*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).
Debra Wada, vice chair of the National Commission of Military, National and Public Service discussed what Selective Service entails in light of recent interest from the recent killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday he has secured the Republican votes needed to start President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial and postpone a decision on witnesses or documents that Democrats want.
The Florida congressman is defending the president's actions in authorizing a drone strike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani last week and told Cheddar the president acted in self-defense.
As tensions continue to rise in the Middle East, Mike Pompeo answered questions from reporters at the State Department.
A stampede broke out Tuesday at a funeral for a top Iranian general killed in a U.S. airstrike, and at least 40 people were killed and more than 200 were injured as thousands thronged the procession, two Iranian news agencies reported.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, January 7, 2020.
Brent oil prices, the international benchmark, hit the $70 mark for the first time in three months and the price of West Texas Intermediate, the American oil benchmark, reached more than $63 a barrel.
In a statement Monday, Bolton, who left the White House in September, says that he has weighed the issues of executive privilege and "concluded that, if the Senate issues a subpoena for my testimony, I am prepared to testify."
Two top Senate Democrats are calling on President Donald Trump to immediately declassify the administration’s reasoning for the deadly strike on an Iranian official.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, January 6, 2020.
