*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).
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is launching a new global program called "Generation Equality: Realizing women's rights for an equal future," a partnership between UN Women, the World Economic Forum, the private sector, and Gates Foundation.
Republican Senator Mitt Romney from Utah told Cheddar he would be interested in hearing from John Bolton as the president's impeachment trial defense headed into its final day.
Speaking before Trump's attorneys begin their final day of defense arguments in the impeachment trial Schumer maintained Democrats would not bargain on witnesses.
U.S. officials say President Donald Trump's long-awaited Middle East peace plan calls for the creation of a State of Palestine with its capital in portions of east Jerusalem.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, January 28, 2020.
The Republican senator from Texas gave some indication that he was curious about the alleged bombshell manuscript by former national security advisor John Bolton that might further implicate President Trump in his trial.
Trump's lawyers on Monday brushed past the extraordinary allegations in the draft of a new book by his former national security adviser as the legal team made historical and legal arguments for acquittal.
GOP and Dem senators offered different reactions to a bombshell New York Times report that ex-National Security Advisor John Bolton wrote in a manuscript that President Trump told him that he froze aid to Ukraine in exchange for a Biden investigation.
U.S. stocks fell sharply Monday as investors worry about the potential economic impact of the outbreak of a new virus from China. The declines in the U.S. followed a sell-off in markets in Europe and Japan.
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.
