*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).
Elizabeth Warren made a vigorous case for a female president and stood behind her accusation suggesting sexism by progressive rival Bernie Sanders Tuesday night in a tense Democratic debate that raised gender as a key issue in the sprint to Iowa’s presidential caucuses.
Senior foreign policy officials from the last several presidential administrations gathered in Washington D.C. Tuesday for a series of panels and workshops aimed at creating a “roadmap for an incoming administration’s first 100 days in office,” according to the Center for American Progress.
The House is preparing to vote Wednesday to send the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate to start the historic trial, several people told The Associated Press.
Here are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, January 14, 2020.
Floridians will not have the opportunity to vote on recreational cannabis in November 2020. Make It Legal Florida, the organization behind a massive push to put adult-use cannabis on Florida's ballot, announced it will instead "shift focus" to the 2022 midterms.
Here are the headlines you Need 2 know for Monday, January 13, 2020
Cory Booker announced Monday that he is ending his presidential run after he failed to qualify for the January Democratic debate.
The president of Americans for Tax Reform particularly liked the numbers that showed an all-time low for discouraged workers.
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.
Stocks are closing broadly lower on Wall Street after giving up early gains. The government's latest report on the jobs market showed a slowdown in hiring last month, but the number was solid enough to cement Wall Street's view that the job market is holding up.
