White House Says Relief Bill Remains ‘Incredibly Progressive’ Despite Senate Compromises
White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said on March 5 that the $1.9 trillion relief package panned by Republicans as a liberal wish list packed with non-pandemic-related spending priorities is an “incredibly progressive bill,” and expressed the expectation that congressional progressives will give it their stamp of approval when the bill circles back to the House.
Psaki made the remarks at a White House press briefing in response to a question about how the demands of moderate Democrats were forcing a series of compromises on the bill, as it makes its way through the Senate, that might rankle the Democratic Party’s progressive wing. These include lowering the federal unemployment benefit add-on from $400 to $300, and tightening thresholds for who is eligible to receive stimulus checks.
8 Democrats Join Republicans in Rejecting Sanders’ $15 Minimum Wage Hike Bill
Eight Democratic senators joined Republicans in rejecting raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour over five years after it was proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Angus King (I-Maine) who caucuses with Democrats opposed the measure, joining all Republicans in the upper chamber. Coons and Carper are considered two close allies of President Joe Biden, who was formerly a senator from Delaware.
The final vote tally was 42–58, falling far short of the 60 votes needed to overrule the Senate parliamentarian’s decision that a minimum wage increase can’t be embedded in a broader COVID-19 stimulus bill.
West Virginia reacts to swearing-in of Joe Biden wvmetronews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wvmetronews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Breaking News, Latest News and Current News from OANN.com. Breaking news and video. Latest Current News: U.S., World, Entertainment, Health, Business, Technology, Politics, Sports.