Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that the COVID-relief bill the House will send to the Senate will have a $15 minimum wage included.
During a weekly press conference, Pelosi said the House plans to have their COVID-relief bill completed by the end of February and on President Joe Bidenâs desk by March 14, when some unemployment benefits expire. Pelosi also confirmed that the House bill will include a $15 minimum wage.
âWe hope to finish our markups in committee this week and then send it to the Budget Committee next week for them to work their will on it. Then to the Rules Committee and then to the floor. And we hope to have this all done by the end of February,â Pelosi said during her presser.
âCertainly on the Presidentâs desk in time to offset the March 14th deadline where some unemployment benefits will expire,â she added.
Pelosi was then asked about the $15 minimum wage being included in the House bill, to which she said: âYes it will. Weâre very proud of thatâŠWe will be sending that.â
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, wears a protective mask while speaking during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. (Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
A study released in 2019 by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) showed House Democratsâ proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour would most likely leave 1.3 million Americans jobless by 2025. (RELATED: Democratsâ Minimum Wage Increase Would Kill 1.4 Million Jobs, Congressional Budget Office Finds)
The study showed that prices would soar as businesses would have to force their higher labor costs onto consumers. (RELATED: Corporations That Support The $15 Minimum Wage Can Afford It. Hereâs Who Canât)
Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin said in early February that he does not support a $15 minimum wage.
The minimum wage in the U.S. has been $7.25 per hour since 2009.
