White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Thursday night that President Joe Biden was let down by a ruling by the Senate parliamentarian that jeopardized the chances of including his proposed minimum wage increase from $7.25 per hour to $15 in the COVID-19 relief package.
Biden “is disappointed in this outcome” but “respects the parliamentarian’s decision and the Senate’s process,” Psaki said in a statement.
“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,” she continued.
Earlier on Thursday, Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled that the minimum wage increase in the bill, which Democrats are working to pass through budget reconciliation to bypass the filibuster, violated the Byrd Rule, a restriction against including items in a reconciliation bill that do not directly affect the budget.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) blasted the ruling and declared that Democrats “are not going to give up the fight” on boosting the minimum wage, though he did not indicate how they would move forward on the effort.
Democratic senators could try to overrule MacDonough, but they are unlikely to be successful given that conservative Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has said he is opposed to increasing the wage to $15 an hour, proposing instead a more modest increase of $11 an hour.
Additionally, White House has rejected the notion of overruling the parliamentarian.
“Certainly that’s not something we would do. We’re going to honor the rules of the Senate and work within that system to get this bill passed,” Chief of Staff Ron Klain told MSBNC on Wednesday.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced on Thursday that the House’s relief bill would still include the $15 minimum wage hike regardless.
“Democrats in the House are determined to pursue every possible path in the Fight for 15,” she said in a statement.
Disappointed
Imagine how minimum wage workers feel.
I have seen some strategizing on some work-arounds.
Biden “is disappointed in this outcome” but “respects the parliamentarian’s decision and the Senate’s process,” Psaki said in a statement.
“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,” she continued.
Perhaps someone should note that adults deal with their reversals differently than, cough, cough, er, some recent examples.
It models behavior in a democrat society rather than one run by autocratic intimidation.
I suppose it implies the question of, Which one would you rather live in?
Disappointing.
At some point Harris is going to have to overturn the parliamentarian to kill the filibuster.
I wonder how congress budgets? When I budget I have to look at all that comes in and all that goes out. If you increase the minimum wage, how on earth does that NOT affect the income? Federal Income tax and FICA would both have to go up