A published media report is tying donations made by political action committees, including one controlled by ACA International, to a decision made by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema [D-Ariz.] to vote against an amendment to a bill that would have doubled the national minimum wage to $15 per hour.
Three days after Sen Sinema voted no on the amendment to the American Rescue Plan that would have raised the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, from $7.25 per hour, a number of political action committees made donations to her campaign. ACPAC donated $1,000, as did the Commercial Law League, while Morgan Stanley donated $2,000 to the Senator. Sen. Sinema raised about $45,000 in the days after her vote opposing the minimum wage hike, in which she sided with all 50 Republicans and seven other Democrats.
ACPAC also donated $1,000 to Sen. Joe Manchin [D-W.V.], one of the other seven Democrats who voted against the amendment, according to records compiled by the Federal Election Commission. That donation was made in mid-March, about three weeks after ACPAC made its donation to Sen. Sinema. ACPAC did not make any other donations to the other Democrats who opposed the amendment — Sen. Tom Carper [D-Del.], Sen. Chris Coons [D-Del.], Sen. Maggie Hassan [D-N.H.], Sen. Jeanne Shaheen [D-N.H.], and Sen. Jon Tester [D-Mon.].
Sen. Sinema also received contributions from Tenet Healthcare’s PAC, the Manufactured Housing Institute PAC, and the Association for Professional Flight Attendants PAC on the same day as the donation from ACPAC.
ACPAC donated about $72,000 during the first three months of 2021, according to records maintained by the FEC. More than a dozen of those donations — totaling $32,000 — went toward individuals in Congress or running for Congress.
Sen. Sinema explained her decision in a statement: “No person who works full time should live in poverty,” she said. “Senators in both parties have shown support for raising the federal minimum wage and the Senate should hold an open debate and amendment process on raising the minimum wage, separate from the COVID-focused reconciliation bill.”
