Senate Finance Committee chair Ron Wyden. Photo: Getty Images Last week, Senate Democrats heeded the ruling of the body’s parliamentarian, who determined they were not allowed to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 as part of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan. According to parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, tacking on the proposal to President Biden’s stimulus plan would violate the rules of budget reconciliation, the process Democrats are using to pass the $1.9 trillion package with just 51 votes. While previous administrations had fired the legislative rule-keeper as a simple workaround, Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris wanted to “ respect ” the will of the unelected official, rather than secure an immediate win for the widely-supported benefit, which would be the first increase to the minimum hourly wage in over a decade. Immediately after the play was spiked, Democrats scrambled to get an imperfect $15 minimum into the bill: Aides for Senate Finance Committee chair Ron Wyden, consulting with Senate Budget Chair Bernie Sanders, wrote up a proposal requiring “very large” companies like Walmart and Amazon to pay a 5 percent payroll tax if they did not pay their workers at least $15 per hour. Smaller businesses, meanwhile, would be encouraged to raise their employees’ wages by providing income tax credits equal to 25 percent of wages, up to $10,000 per employer per year. Now, this backup plan has also been spiked, according to the Washington Post , which reports that the “the tax outlined by Sanders and Wyden could be easily avoided and difficult to implement, with large corporations able to reclassify workers as contractors to avoid potential penalties.” Sanders and Wyden, who have reportedly walked away from the proposal, would have also had to convince a hesitant caucus to support a wage increase — one that still doesn’t cover rent for a two-bedroom apartment in all but six states in the nation — while hashing ...
Kamala harris photos
Jane Fonda calls for greater diversity in Hollywood during Cecil B. DeMille Award speech
close Video Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines for February 28 Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. Check out what's clicking today in entertainment. Jane Fonda is the latest recipient of the prestigious Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2021 Golden Globes . During her acceptance speech on Sunday night, the actress called for greater diversity in Hollywood and praised how storytelling can change perspectives around the world. The 83-year-old activist, star of "Barbarella," "Klute," "Coming Home," "On Golden Pond" and "9 to 5," received the Globes’ version of a lifetime achievement award, one of the few honorees to accept a Globe in person in Beverly Hills. Wearing a white suit just as Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris did for significant political speeches, Fonda said, "We are a community of storytellers, aren’t we, and in turbulent, crisis-torn times like these, story-telling has always been essential." GOLDEN GLOBES 2021: PARTIAL WINNERS LIST She said stories let us "have empathy, to recognize that for all our diversity we are all humans." Honoree Jane Fonda accepts the Cecil B. DeMille Award onstage at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at The Beverly Hilton. (Polk/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images) But she said there is another "story we’ve been afraid to see and hear about ourselves in this industry, about which voices we respect and elevate and which we tune out, who is offered a seat at the table and who is kept out of the rooms where decisions are made." Fonda called for Hollywood’s leaders to "make an effort to expand that tent" so that "everyone has a chance to be seen and heard." GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS CO-HOSTS TINA FEY, AMY POEHLER MUM ON POLITICS, SLAM HFPA IN OPENING MONOLOGUE The DeMille award honors "outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment." Previous winners include Walt Disney, Judy ...
Senate Democrats Bail on Backup Plan for $15 Minimum Wage As Part of Biden Stimulus
Senate Finance Committee chair Ron Wyden. Photo: Getty Images Last week, Senate Democrats heeded the ruling of the body’s parliamentarian, who determined they were not allowed to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 as part of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan. According to parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, tacking on the proposal to President Biden’s stimulus plan would violate the rules of budget reconciliation, the process Democrats are using to pass the $1.9 trillion package with just 51 votes. While one previous administration had fired the legislative rule-keeper as a simple workaround, Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris wanted to “ respect ” the will of the unelected official, rather than secure an immediate win for the widely supported benefit, which would be the first increase to the minimum hourly wage in over a decade. Immediately after the play was spiked, Democrats scrambled to get an imperfect $15 minimum into the bill: Aides for Senate Finance Committee chair Ron Wyden, consulting with Senate Budget Chair Bernie Sanders, wrote up a proposal requiring “very large” companies like Walmart and Amazon to pay a 5 percent payroll tax if they did not pay their workers at least $15 per hour. Smaller businesses, meanwhile, would be encouraged to raise their employees’ wages by providing income tax credits equal to 25 percent of wages, up to $10,000 per employer per year. Now, this backup plan has also been spiked, according to the Washington Post , which reports that the “the tax outlined by Sanders and Wyden could be easily avoided and difficult to implement, with large corporations able to reclassify workers as contractors to avoid potential penalties.” Sanders and Wyden, who have reportedly walked away from the proposal, would have also had to convince a hesitant caucus to support a wage increase — one that still doesn’t cover rent for a two-bedroom apartment in all but six states in the nation — while ...
