The package cleared the House despite a major setback for Democrats, when a key Senate official ruled Thursday that the final version of the bill cannot include a minimum wage hike. Biden had campaigned extensively on raising the national minimum wage to $15 an hour, from a rate of $7.25 that has stood since 2009. "We will not rest until we pass the $15 minimum wage," Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said. The White House budget office said the measure provides "critical" tools for tackling health crises and, like Biden, urged its swift passage. The House and Senate texts would then need to be reconciled into a single bill and passed again before getting Biden's signature.

Source: Mint February 27, 2021 07:41 UTC