Republican Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Mitt Romney of Utah announced Tuesday that they will introduce a bill to raise the federal minimum wage, a Democratic version of which reportedly is threatening passage of the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion so-called COVID-19 relief package.
“Millions of Americans are struggling to make ends meet,” Cotton wrote on Twitter in a series of posts near identical to Romney’s. “I’m introducing a bill w/@SenatorRomney to give them a raise by increasing the minimum wage and ensuring businesses can't hire illegal immigrants – protecting American workers.”
The series of posts did not indicate to what amount Cotton and Romney’s bill would raise the federal minimum wage from its current $7.25 an hour, nor did it specify how, or if, it would penalize employers for hiring illegal immigrants. Proposals in the past to hold employers accountable have been opposed by organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce.
The Biden administration had proposed raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour as part of it COVID-19 package, but that was put on hold earlier this month due to resistance from some Democrats, particularly Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., who would be critical to passage.
Others, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., have insisted on its inclusion.
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