Senate Democrats will abandon plans to support workers’ pay increases through tax penalties and other economic incentives. Some lawmakers had considered the plans an alternative to increasing the federal minimum wage, according to a person familiar with the matter, CNBC reports.
Last week lawmakers floated a “plan B” in President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID stimulus bill that would have punished any corporations paying workers below a certain threshold.
Senators raised the backup plan on Thursday and Friday following the Senate parliamentarian ruling that a proposed federal minimum wage increase to $15 per hour failed to meet the requirements that Democrats must follow to pass the stimulus bill without Republican support. (Link via original reporting)
The “plan B,” championed by Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), and Senate Budget Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), would reportedly have punished low-paying billion-dollar corporations using various tax incentives.
A variety of penalties were under the lawmakers’ consideration including a 5 per cent levy on a large corporation’s total payroll if any workers earned less than $15 an hour.
The fate of the Biden administration’s first major legislation is now in the hands of the Senate after the House passed its version of the bill, largely along party lines, on February 27. CNBC has further analysis of the story.
Senate Democrats will abandon plans to support workers’ pay increases through tax penalties and other economic incentives. Some lawmakers had considered the plans an alternative to increasing the federal minimum wage, according to a person familiar with the matter, CNBC reports.
Last week lawmakers floated a “plan B” in President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID stimulus bill that would have punished any corporations paying workers below a certain threshold.
Senators raised the backup plan on Thursday and Friday following the Senate parliamentarian ruling that a proposed federal minimum wage increase to $15 per hour failed to meet the requirements that Democrats must follow to pass the stimulus bill without Republican support. (Link via original reporting)
The “plan B,” championed by Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), and Senate Budget Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), would reportedly have punished low-paying billion-dollar corporations using various tax incentives.
A variety of penalties were under the lawmakers’ consideration including a 5 per cent levy on a large corporation’s total payroll if any workers earned less than $15 an hour.
The fate of the Biden administration’s first major legislation is now in the hands of the Senate after the House passed its version of the bill, largely along party lines, on February 27. CNBC has further analysis of the story.