Republicans Block Minimum Wage Increase
Sen. Bernie Sanders discusses the minimum wage with MSNBC #39;s Alex Wagner.
By: Bernie Sanders
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Republicans Block Minimum Wage Increase - Video
Republicans have held vote after vote on Obamacare, partly to stoke the conservative base for this fall's elections. Senate Democrats look set to use the same strategy with a plan to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. Their first bid failed Wednesday.
Senate Republicans on Wednesday used a procedural vote to block Democrats from raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. But just as Republicans hammer away at the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, day in and day out, expect Democrats to keep pounding at this issue and others related to their agenda of economic fairness.
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There will be a second vote. Then there will be a third. And well get closer to the election, and well see how people feel, said Sen. Tom Harkin (D) of Iowa, who sponsored the bill.
But many Republicans dont think theyll feel any pain for holding firm against $10.10, which they see as too high, too fast. (The hourly minimum wage would be raised from $7.25 in three annual steps, and then be indexed for inflation.) More importantly, the increase is a hardship on businesses and thus a job killer, they argue. Polls show that while a large majority of Americans favor increasing the minimum wage, they dont if the tradeoff means more people out of work.
The independent Congressional Budget Office reports that a wage increase to $10.10 could cost 500,000 jobs though it also says that, overall, theincrease would move 900,000 people above the poverty threshold.
On Wednesday morning, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R) of Kentucky took to the floor to say that 6 in 10 Americans oppose a bill like this if it means losing hundreds of thousands of American jobs. He accused Democrats of downplaying the negative effects of a minimum wage increase just as they did the downsides ofObamacare. He pointed to new federal data on Wednesday that showed the US economy slowing to a mere 0.1 percent annualized rate of growth for the first quarter.
We view any discussion about the minimum wage to be just another opportunity to point out that [Democrats] havent gotten the job done, says GOP pollster Ed Goeas of the Terrance Group in Washington. A new ABC/Washington Post poll shows that only 28 percent of Americans think the economy is getting better; 71 percent say its either getting worse or stagnant. Meanwhile, the presidents approval rating is at 41 percent, the lowest in his presidency.
Democrats counter that Republicans block the increase at their peril. They point to 1996, when the GOP controlled the House and the Senate, and then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R) of Georgia swung behind a minimum-wage increase for fear of being punished at the ballot box.
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How do Democrats counter Obamacare? Batter Republicans on minimum wage. (+video)
U.S. Senate Republicans blocked legislation to raise the federal minimum wage as the chambers Democrats pledged to hold more votes on the measure before Novembers election.
Supporters had only 54 votes, with 60 required, to advance the bill, which would increase the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour from $7.25. President Barack Obama, who called for the increase in his January State of the Union address, accused Republicans of pushing a top-down economic policy that benefits the most wealthy at the expense of lower- and middle-income Americans.
By preventing even a vote on this bill, they prevented a raise for 28 million hardworking Americans, Obama said at the White House after the Senate vote. They said no to helping millions work their way out of poverty.
Senator Chuck Schumer of New York said Democrats will bring this issue back over and over and over again.
Raising the minimum wage is a central element of congressional Democrats election-year focus on income inequality, an issue they say appeals to voters and will help them keep control of the chamber. Republicans must gain a net six seats in November to take a majority in the Senate.
Millions of American workers will be watching how each senator votes, Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said on the Senate floor before the vote. For Republicans, this vote will demonstrate whether they truly care about the economy.
Republicans oppose the measure, which they say will cost jobs.
Ins and Outs of Supermajority Rule
Washington Democrats are just not serious about helping the middle class, said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican.
Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee was the only Republican who voted to advance the bill. Reid changed his yes vote to no to preserve his ability to bring up the measure in the future.
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Minimum Wage Increase Blocked by Republicans in Senate
Russian President Vladimir Putin.AP
WASHINGTON Senate Republicans on Wednesday slammed President Obama's response to Russian aggression as timid and insufficient, and offered an alternative that would impose sanctions on banking and energy sectors and provide weapons to Ukraine.
In an election-year broadside against administration policy, eight Republicans led by GOP Leader Mitch McConnell unveiled a package of penalties on Russians, assistance for NATO and exportation of U.S. natural gas. The senators said they hoped to secure Democratic support, and at a minimum, force the White House to develop a cohesive strategy rather than its ad hoc response.
"Without being overly partisan," McConnell, who faces re-election this year, said of the administration, "I'm deeply disappointed with the tepid response to Russian aggression."
The U.S. and the European Union imposed new sanctions against government officials in Moscow and some businesses this week, the latest round of penalties in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea and the increasing unrest in eastern Ukraine.
In the latest development, Ukraine's acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, said the country's police and security forces are helpless to quell unrest in two eastern regions bordering Russia, and in some cases are cooperating with pro-Russian gunmen who have seized government buildings and taken hostages.
Russia has been emboldened, placing tens of thousands of troops near the border with Ukraine and increasing fears in Ukraine of an invasion.
At a Capitol Hill news conference, McConnell, Sen. Bob Corker, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, and a half dozen other Republicans assailed the administration's actions and cast them as ineffective as the U.S. response to Syria and Libya.
"Insufficient, tepid, too timid," said Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.
"The president has an uncanny ability of underestimating every crisis and being late," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
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Senate Republicans introduce new Russia sanctions bill, rip Obama's 'tepid' response
Heartless Republicans are Wiping Out The American #39;Middle-Class #39;
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Heartless Republicans are Wiping Out The American 'Middle-Class' - Video