Updates on the Federal Minimum Wage Bill

Please see email below from Matt Walker regarding the federal minimum wage bill and let us know if you have any questions. 

Thank you – for everything you and your members continue to do – to encourage House Members and Senators to oppose including the Raise the Wage Act in their respective budget reconciliation bills.  Thanks to your efforts we have sent over 30,000 emails to the Hill in a little over 24 hours.

We appreciate you continuing to drive grassroots outreach to all House and Senate offices.  Here is the link, again, for use:  Raise the Wage Action Alert.   

Yesterday, ten Senate Republicans met with President Biden, raising their $618B proposal (attached) as a counteroffer to his request for $1.9T in pandemic relief.  While conversations on a bipartisan compromise continue, Senate and House Democrats have moved forward with filing concurrent budget resolutions, which kicks off efforts at compiling a reconciliation bill.

While there are strong arguments (including procedural) for disallowing the Raise the Wage Act from being included into a reconciliation bill, PresidentBiden and Budget Chair Bernie Sanders (D-VT) are pushing for its inclusion.  As a reminder, unlike other bills that take 60 votes for passage, the reconciliation bill requires 51.

A recent USA Today Article highlights the status of discussions. 

We are making progress in encouraging Democratic Senators to push back on including the Raise the Wage Act in a reconciliation bill.  Today, Senator Manchin announced his opposition to taking that approach.  Several other Senators are privately telling us that they are concerned as well.  Typically speaking, Senators don’t like to step out on a ladder alone, in opposing their party.  Our goal, is to assemble a core group who will collectively raise the concerns within the caucus. 

Of course, any grassroots outreach that you can muster is greatly appreciated as well. 

As our primary (but not exclusive) focus is on Democratic Senators who did *not* cosponsor the Raise the Wage Act, we encourage you to set Zoom calls with the Senators, to discuss the issue.  We would be happy to join those meetings. 

We encourage you to continue to also reach out to House Members, Republican Senators, and even Democratic Senators who have already cosponsored the Raise the Wage Act.  It is important to keep the volume up, across the Hill, in opposition to including the legislation within a reconciliation bill.

Again, thank you for all you continue to do.