*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).
Despite uncertainty on who exactly will be in the White House, the Senate in GOP control, and the House in Democratic hands, Wall Street is riding high.
President Trump won support from about 8 in 10 white evangelical Protestant voters, according to the AP VoteCast. But Catholic voters split almost evenly between him and Joe Biden.
Election officials in key battlegrounds are pressing forward with vote counting, two days after Election Day. Democrat Joe Biden is urging patience, while President Donald Trump is pursuing legal options, insisting the processing of ballots should be stopped.
Katie Hobbs, Arizona's Secretary of State, joined Cheddar to discuss the safety of poll workers as President Trump levels accusations at the process and when Americans can expect an update.
Michigan Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson joined Cheddar to discuss Trump's attempts to increase doubt in the election process and the state's security protocols that were taken to protect against such attacks.
The Fed announced no new actions after its latest policy meeting but left the door open to provide further assistance in the coming months.
As Democrat Joe Biden inches closer to the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House, President Donald Trump’s campaign has put into action the legal strategy the president had signaled for weeks.
Joe Biden has won Michigan and Wisconsin, pushing him closer to 270 Electoral College votes and narrowing President Donald Trump’s path to reelection.
The Trump campaign says it has filed lawsuits Wednesday in Pennsylvania and Michigan, laying the groundwork for contesting the outcome in undecided battleground states.
Councilman Ritchie Torres became the first openly gay Black man to win a Congressional seat on Election Day. He will now represent New York's 15th District recently vacated by long-time Congressman José Serrano.
