Sanders drops effort to penalize corporations that don't pay $15 per hour
Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., are dropping a planned amendment to penalize corporations that don’t pay at least $15 per hour in an effort to raise the minimum wage for as many people as possible after the Senate parliamentarian ruled a straight wage increase out of bounds under reconciliation, two Democratic sources confirmed to ABC News.
One source close to Sanders said that he is determined to pass a wage increase and is "looking at all available strategies" to get it done. One of the sources told ABC that the progressives', "plan B is on hold."
"We worked through the weekend, and it became clear that finalizing ‘Plan B’ with the caucus would delay passage and risk going over the jobless benefits cliff," the source said.
There were many questions about how the Wyden-Sanders amendment would work, some of the questions coming from Democrats. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., expressed concern Sunday that corporations might move jobs overseas in reaction to the penalty. Some economists questioned how the amendment would work with corporations that have franchises.
The $15 minimum wage increase has been a foundational issue for progressives in the new Congress.
-ABC News' Trish Turner