Congressional Digest

Excerpt

(Excerpted from Congressional Digest, March 2007)
As soon as the 110th Congress convened in early January
2007, the newly elected Democratic leadership proposed
the Fair Minimum Wage Act, to raise the Federal minimum
wage to $7.25 an hour over 26 months.
In the Senate, however, when it became clear that supporters
lacked the 60 votes needed to override a Republican
filibuster against a clean bill, Majority Leader Harry
Reid (NV-D) agreed to include in the legislation an $8.3
billion package of tax incentives designed to help small businesses
cope with higher labor costs. The bill passed almost
unanimously; howeve…