by Donna Jablonski, Aug 3, 2006

Senate Democrats blocked an attempt by Republican congressional leaders to slash estate taxes for the very rich by tying it to a minimum wage increase. After 10 p.m. Thursday, Republicans roped in only 56 of the 60 votes they needed to keep alive what’s been called the most cynical political ploy in recent years. Forty-two senators voted to stop the measure from moving toward passage.

Thousands of working family activists called their senators Wednesday and Thursday urging them to reject the bill Republican leaders rammed through the House at 1:30 a.m. July 29. In addition to handing tax cuts to the already rich–at a cost to the U.S. Treasury of some $750 billion–the bill would have cut wages for tipped workers in seven states.

We’ll have more on the vote and what it means to working families in the morning.

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