*By Christian Smith*
Congressman Ro Khanna wants to inspire companies to do better by their workers.
"It's absurd that you have multi-billion dollar companies, trillion-dollar companies that aren't able to pay their workers $15," Rep. Khanna said Friday in an interview on Cheddar.
That's why the prominent House progressive, who represents California's Silicon Valley, is teaming up with ex-presidential candidate and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to introduce legislation that would place a tax on large corporations ー money that is equivalent to the amount of federal benefits their low-income employees receive to make a livable wage.
Rep. Khanna's House bill is called the "Corporate Responsibility and Taxpayer Protection Act" and targets large companies across industries, including tech, retail, and fast food, he said.
Sanders was a little more pointed with his version, dubbed the "Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies Act." That's Stop BEZOS, if you didn't notice.
Rep. Khanna said that Amazon has responded to the Sanders bill, saying the company creates safe working spaces for employees and offers competitive benefits. But the Congressman said the point of benefits is a separate matter.
"They're still not addressing the fundamental point," Khanna said.
"Why can't they just come out and say they're going to pay every employee in our company at least a $15 wage so they can have a livable wage?"
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/congressman-ro-khanna-wants-major-corporations-to-improve-worker-pay-or-pay-more-in-taxes).
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is urging the adoption of a minimum global corporate income tax.
Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass. 4th District), spoke to Cheddar on how Democrats were insistent on passing Joe Biden's American Jobs Plan even without bipartisan assistance.
Utah’s governor has signed a law requiring biological fathers to pay half of a woman’s out-of-pocket pregnancy costs.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
Heather Boushey, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisors, spoke to Cheddar about the Biden administration's positive outlook on the future of U.S. jobs and the economy.
Major League Baseball has moved the All-Star Game from Atlanta’s Truist Park, a response to Georgia enacting a new law last month restricting voting rights.
A Capitol Police officer has been killed after a man rammed a car into two officers at a barricade outside the U.S. Capitol and then emerged wielding a knife.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance Friday to say fully vaccinated people can travel within the U.S. without getting a COVID-19 test or going into quarantine.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth discusses her support for President Biden's infrastructure plan and how it would potentially help improve the economy.
President Biden has named a racially diverse and overwhelmingly female group to federal and other judgeships. His first list of judicial nominees includes three Black women for U.S. courts of appeals.
