Deep divides in congress---vote failed in 2021

Minimum-wage workers won't see a raise as part of federal coronavirus relief efforts, as moderate Democrats joined all Republicans to shoot down Senator Bernie Sanders' amendment to include increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour in the Senate COVID relief package. The 42-58 vote laid out a deep divide within the Democratic caucus on the issue, raising questions on its path forward — but Democratic lawmakers who favor the move say the fight is far from over. "If any senator believes this is the last time they will cast a vote on whether or not to give a raise to 32 million Americans, they are sorely mistaken," Sanders said in a statement. "We're going to keep bringing it up, and we're going to get it done because it is what the American people demand and need." Sanders offered the amendment after Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled that a $15 minimum wage hike cannot be included in the Senate COVID relief package under the budget reconciliation process. In that process, legislation can advance with a simple majority instead of 60 votes, but the legislation has to follow strict budgetary rules. "I think the parliamentarian was dead wrong," said Sanders, speaking on the Senate floor Friday morning. "But more importantly, it is an absurd process that we allow an unelected staffer, somebody who works for the Senate, not elected by anybody, to make a decision as to whether 30 million Americans get a pay raise or not." The amendment had a difficult path to getting adopted after moderate Senate Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona signaled their opposition to raising the minimum wage to $15. Democratic Senators Jon Tester of Montana, Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, and Tom Carper and Chris Coons of Delaware, along with Sinema and Manchin, joined Republicans against the motion. Independent Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with Democrats, also voted against the motion. While all senators have voted, the vote has not yet technically closed.