House Republicans weigh minimum wage hike

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House Republicans worried about their political fate inched toward a vote on Thursday to raise the federal minimum wage for the first time in a decade, but Democrats called it an empty gesture.

Rep. Steven LaTourette, an Ohio Republican active in the negotiations, said the deadlock over the wage hike had been broken.

"The vote to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour over three years will be held tomorrow," he said.

A House leadership aide said a vote was likely, but no firm decision had been made.

The bill that will come before the U.S. House of Representatives will likely be coupled with a controversial small business health plan that could sink the initiative.
...
Critics object to relaxing state restrictions on small business health plans saying that could allow health care providers to avoid covering common and serious diseases like diabetes and breast cancer.

http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=12996184&src=rss/ElectionCoverage

[babylonsister]

1. Why would this be an empty gesture? I get the political ramifications

for the repugs, but so what? It NEEDS to be done!

Edit to add: now I get it (duh, read the article?!)

Democrats awaited the outcome of negotiations among House Republican lawmakers. But they and organized labor warned against attaching a "poison pill" to minimum-wage legislation.

Rep. George Miller, a California Democrat, accused Republicans of creating the "appearance of being for the minimum wage without changing it."

[pinto]

2. "inched toward" is accurate. At least the topic is on the table.

[kysrsoze]

3. This way those fu*cks can say they tried to raise it but dems shot it down

Anything to get votes and screw the general population.

[w4rma]

5. They can *try* to say it. (nt)

[Doctor_J]

4. Well, they've run Congess for 12 years,

and given THEMSELVES raises 8 of those years, so maybe it's time.

[zbdent]

6. If, as Rush Limbaugh claims, nobody works for that little per hour,

then what would be the harm in setting the minimum for the people "who aren't earning" that "low of a wage"?

[Arkansas Granny]

7. And would these be the same Republicans who were telling us

just a few months ago how bad an increase in the minimum wage would be for the economy. Hmmmm.

[MichiganVote]

8. Fuck em'. We in the states aren't waiting for these slaveowners