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WASHINGTON (AP) – Republicans have rallied strongly against Democrats’ proposed $ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill as lawmakers awaited a decision from the Senate parliamentarian that could strengthen or potentially kill an essential provision increasing the federal minimum wage.
Despite their paper-thin majorities in Congress, Democratic leaders were ready to push the radical package through the House on Friday. They were hoping the Senate, where changes seem likely, would follow quickly enough to have legislation on President Joe Biden’s desk by mid-March.
As of Wednesday’s end, no Republican in either chamber had publicly declared that they would support the legislation. GOP leaders sharpen attacks on package as job killer not doing enough to reopen schools or businesses closed for coronavirus pandemic and it was not only wasteful but also even unscrupulous.
“I have yet to see a Republican who has found something they agree with,” Minority Parliamentary Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif said. “I think all Republicans believe in three simple things: They want a bill that brings us back to work, school and health. This bill is too expensive, too corrupt and too liberal.
The increasingly harsh opposition has suggested that Biden’s first major legislative initiative may meet unanimous opposition from the GOP. It was a counterpoint to the new president’s refrain during his campaign to bring the country closer and a repeat of the Republican wall that new President Barack Obama encountered in 2009 and most of his administration.
Democrats showed no signs of backing down, citing the aid the measure would extend to people, businesses and state and local governments.
“If the Republicans in Congress want to oppose all of this, my answer is: good luck,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., said in the Senate.
The biggest suspense on Wednesday night was over an expected ruling from Elizabeth MacDonough, the Senate’s non-partisan arbiter of its rules, which promised huge political and legislative consequences.
The relief bill includes a provision that, over five years, would raise the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour. The parliamentarian is involved because Democrats are pushing the aggregate $ 1.9 trillion measure through Congress under special rules that will allow them to avoid Senate obstruction by Republicans.
These same rules prohibit provisions having only an “ancillary” effect on the federal budget because they are primarily motivated by other political objectives. The parliamentarian decides whether a provision passes this test.
With Republicans firmly opposed to raising the minimum wage, the only way for him to survive is to include it in an anti-obstruction bill like the COVID-19 relief measure. To end a filibuster, Democrats would need 60 votes, which is impossible for them in an equally divided 50-50 Senate.
If the parliamentarian decides that the minimum wage provision can remain in the bill, that would be a major boost for his supporters. But there would be no guarantee that the measure would survive because some moderates oppose it or want it to be recomposed. This suggests that grueling negotiations over its final form would be ahead.
A parliamentarian’s decision that raising the minimum wage should be excluded from the bill could be fatal, but not necessarily. Democrats could use a seldom-used procedural approach to incorporate the minimum wage provision into the bill anyway with just 51 votes, but it was not clear if they could muster enough support to do so.
The minimum wage has been $ 7.25 since 2009. Winning that raise is a top priority for progressives at a time when Democrats control Congress and the White House.
Global bill would provide millions of Americans with $ 1,400 in direct payments to help them overcome the pandemic that shut down much of the economy for a year and killed half a million people. It contains billions of dollars for COVID-19 vaccines and tests, schools, state and local governments and jobless emergency allowances while providing tax cuts or payments for many families with children .
In a sign of upcoming hardball politics, leading Republicans have suggested that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., And Schumer inject money into the bill for their own states.
McCarthy said the bill had $ 100 million available to help expand the BART commuter rail system from the San Francisco area south to San Jose. This project was previously approved by the Trump administration and is not in the Pelosi district of San Francisco, a senior Democratic official said.
McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Have suggested that Schumer won money for a bridge connecting upstate New York to Canada. A senior Democratic official said the bill contains $ 1.5 million for the bridge, which is in Representative Elise Stefanik’s district, RN.Y. The aide said it was requested in 2020 by the Trump administration’s transportation department, headed by Elaine Chao, McConnell’s wife.
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