$15 Minimum Wage Won't Be in Final Stimulus Bill

It looks like President Biden's plan to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour won't make it into the final version of the massive COVID-relief bill working its way through Congress. To pass the $1.9 trillion stimulus package without support from Republicans, Democratic lawmakers are applying the rarely used budget reconciliation rules to enact the president's plan. Under these rules, legislation can be passed in the Senate with a simple majority vote, instead of the 60 votes normally needed to avoid a filibuster. However, only provisions that "change spending or revenues" can be included in a reconciliation bill. On Thursday, the Senate Parliamentarian ruled that the minimum wage provisions in the COVID-relief