Democratic senators say no to the $15 minimum wage for now.  Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour was President Biden’s key campaign promise.

In an interview with CBS’ Norah O’ Donnell, scheduled to air tomorrow,  Mr. Biden said, “I put it in, but I don’t think it’s going to survive,” referring to his calls for a $15 national minimum wage in the $1.9 trillion fiscal relief package.  

Using a parliamentary procedure known as reconciliation, Democrats in Congress moved to pass the gigantic stimulus bill without Republican support.

The centrist Democrats in the Senate are against the minimum wage hike.  A previous article on this website laying out the dichotomy of democratic constituents and how it will be a daunting task to get all democratic senators to vote on a $15 national minimum wage.

The $1.9 trillion stimulus package, which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised to pass within two weeks, will have provisions like a $20 billion national Covid-19 vaccination program, $1,400 direct payments, a $400 per week jobless benefit through September, and $350 billion in state, local and tribal government relief, and many more.

President Biden did say that his administration will support a stand-alone bill to raise the minimum wage.

The Fight for $15 Minimum Wage Delayed

According to the Pew Research Center, two-thirds of Americans (67%) support raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.  

Biden promised the voters that the more progressive part of the party has been fighting and calling for a $15 an hour minimum wage for nearly a decade.

With Democrats now controlling the government, the base, which has been shifting to the left due to the popularity of progressive Vermont and Massachusetts senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, wants to see a federal minimum wage of $15 per hour becomes the law of the land.

The Bottom line

Voters have given Democrats a mandate.  They don’t have to adopt the Green New Deal, a set of climate and economic policies, but they have to pursue ambitious policy change.