The 8 Senate Democrats who voted against Senator Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) proposal to include a minimum wage hike in the coronavirus relief package are receiving backlash from progressives. Democrat Senators Joe Manchin (WV), Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), Chris Coons (DE), Tom Carper (DE), Jeanne Shaheen (NH), Maggie Hassan (NH), and Jon Tester (MT), as well as Independent Angus King (ME), voted with Republicans against the measure.
Progressive group Justice Democrats called the Democratic lawmakers’ vote “unconscionable,” and demanded that President Biden deliver on their campaign promise of a $15 minimum wage immediately.
“It is unconscionable that Senators Tester, Manchin, Shaheen, Hassan, King, Sinema, Carper, and Coons would tell millions of essential workers earning poverty wages that they are ‘heroes’ but they don’t deserve a $15 minimum wage. President Biden and Vice President Harris must now present their plan for delivering on their campaign promise of a $15 minimum wage before the midterm election cycle gets underway,” spokesperson Waleed Shahid said in a release. “This pandemic has caused the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and Congress has a moral obligation to pass this popular, common-sense policy to boost wages for 32 million workers across the country.”
President Biden and Vice President Harris must now present their plan for delivering on their campaign promise of a $15 minimum wage before the midterms get underway - otherwise the Biden administration risks betraying a core campaign promise.https://t.co/QtWO2jCGEU
— Waleed Shahid (@_waleedshahid) March 5, 2021
The Senate Parliamentarian ruled that a $15 minimum wage hike could not be included in the bill on a procedural basis, but the far-left is still outraged at the failure to include the measure.
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