*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).
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This is your Washington Week Ahead for the week of March 1.
U.S. health advisers have endorsed a one-dose COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson that's expected to provide an easier-to-use option to fight the pandemic.
Following the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on the widespread SolarWinds cyberattack, cybersecurity experts are pushing the need for private businesses and federal agencies to cooperate closely to prevent future such breaches.
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.
Andy Purdy, chief security officer for the company's U.S. division, refuted reports that Huawei would be manufacturing electric cars of its own.
Democrats are looking to Biden to aggressively pursue judicial appointments following Trump's rapid rate of picks. Advocates point to some early signs that the new president may be following their lead.
