inequality gap. Despite the bottom half of Americans seeing their wealth grow during the pandemic, due in part to generous unemployment benefits and stimulus payments, US billionaires gained $1.2 trillion in wealth. (FWIW: In June, the growth of wages surpassed inflation for the first time since March 2021, which was a promising development.)
In addition to supporting legislation to raise the minimum wage, House Progressives have also asked President Joe Biden to sign an executive order to raise the overtime threshold to $82,000, which would cover 55 percent of full-time salaried workers at one-and-a-half times their regular pay for any hours worked above 40 per week.
Flashback: Sen. Sanders attempted to attach a $15 federal wage to the American Rescue Plan, the COVID-19 stimulus package President Biden signed two months after taking office. But the Senate parliamentarian ruled that the wage increase couldn’t be included as part of the budget procedure Democrats used to bypass a Republican filibuster.
Sanders later introduced an amendment to overrule the parliamentarian, but all 50 Republicans and eight Democrats, and an independent who caucuses with the Democrats voted against it: Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Chris Coons (D-Conn.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), and Angus King (I-Maine).
“If any senator believes this is the last time they will cast a vote on whether or not to give a raise to 32 million Americans, they are sorely mistaken,” Sanders said at the time. “We’re going to keep bringing it up, and we’re going to get it done because it is what the American people demand and need.”
Sinema, who has since switched her party affiliation from Democratic to Independent, said at the time that she supported a minimum wage hike but that the policy should be carried through regular order, which would require committee and subcommittee hearings, substantial floor debate, and multiple votes. Because the vote was about Senate procedure, not public policy, it was unclear at the time how many other senators shared Sinema's position.
Btw, this was the vote where Sinema infamously walked down to the Senate floor to give the measure a thumbs-down and curtsy, with chocolate cake in tow.
The current landscape: Sanders and company are expected to face the same fate more than two years later. Democrats expanded their majority by one seat after last year’s midterms. But they still face a 60-vote threshold that requires the support of at least nine Republicans to break a Senate filibuster.
And unlike in 2021, the GOP controls the House and has moved so far to the right over the past six months that the Raise the Wage Act is unlikely to even see a floor vote this Congress.
Plus, while raising the minimum wage may become a policy the president supports on the campaign trail of his reelection bid, there’s no upside in him spending political capital on the doomed proposal now.
The Bidenomics angle: What the administration wants you to focus on instead is how the president’s legislative agenda has lowered costs for everyday goods and empowered workers to demand higher pay and more equitable working conditions.
“Bidenomics is about making sure that we build an economy that doesn’t leave anybody behind. When you see that inflation has come down the last 12 months. That is important — and also, while wages are going up,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Monday. “This is Bidenomics at work. This is the President’s policies, making sure, again, that we build an economy from the bottom up, middle out.”
By the numbers: The current federal minimum wage is $7.25, which was set in 2009 — the year pop star Michael Jackson died. Three states — Washington, California, and Massachusetts — have minimum wages of $15 or above.
👋🏾 HI, HEY, HELLO! Welcome to Supercreator Daily, the essential guide to the politicians, power brokers, and policies shaping the American creator experience. Good Tuesday morning. It’s July 25, 2023. Your Supercreator author apologizes for sending today’s edition so late. Technical issues galore!
BIDEN TO SIGN TILL MONUMENT PROCLAMATION
President Biden this afternoon at the White House will sign a proclamation to establish the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument, his fourth since taking office.
Till was abducted, tortured, and lynched in Mississippi in 1955 at age 14 after being accused of inappropriately interacting with a 21-year-old white woman, a violation of the unwritten code of conduct for Black boys and men in the Jim Crow-era South. His mother insisted on a public funeral service with an open casket to expose the world to the violence her son endured.
Till’s murder is considered a catalyst for the next phase of the civil rights movement: The Alabama, Montgomery bus boycott began in months just months after an all-white jury found Till’s killers not guilty of murder.
The signing comes as politicians attempt to erase Black history and refer to Black people as “colored people.” Today would have been Till’s 82nd birthday.
The monument will include three separate sites in Illinois and Mississippi:
Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ: A house of worship in Bronzeville, a historically Black neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side where thousands of people gathered to mourn Till’s death.
Graball Landing: The site where it believed Till’s brutalized body was pulled from the Tallahatchie River.
Tallahatchie County Second District Courthouse: The place in Sumner where Till’s murderers were tried by an all-white jury and wrongly acquitted.
60 guests are expected to attend the signing, including members of the Till family, civil rights leaders, and historic preservation advocates, along with senior administration officials and members of Congress, according to a White House official.
WH THREATENS VETO ON TWO HOUSE FUNDING BILLS
The White House announced President Biden would veto the two appropriations bills the House is expected to consider this week if presented to him in their current form. The administration is opposed to the MilCon-VA and Agriculture bills because they renege on the debt-limit agreement the president and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed to in May and will require cuts to critical social programs that could imperil the economic recovery from the pandemic. House Republicans have marked up all 12 funding bills at levels below the Biden-McCarthy deal, so expect to see more veto threats in the days leading up to the Sep. 30 deadline.
ICYMI: “It’s appropriations time on the House floor”
GOFF TAPPED AS WH’S TOP HILL LIAISON
President Biden announced Shuwanza Goff as the new White House Director of Legislative Affairs, the first Black woman to serve in this role. Goff, previously the Deputy Legislative Affairs Director and House Liaison, is beloved by Democratic members and staff and respected by Republicans. Goff also rose up the ranks in former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s (D-Md.) office where she became the first Black floor director for the House. She’ll be expected to draw from her experience and relationships across the aisle to advance the president’s agenda in a divided Congress. Goff replaces longtime Biden aide Louisa Terrell who departed the administration earlier this month.
MILITARY SPOUSES TO TUBERVILLE: END THE HOLD ON MILITARY APPOINTMENTS
In a hand-delivered letter, more than 500 active duty military spouses called on Sen. Tommy Tuberville to end his month-long hold on military appointments, Howard Koplowitz of Al.com reported. The first-term senator’s block has prevented hundreds of senior positions from being filled as he protests the Defense Department’s policy to reimburse travel costs servicemembers incur while receiving abortion care. The spouses called on senators who disagree with the Defense policies to settle it through regular order. Tuberville sent his own letter to Senate leaders last week that he said was signed by more than 5,000 veterans who support his hold on military nominees.
CROCKETT, ALLRED ASK HOUSE LEADERSHIP TO PASS EMERGENCY ENERGY ASSISTANCE
Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) and Colin Allred (D-Texas) sent a letter to the House Appropriations Committee to urge members to pass supplemental funding for a federal program that assists low-income households pay for home energy costs. Texas is one of several states experiencing extreme heat this summer and the two lawmakers are concerned that state and regional programs are insufficient to support all eligible families and individuals as they try to stay cool. In addition to Allred and Crockett, 31 members signed the letter.
TODAY IN POLITICS
All times Eastern
5:30 a.m. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden met with First Lady Brigitte Macron of France at the Élysée Palace in Paris.
7 a.m. Dr. Biden participated in a greet with Audrey Azoulay, director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
8 a.m. The first lady will attend and speak at the UNESCO flag-raising ceremony to mark the United States rejoining UNESCO.
10 a.m. President Biden will get his daily intelligence briefing.
11:30 a.m. Dr. Biden will attend a reception hosted by US Ambassador Denise Bauer.
12 p.m. The president will sign a proclamation to establish the Emmett Till and Mamie-Till Mobley National Monument in Illinois and Mississippi. Vice President Harris will also speak. The House will meet with first and last votes scheduled for several bills under suspension of the rules at 6:30 p.m.
3 p.m. The Senate is in and will vote on two amendments to the annual defense bills at 5:30 p.m.
3:30 p.m. President Biden will speak about expanding access to mental health care.
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