*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).
Ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Iran this week have reignited the debate about whether or not bitcoin works as a safe haven asset in times of heightened geopolitical uncertainty.
Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, the spiritual guru and bestselling author, ended her campaign on Friday, weeks before voting begins,
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced new sanctions against Iran and its economy.
In a letter to her Democratic colleagues, Pelosi said she was proud of their "courage and patriotism" and warned that senators now have a choice as they consider the charges of abuse and obstruction against the president.
U.S. employers downshifted on hiring in December, adding 145,000 jobs, with steady spending by Americans continuing to steer economic growth heading into a presidential election year.
Here are the headlines you Need 2 know for Friday, January 10, 2020
The House approved a resolution on Thursday to force the president to halt military action against Iran without Congressional authorization, restarting conversations on the role of Congress in war.
Experts say geopolitical tensions and sanctions make a hard job already harder, restricting the flow of information necessary to find the facts of the crash.
The Iowa Senator made the characterization to Cheddar after his Republican colleagues Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) blasted the president's long-awaited and delayed briefing on the killing.
The officials, citing U.S. intelligence, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information. They said they had no certain knowledge of Iranian intent. But they said it could very well have been a mistake, and that the airliner was mistaken for a threat.
