*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).
Stocks are falling in early trading on Wall Street Thursday, but the losses are more subdued than the wild swings that have dominated recent weeks. At least for now.
President Trump outlined a plan to alleviate interest on student loans held by federal agencies, but the details on how people can access the economic relief during the COVID-19 outbreak remains elusive.
The Dow Jones lingered below the 20,000 marks, a third of what it was a month ago, when it closed at a record high of 29,551.42 on Feb. 12
The 2020 count was just getting started when COVID-19 hit America's shores. Now the federal agency plans to continue while preparing a contingency plan if the situation changes.
As the U.S. struggles to ramp up testing and respond to the spread of novel coronavirus within the nation’s borders, the president announced a series of stepped-up efforts to help the country and individuals.
The world's top oil-producing countries — and some GOP lawmakers — are effectively pleading with Saudi Arabia to end its price war with Russia, which has sent prices plummeting to four-year lows.
Stock trading has been halted for the fourth time this month Wednesday as S&P 500 drops 7%.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, March 18, 2020.
In a memorandum issued Wednesday, Treasury is calling for two $250 billion cash infusions to individuals: A first set of checks issued starting April 6, with a second wave in mid-May.
Stocks are falling sharply on Wall Street in early trading as fears spread that the coronavirus is causing a global recession.
