Some GOP lawmakers unwilling to fold Biden's $15 minimum wage raise in COVID-19 relief bill
Biden unveiled the $1.9T relief package last week
Some GOP lawmakers are resisting President-elect Joe Biden's proposal to raise the minimum wage to $15 and fold the new requirement into the next COVID-19 relief bill.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., told FOX Business on Tuesday that raising the minimum wage from $7.25 per hour would "do nothing but shutter the millions of small businesses already on life support and would force those that survive to lay off employees."
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The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan entity, estimates that although a higher minimum wage would boost workers' earnings, the move would result in higher rates of joblessness and would also reduce business income and raise prices as higher labor costs are absorbed by business owners and passed onto consumers.
"Simply put, President-elect Biden’s relief bill is a progressive approach that denies the reality of free markets and common sense. We should focus on targeted aid to American workers and helping small businesses recover from the pandemic,” Scott said.
Biden's $1.9 trillion relief package, unveiled last week, would also include $1,400 direct payments to all Americans, $20 billion for public transit and $9 billion for cybersecurity.
“A few of the line items in this proposal seem like they could undermine the bill’s own good intentions," Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told FOX Business in a statement.
"Drastically increased federal mandates on small business payrolls is going to exacerbate the struggles many of these businesses already face," he said, adding that while he supports increased relief during the pandemic, he is unsure if the proposal as it is will garner his full support.
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mo., told FOX Business on Tuesday: "Montana should choose their minimum wage, not the federal government."
The majority of GOP senators – at least 10 of whom will need to support the measure to increase the minimum wage in order for it to pass – did not respond to Fox News' request for comment.
Meanwhile, in a now-deleted tweet, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., floated the idea of increasing the minimum wage to $23 an hour, despite the uphill battle that even an increase to $15 could encounter.
"Raising the minimum wage to $15 would lift 1 million people out of poverty. Imagine how many more lives would be impacted if we matched the rate of productivity and made it $23/hr," he said on Twitter.
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A spokesperson for Khanna did not respond to FOX Business' request for comment.