Tonight, House Democrats passed legislation that would spend $1.9 trillion and raise the federal minimum wage to $15-an-hour. An independent, nonpartisan analysis of the wage hike by the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the proposed hike would lead to the elimination of 1.4 million jobs, effectively lowering the wages earned by those Americans to $0 an hour.
Democrats passed the legislation in spite of bipartisan votes against it. The final tally was 219 votes for the bill, with 212 votes opposed to it. Two Democrats crossed the aisle to oppose the bill, while no Republicans voted for it.
Congressman John Moolenaar voted against the legislation and made the following statement:
“Last year, I voted for bipartisan COVID relief packages that brought much needed relief to Michigan families, health care professionals, schools, and small businesses. A lot of this funding is still available and the Biden Administration is not being honest when it says it needs tonight's bill to re-open schools. There is still $59 billion in approved school aid that has not been spent and scientific research shows it's safe to re-open classrooms and let every American student have the opportunity for in-person learning.
“Democrats should join Republicans in getting students back in the classroom, making vaccines available to everyone who wants one, and letting small businesses safely and fully re-open. Unfortunately, tonight they decided to pass a bill that will spend billions to bailout state governments while putting more burdens on small businesses that have been devastated by the pandemic and state-imposed restrictions. Today’s bill is not COVID relief. It is a repeat of the failed Obama-Biden spending policies that led to the slowest economic recovery in American history."
Original source can be found here.
