House Democrats unveil draft of stimulus measures, which include a minimum wage increase and $130 billion for reopening K-12 schools

<p><img src="https://static3.businessinsider.com/image/6021aa54cca90200129b7199-2000/Pramila Jayapal .jpg" border="0" alt="Pramila Jayapal " data-mce-source="Graeme Jennings/Pool/AFP via Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, D-WA, looks on during an Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee hearing, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, DC July 29, 2020, on &amp;quotOnline platforms and market power"></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>The House Committee on Education and Labor released a draft of its budget bill on Monday, detailing key components of the pandemic relief package. It includes a gradual federal minimum wage increase, funding for reopening K-12 schools, and additional pandemic benefits.</p><p>Led by Education and Labor Chair Bobby Scott, the <a href="https://edlabor.house.gov/imo/media/doc/Committee%20Print%20(Reconciliation%20Directives).pdf">draft bill</a> is part of the Democrats' efforts to pass President Joe Biden's $2 trillion stimulus plan through budget reconciliation.</p><p>The bill includes language on a federal minimum wage increase to $15 an hour by 2025, a measure that was in the spotlight Monday after the Congressional Budget Office <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/minimum-wage-increase-cut-poverty-adding-54-billion-budget-deficit-2021-2">released a report</a> on the impact the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/democrats-introduce-bill-to-raise-minimum-wage-15-by-2025-2021-1">Raise the Wage Act of 2021</a> would have on the federal budget. The House bill outlines the course the wage increase should take each year, starting at $9.50 on the effective start date of the legislation and ending at $15 an hour.</p><p>Other elements of the bill include:</p><ul><li>$130 billion for reopening K-12 schools;</li><li>$40 billion for higher education;</li><li>$5 billion for extended COVID-19 food benefits;</li><li>$1.4 billion for senior-care services;</li><li>And stricter workplace safety guidelines during the pandemic.</li></ul><p>In response to the federal minimum wage increase included in the bill, the Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal said in a <a href="https://progressives.house.gov/press-releases'ID=31EC8131-CAEE-4318-831B-E2605B3322A7">statement</a> that "there's no excuse to pay workers a poverty wageevery job has dignity and every worker deserves a livable wage."</p><p>"In the midst of a deadly pandemic, millions of American workers are risking their lives for poverty wages that haven't been raised in over a decade," Jayapal said. "It's long past time for Congress to right this wrong and enact a minimum wage that allows families to live with dignity."</p><p>This draft bill is part of the House's pandemic reconciliation package, and House committees are expected to meet in the days ahead of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stimulus-pelosi-biden-relief-package-timeline-congress-pass-february-2021-2">House floor vote</a> on the package to determine what will be included.&nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/house-education-includes-minimum-wage-increase-130-billion-reopening-schools-2021-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-planes-future-of-aviation-problems-regulations-2020-3">Why electric planes haven't taken off yet</a></p>
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