Sen. Sherrod Brown Insists Dems 'Gonna Make It Happen' When It Comes to $15 Minimum Wage

Senator Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, insisted that Democrats in Congress are "gonna make it happen" in regards to raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, despite the Senate's parliamentarian ruling that this proposal could not go through the budget reconciliation process.

Progressive Democrats have pushed for the $15 minimum wage, which is backed by President Joe Biden, to be passed as part of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that will provide further COVID-19 relief amid the ongoing pandemic. But the Senate parliamentarian ruled last week that the wage hike doesn't fit with the complicated rules governing the budget reconciliation process. The White House has said the president is "disappointed," but accepted the decision.

In an interview with NBC News' Meet the Press, Brown, who chairs the Senate Banking Committee, said that Democrats would find another way to pass the wage increase going forward.

"I don't think we have patience. Democrats are united in giving a raise. The last time the Senate voted for a higher minimum wage, it was my first month in office. It was the first speech I gave on the Senate floor," Brown said.

The federal minimum wage was last raised to its current amount of $7.25 per hour back in 2009.

"We're going to find a way to [raise it]. We're going to make attempts; we're going to find a way to. It's just too important not to," Brown insisted.

The senator also criticized Republicans for blocking the minimum wage increase for so long.

"We will figure out a way to do this because again Democrats are united in raising wages. The corporate elite, the far-right elite in Washington have blocked it year after year after year after year, and we're going to make it happen," he said.

It's unclear how Democrats will manage to pass the wage hike given the current dynamics of the Senate. Due to the legislative filibuster rule, at least 60 senators are required for most legislation to be approved. Currently, the Senate is evenly split 50 to 50, with Vice President Kamala Harris being able to cast tie-breaking votes. The budget reconciliation process is a complicated process through which bills can be passed by a simple majority, which will allow Democrats to pass the COVID-19 relief bill without any Republican support.

"We are not going to give up the fight to raise the minimum wage to $15 to help millions of struggling American workers and their families," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement last week following the parliamentarian's determination. "The American people deserve it, and we are committed to making it a reality."

Newsweek reached out to Schumer's office for further comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

Some Republicans have put forward a significantly more modest minimum wage increase proposal. Instead of raising the wage to $15 per hour progressively by 2025, the GOP bill would raise it to just $10 per hour. Moderate Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia has similarly suggested that he'd be more supportive of raising it to $11. But progressive Democrats remain firmly behind $15.

An economic analysis of the Republican $10 proposal found that it would provide relatively minimal economic benefits. The analysis published by the Economic Policy Institute last week found that just 3.2 percent of workers would see a raise by 2025 under the Republican approach, compared to more than 21 percent under the Democrats' plan.