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Progressives are fuming over a setback on the minimum wage, worried that it signals looming problems for getting other key priorities through Congress.

Though Democrats control both the House and Senate for the first time since 2010, Thursdays decision by the parliamentarian to exclude a wage increase from the $1.9 trillion relief bill is reviving tensions about limited powers to pass some of the biggest Democratic campaign promises.

Progressives are warning that without making significant rules changes, theyre going to face a "Groundhog Day" of watching bills they championed and their voters supported pass the Housebutdie in the 50-50 Senate, where Democrats control the majority.

"It's not just about minimum wage,"Rep. Pramila JayapalPramila JayapalProgressives won't oppose bill over limits on stimulus checks Democrats snipe on policy, GOP brawls over Trump House Democrats' ambitious agenda set to run into Senate blockade MORE (D-Wash.), the chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told reporters. "Democrats made a lot of promises in winning the House, the Senate and the White House. And it's going to come up again and again."

Democrats, she added, face a choice: Are we going to stick to these rules, or are we actually going to use the levers of government to work for the people?

Evan Weber, political director of the Sunrise Movement, put it more bluntly, saying, Most Americans do not give a shit about and have never heard of the Byrd rule.

What will happen next if the parliamentarian rules a 100 percent Clean Energy Standard, another key Biden promise, is in violation of the arbitrary Byrd rule? ... From inequality to the climate crisis, our country and its people are in a state of emergency and in desperate need of action. Where is the urgency from our supposed leaders? he added.

Democrats are using reconciliation a budget process that allows them to bypass the 60-vote filibuster to pass their coronavirus relief legislation, which they had hoped would also include the $15 minimum wage increase.

But Elizabeth MacDonough, the Senate parliamentarian, advised senators late Thursday that it did not comply with rules that govern what can and cannot be included in legislation that uses the budget process.

Her ruling is a potential warning sign for Democrats who are hoping to use a second reconciliation package to pass an infrastructure bill, likely with climate change proposals that largely stalled when the Senate was under GOP control.

But the party faces bigger problems when it comes to passing its priorities outside of reconciliation, where they still need 60 votes to get most legislation through the Senate. In an evenly split Senate, where Democrats have the majority because Vice President Harris can cast any tiebreaking votes, the support of at least 10 GOP senators will be needed to clear procedural hurdles for legislation.

That includes big campaign promisessuch as tighter gun laws, immigration reform, voting rights, democracy reforms and LGBTQ protections.

The House, for example, is expected to pass legislation next week that would enact a sweeping overhaul of campaign finance and election and ethics laws.

But the measure, H.R. 1, is likely to go nowhere, despite Democrats also controlling the Senate.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellMcConnell makes failed bid to adjourn Senate after hours-long delay Paul Ryan to host fundraiser for Cheney amid GOP tensions Senate Democrats near deal to reduce jobless boost to 0 MORE (R-Ky.) teed off against the bill from the Senate floor this week, calling it an attempt to grab unprecedented power over how America conducts its elections and how American citizens can engage in political speech.

The House also is expected to soon take up a police reform bill, which does not have 60 votes in the Senate.

Earlier this week, the House passed legislation that expands protections in education, housing, employment and more to LGBT people and prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in credit, jury service and public accommodations.

Senate Majority Leader Charles SchumerChuck SchumerLawmakers demand changes after National Guard troops at Capitol sickened from tainted food Ron Johnson forces reading of 628-page Senate coronavirus relief bill on floor Senate panel splits along party lines on Becerra MORE (D-N.Y.) has pledged that the bill will get a vote, but it will need GOP support. Democrats introduced the same measure last year; it had only one GOP co-sponsor in the Senate.

Progressives argue the dynamic underscores that changes are needed in the Senate: either overruling the parliamentarian or nixing the legislative filibuster.

If people in this country send us to government to change lives, we have a mandate to change those lives. And this problem is especially compounded in the Senate, which already has an extreme anti-democracy bias, said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-CortezAlexandria Ocasio-CortezProgressives won't oppose bill over limits on stimulus checks Bipartisan bill would ban lawmakers from buying, selling stocks The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - J&J vax rollout today; third woman accuses Cuomo MORE (D-N.Y.).

So really our options right now, at least our immediate options on this specific issue, is to do something about this parliamentary obstacle or abolish the filibuster. Those are out two options right now, she added.

The filibusters high threshold is why Democrats are trying to pass coronavirus relief through reconciliation, which places strict limits on what can be included in the bill.

Several progressive Democrats immediately revived calls for nixing the filibuster after the parliamentarians ruling on minimum wage.

We shouldn't need to use an arcane procedure to pass the people's agenda! If we don't let the filibuster stand in our way, the Parliamentarian's decision on minimum wage won't matter. End the McConnell Veto! Sen. Jeff MerkleyJeff MerkleyHouse-passed election bill takes aim at foreign interference Bipartisan bill would ban lawmakers from buying, selling stocks Pentagon prevented immediate response to mob, says Guard chief MORE (D-Ore.) tweeted.

Supporters of eliminating the filibuster argue that leaving it in place effectively hands control of the Senate to McConnell because Republicans are able to block most legislation.

Today its the minimum wage. Tomorrow, the filibuster stands to block legislation on immigration, gun violence prevention, climate justice, voting rights and more, Kevin Kimble of Just Democracy said in a statement Thursday.

But the White House has dismissed talk of using Harris to overrule the parliamentarian a maneuver that doesnt have enough support among Senate Democrats to be successful anyway. The caucus also doesnt have the votes to nix the filibuster.

Democrats would need all 50 members of the caucus to vote on eliminating the filibuster. Sens. Joe ManchinJoseph (Joe) ManchinSenate Democrats vote to provide 0 unemployment benefits into September Senate GOP gets short-lived win on unemployment fight McConnell makes failed bid to adjourn Senate after hours-long delay MORE (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) are on the record opposing such a move, and several other Democratic senators are viewed as wary.

Progressives are warning that voters gave them a trifecta control of the House, Senate and White House in order to enact the agenda they campaigned on and that those same voters wont be forgiving during the 2022 midterms if Democrats fail to deliver because of Senate procedural rules.

No American voted to give power to a parliamentarian, Rep. Ruben GallegoRuben GallegoProgressives fume over Senate setbacks More than 0K raised for Ohio mom arrested for leaving kids alone at motel to work GoFundMe set up for mother arrested after leaving kids alone while at work MORE (D-Ariz.) tweeted. It will be hard to explain to voters in 2022 what we as Democrats produced if we stick to arcane ways.

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Progressives fume over Senate setbacks | TheHill - The Hill

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Sen. Elizabeth Warren said her proposed wealth tax on households worth more than $50 million could help pay for investments in infrastructure, child care and health reforms as part of President Joe Bidens plan to Build Back Better after the coronavirus pandemic that has disproportionately hit low-income families.

We need to turn to infrastructure, child care, pre-K, college. We need to turn to the things that create investment and opportunity going forward and to do that, a wealth tax is the best way to pay for it, Warren said.

Warren, along with Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Rep. Brendan Boyle, said the tax they unveiled March 1, dubbed the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act, would create a fairer economy with a 2% annual tax on households and trusts valued at between $50 million and $1 billion. All net worth over $1 billion would be taxed at 3%.

The measure like wealth tax proposals Warren has offered in the past is unlikely to garner the support needed to pass, particularly in the evenly divided Senate. But it could serve as a marker for progressives in Congress and is a reminder of the restiveness on the partys left flank.

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The group claims the proposal would generate at least $3 trillion in revenue over 10 years, citing a Feb. 24 analysis from economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman from the University of California-Berkeley.

The ultra-rich and powerful have rigged the rules in their favor so much that the top 0.1% pay a lower effective tax rate than the bottom 99%, and billionaire wealth is 40% higher than before the COVID crisis began, Warren said in a statement. A wealth tax is popular among voters on both sides for good reason: because they understand the system is rigged to benefit the wealthy and large corporations.

While President Joe Biden campaigned on raising the income tax rate for top earners, he hasnt endorsed a tax on wealth. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden will discuss making sure the wealthy pay their fair share as part of the next package of legislation.

Addressing the inequities in the tax code is something he talked about as part of the Build Back Better agenda and something he remains committed to, Psaki said March 1. He has a lot of respect for Sen. Warren and is aligned in the goal of making sure the ultra-wealthy and big corporations finally pay their fair share.

A wealth tax would be particularly difficult to pass in the current U.S. Senate, which is divided 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans. Democrats control the agenda, since Vice President Kamala Harris can break ties, but most bills require support from 60 senators to advance.

And Democrats have been unable to muster even 50 votes from some administration proposals, including a $15 hourly minimum wage. A wealth tax likely would be even more divisive.

However, Democrats are planning to use special budget reconciliation procedures to pass a bill with a simple majority later in the year that will include parts of a massive infrastructure package. At that point, taxes to pay for the build out would be on the table. And under Senate rules, tax increases generally are allowed in budget bills.

The bills co-sponsors include Budget Chairman Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Mazie Hirono, also of Hawaii. Jayapal is from Washington State, and Boyle is from Pennsylvania.

Jayapal said the proposal will help level the playing field, narrow the racial wealth gap, ensure the wealthiest finally begin to pay their fair share, and invest trillions of dollars into our communities so we can make a real difference in the lives of people across America.

Warren defended the constitutionality of the plan, pointing to estate taxes as precedent for evaluating wealth. Some scholars have noted that the Constitution requires direct taxes to be apportioned among the states by population, while others have said that a wealth tax can be exempted from this requirement.

I am completely confident that this is a constitutionally responsible way to do this, Warren said.

With assistance from Nancy Cook and Mario Parker.

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Progressives Propose Wealth Tax to Fund Infrastructure - Transport Topics Online

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash. | Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call via AP

WASHINGTON (PAI)The almost evenly split Senate is still wrangling over Democratic President Joe Bidens $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package, but the Congressional Progressive Caucus is looking ahead to the next one, its chair says.

And while Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., didnt throw out any numbers in her Zoom session with Our Revolution Board Chair Larry Cohen and the organizations members, she said it will be huge, concentrating on infrastructureand strengthening workers wages and rights in those projects.

Jayapal gave that outlook as she described the inside-outside strategy the progressives, now the largest group within the Houses ruling Democrats, are using to push their agenda through on Capitol Hill, despite a 50-50 U.S. Senate.

It is critical, now more than ever, that we keep the heat on, she urged. Without it, she said, Democratic leaders could easily succumb to corporate pressure and dump key items, such as the $15 minimum wage and Medicare For All, that progressivesincluding worker-backed progressiveshave run and won on.

Were not sure about the entire scope of the (next) rescue plan, Jayapal admitted. In the first one, we prioritized popular items to champion: The $15 minimum wage and survival checks, referring to the $1,400 payments, as well as added federal jobless benefits.

One of the popular things that could be in the next bill is to lower prescription drug prices by giving the federal government power to force drug companies to accept lower prices from Medicare, which accounts for a significant share of their revenues.

There would also be limits on price-gouging and (drug) price spikes, as in a House-passed bill, HR3, last year. Then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., killed it.

Jayapal predicted Bidens next economic rescue bill will include a massive infrastructure plan to rebuild the nations roads, subways, bridges, railroads, and airports while expanding broadband coverage nationwide.

Itll have good union jobs, building the new infrastructure, especially green infrastructure, she predicted. There will also be Davis-Bacon Act coverage protecting construction workers prevailing wages and language strengthening collective bargaining for those workers, too, she said.

The progressives will also push another green cause besides construction: Levelling the playing field between renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power and traditional sources such as oil and gas. Their method: Eliminating fossil fuel subsidies, which will also increase revenue.

The International Monetary Fund calculated last year that direct and indirect federal subsidies to oil and gas alone totaled $650 billion, according to Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., who introduced legislation in October to eliminate 11 of the most obvious ones. It died at the end of the last Congress without a hearing.

Eliminating those subsidies jibes with Bidens goals of enacting pro-green infrastructure legislation and pushing the U.S. to zero net carbon emissions. Those emissions, from burning coal, oil, and natural gas, are considered key contributors to global warming.

Still, such a plan would face a tough fight from the rich energy lobbies. OpenSecrets.org reported the American Petroleum Institute alone spent $12 million on lobbying in 2019-20 and gave $5 million to a GOP party committee and $217,000 to individual candidates.

That led Cohen, the former Communications Workers president, to call eliminating fossil fuel subsidies hard but not hopeless.

So Jayapal used the saga of the $15 minimum wage as an example of how the progressives new strategy to ensure lawmakers vote on their causes works. One part of it is to craft progressive provisions in such a way and with specific tax and budget goals that fit into a reconciliation bill, which is what Bidens $1.9 trillion plan officially is.

The second part of their strategy is outside lobbying, which is where organized labor, Our Revolutionthe old Bernie Sanders supportersand allies come in. The third is to wield the Progressive Caucuss collective clout to ensure their causes reach the House floor.

Two days before the House Education and Labor Committee, which handled the $15 minimum wage, was to work on its share of Bidens $1.9 trillion plan, the wage hike wasnt in it, Jayapal revealed. Thats where the inside clout came into play.

The Progressive Caucus, which now has around 95 of the Houses 222 Democrats, officially endorsed it, after briefings and discussion. An official endorsement of an issue needs a two-thirds vote of all caucus members, she saidand it binds the entire group to vote as a bloc for it, and to threaten to walk if leaders dont include it.

With that endorsement in her pocket, Jayapal went to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., saying the $15 minimum wage was a make-or-break issue for her members. Meantime, workers and their allies put outside pressure for the wage on the E&L Democrats. Committee chair Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., got the word, and yielded.

But just in case, Jayapal, an E&L committee member, had a Raise The Wage amendment ready to offer if Scott ducked. That vote would have put everyoneDemocrats and Republicanson the record.

In future struggles, she added, the progressives will craft their provisions to fit into budget bills, especially reconciliation. That way, she hopes, parliamentary roadblockssuch as one that derailed Raise The Wage in the Senatewill fall.

The Progressive Caucus will use that leverage and those tactics for its other causes, said Jayapal, a longtime community organizer in her hometown of Seattle.

But itll have another type of leverage, too, said Paco Fabian, Our Revolutions Director of Campaigns.

He helped lead an Our Revolution rally outside the White House for raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

I think itll be a key for Democrats in 2022, he said of next years off-year election. Walk away from Fight for 15 and youre turning your back on your base. And itll have more repercussions in 2024 for any Democratic candidate who is not for it.

Itll be a litmus test.

Link:
Not waiting around: Progressive Caucus already working on next stimulus package - People's World

The decade Richard Boulware spent as a public defender before becoming a federal trial judge in Nevada meant he looked at his courts local rules differently upon joining the bench.

Requiring court documents be sent to email addresses or dismissing a case when a litigants address wasnt promptly updated could disadvantage people without online access or a stable address, Boulware said.

I have the privilege to have experienced how frequently our system can feel unfair to individuals who dont have the same access to resources as other individuals, Boulware said.

If progressive activists had their way, President Joe Biden would appoint many more judges who represented criminal defendants as well as workers, consumers, and civil rights plaintiffs. Wish lists assembled by two progressive groups, Demand Justice and the Peoples Parity Project, provide a window into what exactly their vision for the federal bench looks like.

Boulware, who is Black, is among the 76 lawyers and judges on the lists that are composed overwhelmingly of women and minorities, a Bloomberg Law analysis found. Whats equally important, insist progressive activists, is diverse work experiences, and the lists draw heavily on former public defenders, as well as alumni of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union, and other public interest legal groups.

As the layers of diversity grow, however, so does the potential for new tensions. Thats already evident in Colorado, where Democratic senators are facing pushback from progressives for putting forward a Latina Big Law attorney for an open district court seat.

The decision by Senate Democrats to retain home-state input for district court nominees, at least for now, means it will be harder to get unconventional nominees confirmed in states with Republican senators. Nominees with nontraditional resumes may also be less likely to be deemed qualified by the American Bar Association.

The Peoples Parity Project, composed of law students and new lawyers, wants to change the narrative among Democrats about whats considered qualifying experience for judicial nominees, said Molly Coleman, the groups executive director and co-founder.

For us, it was really showing that if you want people who will make outstanding judges, you actually dont need to look to Wall Streets lawyers, Coleman said of her groups list, which was composed with the federal appeals courts in mind.

Judges who have predominantly had experience in private practice and as federal prosecutors make up more than 70% of the appellate bench, while just 1% of circuit court judges have spent the majority of their careers as public defenders or within a legal aid setting, according to a August 2020 Center for American Progress study.

In comparison, 20% of those suggested by the Peoples Parity Project and Demand Justice have spent at least part of their careers working as public defenders. The wish lists include 15 attorneys who have worked at the NAACPs Legal Defense and Education Fund and 11 who have worked for the ACLU on issues including reproductive rights, gay rights, immigration, and election law.

The ranks of attorneys on the lists who have represented consumers, workers, or unions include Nicole Berner, general counsel for the Service Employees International Union, and Deepak Gupta, who founded a public interest law firm after working at Public Citizen and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Christopher Kang, chief counsel and co-founder of Demand Justice who worked on judicial nominations in the Obama White House, said diversifying the federal bench is not only having people that look like America but who have represented individual Americans. His groups list is aimed at potential Supreme Court nominees, but Kang said it broadly represents the type of people it would like to see on district and appellate courts.

Judges backgrounds can make a difference in outcomes. Judges with experience as federal prosecutors or corporate lawyers are less likely to rule in favor of workers in employment disputes, according to a recent study by Emory University law professor Joanna Shepherd and supported by Demand Justice.

Adding new criteria for ideal progressive judicial appointments sets up the potential for conflicting priorities. Progressives already pushed back on Colorados Democratic senators for their recommendation of WilmerHale partner Regina Rodriguez for a federal judgeship, because of her corporate law background.

Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said while he understands there is a lot of ground to make up in terms of professional experience because both parties focused on nominees with Big Law experience in the past, racial and ethnic diversity remain important.

There will always be corporate lawyers and federal prosecutors on the federal bench and the ranks of those former corporate lawyers and prosecutors should also reflect diversity, Saenz said.

There are still federal courts that havent had a Latino or Latina judge, including the D.C. Circuit, Saenz said. Hed like to see the Biden administration change that.

American Indian judges remain rare. There are currently two active judges who are American Indian, according to Federal Judicial Center data.

That leaves a gaping hole in American jurisprudence, said Angela R. Riley, professor and director of the Native Nations Law and Policy Center at the UCLA School of Law, and chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation of Oklahoma.

An American Indian judicial nominee with or without corporate ties might add a much needed understanding of the challenges facing Indian country and tribes to the federal bench, Riley said. That still brings something.

The first challenge to getting more diverse judges confirmed to the federal bench is getting people to step forward, said former U.S. district court judge Nancy Gertner, chair of the bipartisan judicial nominations advisory committee for Massachusetts Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey.

Our job is oftentimes convincing legal services lawyers, public defenders, environmental lawyers that they should apply, said Gertner. That we meant it when we said they should apply.

The advisory committee opened up applications in January, received 32 applications, interviewed 22 people over Zoom, and has made its recommendations to the senators, Gertner said. But the commission missed the Jan. 19 deadline the White House requested because they were prioritizing diversity.

Untraditional candidates may be younger and have fewer years of professional experience. They run the risk of not getting a qualified recommendation from the ABA, which rates judicial picks. The ABA typically requires nominees to have a minimum 12 years experience as lawyers.

Biden isnt asking the ABA to vet his selections to the federal bench before theyre nominated as was the practice of the Obama administration, but its ratings still carry some weight during the confirmation process.

Easha Anand, a Supreme Court and appellate lawyer at the MacArthur Justice Center who focuses on criminal defense, was surprised to see her name on the Peoples Parity Project list.

Historically, Anand said her background representing prisoners, taking on reproductive rights cases, and making her views on issues publicly known would have been disqualifying.

I have no illusions about ending up on the bench, but the fact that Im even a part of the conversation shows how much has shifted in the past couple of years, Anand said.

Gertner, who now teaches at Harvard Law School, can relate. As she tells it, her resume included representing a lesbian feminist radical revolutionary accused of killing a cop and working on abortion and sex discrimination cases. Plus, she married the legal director of the ACLU of Massachusetts.

Gertner says those experiences gave her a different perspective during 17 years as a district court judge in Boston. Her criminal defense background made her ask different questions, such as whether traffic-related stops on a Black defendants prior record were racially motivated.

I added the experience of walking into the courtroom with your client and walking out of the courtroom with him in chains, Gertner said.

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Progressive Judges Wish List Heavy on ACLU, Light on Big Law - Bloomberg Law

Rosemary Boeglin, who has been handling the economic portfolio in the White House press shop, is expected to play a role in the outside efforts that are still coming together, particularly as the administration works to maintain ties with progressives as their policy agenda takes shape.

Boeglin, who came to the White House after roles in Biden's transition and campaign, served as the national press secretary to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign. She also served as a deputy press secretary for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

"It's been an honor to work for President Biden on the campaign and in the White House, and I look forward to taking on the task of advancing the teams progressive agenda," Boeglin said in a statement to CNN.

A nonprofit advocacy group, named Building Back Together, will launch next month with the White House's blessing and is expected to air ads and coordinate pro-Biden messaging with other supportive outside groups, sources told CNN earlier this month.

White House officials view the group as a key element in the effort to both sell and maintain support for Biden's agenda in the months ahead and top White House officials are expected to stay in close touch with the nonprofit's strategists but will not direct or control the group directly.

"Rosemary Boeglin is an extraordinarily talented and highly valued member of the Biden team and we look forward to continuing to work closely with her as she takes on a new role in the coming weeks advocating on the outside for the President's progressive agenda," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.

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White House aide with close progressive ties leaving to join nascent outside group - CNN