The US House of Representatives, on Friday, has passed President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill in his first major legislative victory. It is, however, unclear whether the proposal to increase minimum wage to $15 per hour over the next five years will remain in the final package.
Democrats passed the bill and sent it to the Senate. The senate and the house passed a resolution that would allow Democrats to pass the stimulus bill without Republican votes. the procedure known as reconciliation will allow the Democrats to pass the bill with a simple majority. the stimulus package is aimed at helping more than 500,000 American who lost jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bill includes $1,400 direct payments to Americans making less than $75,000 annually, expanded federal unemployment benefits of $400 per week till August. The bill also includes $50 billion for coronavirus testing and tracing and billions for vaccine distribution and relief for small businesses. The bill also includes $350 billion for state and local governments.
The Republican Party, in the meantime, is criticising the Democrats for using the reconciliation process to advance legislation opposed by the Republicans.
Top Democratic leaders are discussing alternate options like penalising companies that don’t pay their workers a living wage, in case the proposal to increase minimum wage to $15 over five years is not included in the final bill.
