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Republicans STILL Fighting on Minimum Wage Increase |
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Nobody said it would be easy. And after 10 years without increasing the incredibly shrinking value of the $5.15-an-hour minimum wage, nobody really thought congressional Republicans would abandon their never-ending quest for business and corporate tax breaks.
Last week, the House passed a $1.3 billion package of business tax incentives and breaks designed to get stalled minimum wage legislation into a conference with the Senate. But that’s not business-friendly enough for Senate Republicans.
In its first 100 hours, the new Democratic House majority passed a clean minimum wage bill that would boost the pay for millions of workers by $2.10 an hour to $7.25. The clean bill, with no tax giveaways, then went to the Senate, where the Republican minority killed it by filibuster, then wrangled for weeks before the full Senate passed a version that carries more than $8 billion in business tax breaks.
We’re hearing reports that Senate Republicans intend to try to add more tax breaks to the House bill or possibly even block it. It appears that whatever path they choose, action on the bill won’t take place until after the weeklong Presidents Day recess.
We’ll keep you updated.
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This is my Senator - Minority Leader McConnell. I have never been so embarassed of him.
No Union Member Democrat, Intependent or Republican (if there are any left) , should vote for any Senator who does not support a clean minimum wage Bill.
Giving ever greater tax breaks to business and the rich only increase the wealth gap between the richest and the poorest .
Cutting taxes on the rich places an ever greater tax burden on the Working Class.
Likewise we Union Members should reject Bush’s proposal to give $15,000 tax breaks to those families who pay for their own healt insurance. It may sound good on the surface but in reality it is his way of punnishing Union Workers. The vast majority of Union Workers will not get the $15,000 tax break because off their Union benefit package. His proposal would only encourage more companies to cut their health care.
We instead must urge our Congressional leaders to support a Single Payer Universal Health Care Plan for All Americans.