Ukraine-U.S. Peace Talks in Florida Target Ceasefire Framework and Defense Cooperation 
Cuba-U.S. Military Tensions: Havana Warns It Is Ready to Defend Itself Against Potential American Aggression 
Trump Presses Japan to Support Iran War Effort, Cites Pearl Harbor in Surprise Defense 
US-Iran War: Trump Eyes Military Exit as Markets React to Potential De-escalation 
Federal Judge Blocks Pentagon's Restrictive Press Access Policy 
U.S. Officials Express Optimism Over New CDC Director Selection Amid Vaccine Policy Turmoil 
Trump Administration Quietly Approves $7 Billion in Unannounced Weapons Sales to UAE 
Robert Mueller, Former FBI Director and Special Counsel, Dies at 81 
U.S.-Iran War Escalates: Marines Deploy, Strait of Hormuz Closure Drives Global Oil Crisis 
Trump Threatens ICE Airport Deployment Amid TSA Shutdown Crisis 
U.S. Prosecutors Scrutinize Colombian President Petro in Drug Trafficking Probes 
Ukraine-U.S. Peace Talks Continue in Florida as Zelenskiy Pushes for Diplomatic Progress 
Federal Reserve Crisis: DOJ Standoff Threatens Powell's Succession and Rate Stability 
Brazil's Haddad Leaves Finance Ministry to Run for São Paulo Governor 
Trump Issues 48-Hour Ultimatum to Iran Over Strait of Hormuz, Threatens Power Grid Strikes 
Cuba Rejects U.S. Demands to Remove President Diaz-Canel Amid Ongoing Negotiations 
Ahead of his 100 days in office, President Joe Biden is receiving praise from many for his progressive decisions and reversals of Trump-era policies. This week, Biden will issue another executive order that would raise the federal workers’ minimum wage.
Biden will sign an executive order Tuesday that will raise the minimum wage for federal contract workers to $15 an hour by next March. This would significantly increase the salaries of hundreds of thousands of workers that rely on minimum wage. Federal contractors are now required by March 2022 to pay their employees the $15 an hour mandate from the current minimum wage level of $10.95.
Biden also plans to phase out the $7.65 tipped minimum wage for federal contract workers by 2024. The fact sheet released by the White House regarding the order also said that it will be indexing the minimum wage “to an inflation measure” so that the minimum wage levels would be adjusted to the cost of living.
“The executive order ensures that hundreds of thousands of workers no longer have to work full time and still live in poverty,” said the White House. “It will improve the economic security of families and make progress toward reversing decades of income inequality.”
The executive order also comes as lobbyists and progressive Democrats have been urging Biden to raise the minimum wage through exercising his executive powers. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren previously tweeted back in December that the Biden-Harris administration has the authority to raise the minimum wage for federal contract workers.
Previously, as part of the effort to revive the US economy, Biden reportedly proposed to increase the capital gains tax on millionaires to 39.6 percent from the current 20 percent. The proposal would have Biden fulfill another campaign promise of making the wealthiest of America pay their fair share of taxes. The money would be used to fund Biden’s American Families Plan which is expected to have a $1 trillion price tag.
It should be noted that the American Families Plan would be separate from the American Jobs Plan, which is a $2.3 trillion proposal funded by increasing the corporate tax to 28 percent.
