Senate Still Debating Minimum Wage

More than a week after the House passed a clean bill to raise the minimum wage, the Senate is still debating what to do. The Senate debate centers on whether the minimum wage increase needs to be paired with tax breaks to avoid a threatened Republican filibuster or whether the Senate can pass a clean minimum wage increase with no strings attached.

Senator Clinton has taken the right position and called for a clean minimum wage increase. New York Representative Charlie Rangel lays out the strategy in a Wall Street Journal article:

Mr. Rangel appears to have staked out a bargaining position that Senate Democrats should at least first try to pass the wage increase without the tax breaks. "Why do you need a tax break to do the right thing?" Mr. Rangel asked. "Maybe he (Sen. Baucus) doesn't have a strong feel for the depth of support that this bill has. . . . I strongly disagree that this thing would be filibustered."

Tell Senator Clinton and Senator Schumer to hold firm and pass a minimum wage increase with no strings attached to match the bill the House passed.

Technorati tags: Working Families Party | minimum wage