Letter to the Hon. Joe Biden, President of the United States, and the Hon. Kamala D. Harris, Vice President of the United States - Congresswoman Cori Bush Urges Biden Administration to Overrule Senate Parliamentarian

Letter

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01) and Congressman Ro Khanna (CA-17) sent a letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris urging the administration to overrule the Senate parliamentarian's decision not to include a $15 minimum wage in the Budget Reconciliation package. Citing both concrete precedent and the severity of the economic crisis, the letter requests that the arcane Byrd Rule be disregarded and the $15/hour minimum wage raise be maintained. Should the Senate parliamentarian be overruled, Republicans would need 60 votes to prevent the bill from moving forward with the minimum wage provision included.

Text of Letter (PDF)

"The Senate Parliamentarian's advice is just that -- advice," said Congresswoman Cori Bush. "While we live in unprecedented times, disregarding the advisory opinion of the Senate parliamentarian would not be an unprecedented step--it has been done before, and we should do it now to maintain the inclusion of the $15 minimum wage in the American Rescue Plan. For many in St. Louis, raising the minimum wage to at least $15 is an issue of racial justice, gender equality, and workers' rights. The House is doing its part to protect our workers. The Senate must do theirs. We made a promise to the American people, and we must keep it."

"For four years, Progressives have been negotiating in good faith, putting our bold agenda at the center of the American consciousness in the hopes that our country does indeed share our commitment to building a better future," said Congressman Ro Khanna. "This ruling is a bridge too far. We've been asked, politely but firmly, to compromise on nearly all of our principles & goals. Not this time. If we don't overrule the Senate parliamentarian, we are condoning poverty wages for millions of Americans. That's why I'm leading my colleagues in urging the Biden Administration to lean on the clear precedent and overrule this misguided decision. Give America a raise."

In their letter, the Members of Congress wrote: "As the United States continues to battle dual economic and public health crises, it is more important now than ever that we deliver relief to Americans. Eighty-one million people cast their ballots to elect you on a platform that called for a $15 minimum wage. We urge you to keep that promise and call on the Presiding Officer of the Senate to refute the Senate Parliamentarian's advice on a Byrd Rule point of order and maintain the $15 minimum wage provision in the American Rescue Plan."

The letter was also signed by Reps. Newman, Tlaib, Omar, Ocasio-Cortez, Jones, Pocan, Bowman, Jayapal, Levin (MI), Thompson (MS), Lowenthal, Escobar, McCollum, Connolly, DeSaulnier, García (IL), Lee (CA), Grijalva, Dingell, Torres (N.Y), and Blumenauer.

A PDF of the letter can be foundhere and the full text of the letter is below:

Dear President Biden and Vice President Harris:

As the United States continues to battle dual economic and public health crises, it is more important now than ever that we deliver relief to Americans. Eighty-one million people cast their ballots to elect you on a platform that called for a $15 minimum wage. We urge you to keep that promise and call on the Presiding Officer of the Senate to refute the Senate Parliamentarian's advice on a Byrd Rule point of order and maintain the $15 minimum wage provision in the American Rescue Plan.

This has significant historical precedent. In 1967, Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey disregarded the Parliamentarian's advice while pushing to reduce the filibuster threshold from two-thirds of those present to three-fifths. Vice President Humphrey did the same again in 1969. Ultimately, Republican Vice President Nelson D. Rockefeller partnered with future Vice President Walter Mondale and succeeded in 1975 while again refuting the parliamentarian.

For the last twelve years, working Americans have struggled to get by under a federal minimum wage that remains stuck at $7.25 per hour. Since its establishment in 1938 as part of the New Deal, the federal minimum wage has never gone this long without a boost. In fact, its purchasing power has fallen by nearly twenty-five percent due to inflation since its last increase in 2009. As you know, this policy has disproportionately hurt women and Black and Brown workers. Women make up nearly sixty percent of hourly workers making less than $15 per hour despite comprising only fifty percent of the overall hourly workforce. The disparate impact is even starker among Black and Brown workers, who make up only thirty-six percent of the hourly workforce yet work in nearly half of all jobs earning less than $15 per hour.

We must act now to prevent tens of millions of hardworking Americans from being underpaid any longer. The outdated and complex Byrd rule rooted in restricting progress must not be an impediment to improving people's lives. You have the authority to deliver a raise for millions of Americans. Thank you for your consideration.

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