As coronavirus relief package negotiations continue to move through Congress, Democrats torn over whether to include a measure that would gradually increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by the year 2025.
One factor that could impact their decision making is a new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which says that raising the minimum wage on that timeline would result in 1.4 million workers losing their jobs.
The report also indicates that the minimum wage hike would lift 900,000 workers out of poverty.
The policy proposal has divided the Democratic coalition along progressive and moderate lines. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) opposes the policy, while younger, more progressive members of congress have been longtime advocates for uniformly raising the hourly pay of American minimum wage workers.