Sanders Push for $17 Minimum Wage Resurrects Pay Raise Roadblock

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is prioritizing a bill that would raise the federal minimum wage to $17 per hour, but he’s running into roadblocks inside and outside of the Democratic caucus highlighting the gap lawmakers have struggled to bridge to raise the benchmark over the past decade.

The Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee chairman announced his intentions in May with a planned markup on June 14, but seven weeks later the panel passed a slate of Democratic priorities for labor legislation, including an overhaul to laws governing unionization, but not Sanders’ minimum wage bill.

“You can’t do everything every ...