It seemed like it’d be fairly easy. The House already passed a measure to raise the minimum wage in a “clean” bill (no extraneous amendments or tax cuts), with broad bipartisan support. The president has indicated that he’d sign it. The public backs it overwhelmingly.<\/p>\n
And yet, when the measure came to the floor today, Senate Republicans managed to block it<\/a>. Dems needed 60 votes to pass the bill; they got 54.<\/p>\n Democrats’ promise of a quick increase in the minimum wage ran aground Wednesday in the Senate, where lawmakers are insisting it include new tax breaks for restaurants and other businesses that rely on low-pay workers.<\/p>\n On a 54-43 vote, Democrats lost an effort to advance a House-passed bill that would lift the pay floor from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour without any accompanying tax cut. Opponents of the tax cut needed 60 votes to prevail. […]<\/p>\n “Why can’t we do just one thing for minimum wage workers, no strings attached, no giveaways for the powerful?” asked Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., a leading sponsor of the bill.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Apparently, that’s too much to ask.<\/p>\n I was on a conference call with Speaker Pelosi last week in which she indicated that she’d be willing to consider additional tax breaks for affected companies — after Congress finally passed a minimum wage increase for the first time in 12 years. That wasn’t enough; no tax cuts means no wage increase.
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\nFor the record, here’s the roll call<\/a>. Every Democrat in the chamber voted for the increase, while five Republicans broke ranks and voted with the Dems: Coleman (R-MN), Collins (R-ME), Snowe (R-ME), Specter (R-PA), and Warner (R-VA).<\/p>\n