WASHINGTON, D.C. (KMOX) - Republican Congressman Rodney Davis of Illinois tells KMOX's Mark Reardon that Democrats have given up on unity as they push for President Biden's $1.9-trillion pandemic relief bill.
He says of Democrats, "We passed five COVID relief bills in a bi-partisan way already under President Trump, and the bill you're going to use a partisan process they call reconciliation on is another COVID bill?"
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The maneuver would allow Democrats in the House and Senate to pass the bill without any GOP support.
You can hear KMOX's full conversation with Rep. Davis here:
Davis says, among other things, the bill includes an old standby for Democrats: a $15 federal minimum wage.
"Increasing the minimum wage right now at a time when we're trying to get our economy moving again is basically tantamount to stripping 1.5-million Americans out of a job," Davis adds. "When government continues to set wages, prices will go up for those who can least afford it."
But those who want to raise the minimum wage say it's needed. St. Louis fast food workers held a virtual protest Tuesday, demanding a federal $15 minimum per hour. Francis Holmes said it's not just about her job.
"I have two kids, six grandkids and a great-grand baby. And I need to make sure the struggles that I had, that those people of mine don't have those struggles," Holmes says
While President Biden has admitted it's looking unlikely the minimum wage hike will survive in the pandemic relief bill, Rep. Davis has a bigger issue with the process.
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He says when Joe Biden was a Senator, he would work to find bi-partisan compromise. But since taking over in the Oval Office, Davis says Biden is ruling by decree - with more executive orders to begin a presidency than anyone in history - and the orders are all geared towards appeasing the far left.
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