*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).
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, July 30, 2019.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, July 30, 2019.
The legislation signed by the N.Y. governor will reduce penalties for possession and expunge existing criminal records for hundreds of thousands of residents.
Laura Gómez sat down with Cheddar to discuss the seventh, and final, season of the hit Netflix series, which sees the character she plays, Blanca Flores, navigate an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center.
Michigan Democratic Chairwoman Lavora Barnes encourages presidential hopefuls to take Michigan seriously when it comes to the campaign and not just focus on the early races, like Iowa or New Hampshire.
Residents of Baltimore are working to showcase the best that their hometown has to offer, just days after President Trump attacked Congressman Elijah Cummings and described the city as a "a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess."
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, July 29, 2019.
Chicago-based cannabis company Cresco Labs unveiled a new dispensary and retail cannabis shop concept on Monday. Called Sunnyside, the concept emphasizes health and wellness and aims to create an accessible, immersive retail environment that pushes Cresco along on its mission of creating a nationally-recognizable cannabis brand.
The California Democrat said that supportis growing, pointing to five more members of his party who have come to support impeachment proceedings since Mueller's testimony.
Shares of CannTrust surged 15 percent on Friday after the Canadian cannabis company announced it terminated CEO Peter Aceto in the midst of regulatory drama that has plundered the company's stock value. Jefferies' analyst Ryan Tomkins predicted the management shuffle in a Wednesday note, which called management's positions "untenable."
