Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says the effort by Democrats to increase the federal minimum wage has nothing to do with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The minimum wage has nothing to do with COVID, zero to do with COVID. It’s got everything to do with their liberal wishlist,” Graham said on Wednesday.
Watch his comments below:
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC): "The minimum wage has got nothing to do with COVID … it's got everything to do with their liberal wishlist." pic.twitter.com/LWDoOLn4Lv
— The Recount (@therecount) February 24, 2021
Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill in January to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025, as IJR reported.
“Let’s be clear. The $7.25 an hour federal minimum wage is a starvation wage,” Sanders said in a statement.
He added, “No person in America can make it on $8, $10, or $12 an hour. In the United States of America a job must lift workers out of poverty, not keep them in it. […] We can no longer tolerate millions of workers not being able to afford to feed their families or pay the rent. The time for talk is over. No more excuses.”
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters earlier this month Biden is “firmly committed to raising the minimum wage to $15.”
She explained, “He believes any American who is working a full-time job, trying to make ends meet, should not be at the poverty level. It’s important to him that the minimum wage is raised.”
Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) announced on Tuesday their plans to introduce a bill to raise the minimum wage to $10, as IJR reported.
The legislation would ensure the wage increase only applies to legal workers.
“We must create opportunities for American workers and protect their jobs, while also eliminating one of the key drivers of illegal immigration,” Romney said.
Cotton said in his own statement, “American workers today compete against millions of illegal immigrants for too few jobs with wages that are too low—that’s unfair.”
He added, “Ending the black market for illegal labor will open up jobs for Americans. Raising the minimum wage will allow Americans filling those jobs to better support their families. Our bill does both.”