Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, Mark Kelly split over effort to hike minimum wage in COVID-19 package

Arizona Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly

 (Photo: Getty Images)

Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly split Friday over an effort to hike the federal minimum wage, with Sinema evoking memories of the late Sen. John McCain by flashing a thumb’s down on the Senate floor.

Sinema, D-Ariz., joined with seven other Democrats and all Republicans to block an effort to debate raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour in the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package under consideration in the Senate.

Kelly, D-Ariz., voted to allow the effort to overrule the Senate parliamentarian, who has decided the measure to raise the wage from $7.25 an hour cannot be considered as part of the COVID-19 legislation.

The aid package is advancing in the 100-member Senate through budget reconciliation rules that bypass the typical 60-vote threshold needed to pass legislation. 

Debate over raising the federal minimum wage has emerged as a key issue among Democrats who saw the stimulus package as their best shot at passing the provision without picking up support from Republicans in the 50-50 split chamber. 

Sinema is a centrist Democrat who has faced intense criticism from progressives who wanted her to support the effort as well as do away with the legislative filibuster. She cast her vote on the floor by bending her knees and issuing a thumbs-down vote.

The moment drew both condemnation and support on social media and prompted comparisons to the iconic thumbs-down vote taken by McCain, R-Ariz., in 2017 when he torpedoed GOP efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Both “Sinema” and “John McCain” trended Friday on Twitter as the debate raged, with some users noting that McCain’s thumb’s down saved health care for many while Sinema’s vote hurts economically challenged workers. Others said Sinema was living up to McCain’s maverick spirit by bucking her own party.

Sinema noted in a written statement that she previously has supported prior efforts to support wage increases, but takes issue with it being included in the massive relief package.

“I understand what it is like to face tough choices while working to meet your family’s most basic needs,” Sinema said. “I also know the difference better wages can make, which is why I helped lead Arizona’s effort to pass an indexed minimum wage in 2006, and strongly supported the voter-approved state minimum wage increase in 2016.

“No person who works full time should live in poverty. Senators in both parties have shown support for raising the federal minimum wage and the Senate should hold an open debate and amendment process on raising the minimum wage, separate from the COVID-focused reconciliation bill.”

Progressives, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., blasted those who voted no.

Imagine having the nerve, Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter, “to go home and ask minimum wage workers to support you after going back on your own documented stance to help crush their biggest chance at a wage hike during their longest drought of wage increases since the law’s very inception.” 

Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis. reminded voters of a 2014 tweet in which Sinema, then serving in the House of Representatives, wrote it was a “no brainer” to hike the minimum wage.

Sinema joined six other Democrats and an independent to vote against moving forward with debate on raising the minimum wage through the relief package: Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., and Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H. Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with Democrats, also voted against the effort. 

All 50 Republican senators voted against the effort. 

Kelly, who said throughout his 2020 Senate campaign he supported raising the minimum wage, said in a statement to The Arizona Republic that he sees room for improvement on the $15 an hour proposal.

“I’ve talked with Arizonans struggling to make ends meet, and while improvements need to be made to this proposal, I believe hard working Arizonans deserve a raise,” Kelly said. “This COVID relief package is going to bring a lot of immediate help to Arizona families and small business owners, and I’ll continue working with Republicans and Democrats to raise the minimum wage in a way that works for Arizona’s economy, families, and small businesses.”

The effort, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., kicked off what is expected to be an hours-long voting marathon.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has determined that increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour would raise income for millions of workers and help bring 900,000 people out of poverty.

The analysis of the Raise the Wage Act of 2021 also found that by 2025, when the hourly rate would hit $15, about 1.4 million fewer Americans would be working.

Have news to share about Arizona’s U.S. senators or national politics? Reach the reporter on Twitter and Facebook. Contact her at yvonne.wingett@arizonarepublic.com and 602-444-4712.

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