Congress Will Consider A Standalone Minimum Wage Hike Soon

Date: March 02, 2021

A $15 Minimum Wage Will Not Be In The Final COVID-19 Relief Bill, But The Threat Isn’t Over

Good news: A $15 minimum wage will not be part of Congress’ upcoming COVID-19 relief bill.  

On Thursday, the U.S. Senate Parliamentarian declared that Senate rules prohibit its inclusion in the bill, which is being passed under a special “reconciliation” process. This turn of events means small businesses are temporarily saved from a more than doubling of the federal minimum wage. 

However, minimum wage hike supporters are still moving the policy. The House of Representatives ignored the Parliamentarian and kept a $15 per hour federal minimum wage in their reconciliation bill and are planning to push a standalone bill – the Raise the Wage Act of 2021. 

In 2019, the NFIB Research Center found that a federal $15 minimum wage would kill 1.6 million jobs. More than 55% of the job losses would be at small businesses, and nearly 45% would be at the smallest firms. 

NFIB is leading the charge to defeat this dangerous policy. As part of this effort, NFIB President Brad Close recently wrote an op-ed in USA Today calling on Congress to reject a hike under any circumstances. His message is clear: Congress must “listen to the small businesses that have the most to lose.” 

“The threat is still real,” said Kevin Kuhlman, NFIB’s Vice President of Federal Government Relations. “Small businesses must speak out loudly and clearly about the damage a minimum wage hike will do to their businesses, employees, and communities.”  

NFIB is calling on all small businesses to take this message straight to Congress. Your lawmaker needs to hear your story TODAY: Email your Member of Congress today. 

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