NEW: Senate parliamentarian rules that Democrats cannot put $15 minimum wage in Covid relief under the reconciliation rules, all but dooming the effort in this legislation. nbcnews.com/politics/congr…
And this is when the filibuster wars seriously begin.
Chuck Schumer is "deeply disappointed." Lindsey Graham is "very pleased." Bernie Sanders is befuddled and calls for using tax deductions to push big corporations to pay at least $15/hr in the Covid package to get around the rules.
Yes, the vice president can legally ignore the Senate parliamentarian and rule the $15 wage as compliant. But that has apparently never happened on the Byrd rule and the White House made clear yesterday they won't do it here. nbcnews.com/politics/congr…
PELOSI: "House Democrats believe that the minimum wage hike is necessary. Therefore, this provision will remain in the American Rescue Plan on the Floor tomorrow. Democrats in the House are determined to pursue every possible path in the Fight For 15."
.@PressSec says President Biden is "disappointed in this outcome" but "respects the parliamentarian’s decision and the Senate’s process."
He'll work to determine the "best path forward" on a $15 wage but in the meantime he "urges Congress to move quickly to pass" the Covid bill.
Senate Finance Chairman @RonWyden, after the minimum wage ruling: "I'm looking at a tax penalty for mega-corporations that refuse to pay a living wage."
House Progressive Caucus' @PramilaJayapal: "The ruling only makes it more clear than ever that the Senate must reform its archaic rules, including reforming the filibuster to allow populist and necessary policies like the $15 minimum wage to pass with a majority of the Senate."
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
It's 8 o'clock on a Friday night and the House Rules Committee still hasn't sent the Covid-19 relief bill to the floor for a vote. Chairman Jim McGovern is rapidly running out of f@$&s to give, racing through votes on Republican amendments with each one getting rejected.
Rules Committee votes to send Biden's $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill to the House floor.
As Dems finalize the report, @TomColeOK04 asks the chair: "Should I have a short or long cigar?"
He says Cole isn't managing it so it doesn't matter.
Next up: A vote in the full chamber.
219-210, House officially votes to proceed to Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid bill on the floor.
NEW: @RepStephMurphy, co-chair of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition, tells @NBCNews the GOP must be kept out of power to save American democracy and national security.
A searing indictment that shows how much the Capitol siege has strained party relations.
Did a wide-ranging interview with Rep. Murphy on the unusual stakes for 2022, how Democrats should govern and her theory for how they can avoid the midterm curse. The political survival of her coalition's members could decide the fight for House control.
So the $15 wage is in Biden’s Covid relief bill headed to the House floor next week. But he’s predicting it won’t survive. Why? He says it’ll likely get stripped out in the Senate under the “Byrd rule” that limits reconciliation to budget changes, i.e. spending and taxes.
Bernie Sanders, the Budget Committee chairman, and Chuck Schumer disagree. They’re crafting a case to the parliamentarian that it should be allowed. But there’s a decent chance she disagrees. nbcnews.com/politics/congr…
NEW: Democrats introduce a sweeping bill to remake the US immigration system, backed by Joe Biden. It includes a path to citizenship for "Dreamers" and others here illegally, eliminates hurdles for legal immigration and replaces "alien" with "noncitizen."
On immigration, Speaker Pelosi says Democrats have discussed a piecemeal approach as well as potentially using reconciliation to bypass a Senate filibuster.
"How it happens through the legislative process remains to be seen. But it is a priority."