Dhaka, March 2 -- The US Senate will start debating President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill this week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Monday after Democrats backed down from an effort to raise the minimum wage to $15 as part of it.

The backpedalling did not end hopes of addressing the minimum wage issue in Congress. Democrats and some Republicans have voiced support for the idea of raising the federal minimum wage, now at $7.25 an hour, for the first time since 2009, although they disagree on how much, reports Reuters.

Republican Senators Mitt Romney and Tom Cotton last week proposed an increase to $10 per hour, but said employers should verify the wage is going to workers who are legally in the United ...