$15 minimum wage: Bernie Sanders says wage increase not ‘incidental’ to federal budget as its place in Covid relief bill questioned

Sanders and the Budget Committee’s legal team have been meeting with the Senate parliamentarian’s office this week, arguing that the minimum wage increase would directly affect the federal budget and therefore be allowed to pass the Senate with only 51 votes through the reconciliation.

CNN previously reported that the parliamentarian was “stoic” during a meeting this week with Democratic aides about whether the minimum wage provision would be permissible through reconciliation and did not tip her hand one way or the other, according to a Democratic aide familiar.

The minimum wage portion of the Covid-19 relief package has been a point of contention from the beginning. Sanders and progressive Democrats believe including it is necessary and would provide them an important legislative victory early on in the Biden administration. But Republicans are very much opposed to its inclusion and if it were included in the final package it would destroy any slim hope of bipartisan support for the plan.

“I’m confident that the parliamentarian will advise next week that we can raise the minimum wage through the reconciliation process,” he told CNN.

Sanders’ legislation calls for hiking the hourly wage in stages until it hits $15 in 2025.

This story has been updated with additional details Saturday.