“We can’t just roll over and allow a tiny group—maybe two members of the Senate on the Democratic side—to drag all Democratic policies, including Biden’s policies, to the right,” said Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
Without a tax maneuver, Democrats would likely have to try to pass the wage increase through the ordinary legislative process, which would require the votes of 10 Republicans to reach the threshold of 60 to cut off debate. The parliamentarian’s ruling can be overturned by 51 votes, but Manchin already has said he wouldn’t supply the key vote to do so.
While Vice President Kamala Harris, in her role as president of the Senate, could attempt to overrule the parliamentarian, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain and Press Secretary Jen Psaki have both said that they do not expect her to do that. She would still need enough senators to agree with her, which appears unlikely.
Biden, a 36-year veteran of the Senate, recognized that the minimum wage might not qualify under the chamber’s rules, and earlier this month urged that a standalone bill be sent to him in that case. In a statement Thursday night, Psaki said the president respects the Senate process and that he “will work with leaders in Congress to determine the best path forward because no one in this country should work full time and live in poverty.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he was “deeply disappointed” with the parliamentarian’s decision.
“We are not going to give up the fight to raise the minimum wage to $15 to help millions of struggling American workers and their families,” he said in a statement. “The American people deserve it, and we are committed to making it a reality.”
The parliamentarian’s decision is likely to rekindle pressure from progressives in both chambers for Senate Democrats to jettison the filibuster rule, which requires 60 votes to pass most legislation.
With the House set to vote on Friday, Democrats plan to get the pandemic relief bill through the Senate and to Biden’s desk by March 14, when expanded pandemic unemployment benefits begin to expire. The legislation would extend those through August, and bolster state benefits to $400 per week, up from the $300 per week currently.
The bill also provides money for Covid vaccines, testing and care along with funds for schools, a temporary expansion of the child tax credit, and temporary health care premium subsidies among other items.
House and Senate Republicans are expected to be united in opposition, arguing that it is too costly and insufficiently targeted. They have especially criticized the $350 billion in aid to state and local governments on the grounds that their finances on the whole haven’t been very hard hit during the pandemic.
“This bill is actually too costly, too corrupt and too liberal—less than 9% of this bill goes to defeating this virus,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told Fox News on Thursday.
—With assistance from Laura Litvan and Steven T. Dennis.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.