Clean Minimum Wage Bill in House—But What About the Senate?

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2007/01/08/clean-minimum-wage-bill-in-house%e2%80%94but-what-about-the-senate/


Clean Minimum Wage Bill in House—But What About the Senate?

by Mike Hall, Jan 8, 2007

A straightforward, no-strings-attached, clean minimum wage bill goes to the House floor Wednesday. Later this week, the Senate version of the $2.10-an-hour minimum wage increase that will move the decade-old $5.15 an hour rate to $7.25 is set to be introduced. (Click here to tell your senators and representative to pledge to raise the minimum wage.)

Despite overwhelming public support—including minimum wage ballot box victories in six states on Election Day 2006—President Bush and some lawmakers say they won’t back the long overdue pay raise unless their corporate friends get even more tax breaks.

Today, more than 500 groups, including the AFL-CIO and ACORN sent a letter to all U.S. senators urging them to back Sen. Edward Kennedy’s (D-Mass.) clean, no-business-tax- giveaways minimum wage bill. While Rep. George Miller’s (D-Calif.) no-strings-attached wage hike is expected to pass the House as part of the new Democratic majority’s “First 100 Hours” agenda, the Senate bill could become a target for the business tax breaks.

Says AFL-CIO President John Sweeney:

For the past 10 years, Republican leaders have held the minimum wage hostage. Corporations and wealthy Americans have gotten their rewards. Now it’s time to do the right thing for low-wage workers, with no payoffs to business.

Since the last minimum wage increase, the value of the wage has fallen to its lowest point in 51 years. An estimated 13 million workers would benefit from a minimum wage increase to $7.25 an hour.

In recent years, Republicans routinely have attempted to block increases with poison pill amendments, including tax breaks to business and rollbacks of worker protections. Last month, Bush said he would only support a minimum wage increase if it included “tax and regulatory relief” for business. Says ACORN President Maude Hurd:

President Bush must listen more closely to the message sent loud and clear on election day: Stop pandering to corporate interests and get down to the business of taking care of working families.

Today’s letter urging the Senate to reject business break amendments is signed by more than 575 groups, including major national worker rights organizations, as well as religious and civil rights groups.

For more information, visit ACORN, the AFL-CIO’s America Needs a Raise website and 7 Days @ Minimum Wage where workers tell their story of struggling to survive on $5.15 an hour.

[BluegrassDem]

1. The question is can they override a veto?