War Bill Delays Minimum Wage Hike (they are attached to each other)

[rodeodance]

Source: ap




War Bill Delays Minimum Wage Hike

By JESSE J. HOLLAND
The Associated Press
Monday, April 30, 2007; 4:13 AM

WASHINGTON -- Increasing the minimum wage should be easy for a Congress controlled by Democrats, especially with President Bush's pledge of support.

But a $2.10 boost for America's lowest-paid workers is again being delayed, this time in a tussle over whether to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq.



It's been 10 years since the last minimum wage increase, and boosting it from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour over the next two years was a key element of Democrats' midterm election platform. They even added a sweetener for Republicans: $4.8 billion in tax cuts for small businesses over 10 years.

But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., decided to attach the minimum wage provisions to the Iraq war spending bill. Normally that's must-pass legislation. Now it's certain to be the subject of Bush's second veto after Democrats loaded it up with a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/30/AR2007043000151.html

[Warpy]

1. They are in no way connected

but just happen to be on Stupid's desk at roughly the same time.

If Stupid holds a minimum wage hostage to keeping his war going so he can dump it into the lap of some Democrat at the cost of hundreds of US lives and thousands of Iraqi lives, this should be trumpeted all over the place.

The Democrats are truly spineless fools if they don't shop this one around to the networks. Getting impolite is just what is required here and getting impolite will attract the attention of the corrupt media.

[karynnj]

2. It is an AMENDMENT to the emergency spending bill

Not two independent bills.

[dmosh42]

3. Should have been by itself

Now it seems like they are playing politics with what is an important bill to a lot of people. This, plus giving in to the pharmacy industry on bargaining for cheaper medicare drugs, looks like the old Republican way of screwing the public.

[karynnj]

7. I think the reason was that only 51 votes were needed to

pass the emergency spending bill, but a sepeperate bill would have been subject to filibuster - so it would need 60 votes.

[Scooter24]

4. What a stupid move...

to attach it to the Iraq bill. I'm sorry, I'm all for both of these bills, but this reeks of carelessness and self-centeredness.

Why on earth would we gamble something important like this, just to watch it be vetoed? For votes? To make Bush look worse than he already does?

Let's not kid ourselves- when this bill gets vetoed, it's going to be all about Iraq in the news and not about the minimum wage.

I hope it was worth it.

[sybylla]

8. Just a wee bit of a clarification

It wasn't the "Iraq bill" but a Supplemental Appropriations Bill put together by the House Appropriations Committee in charge stuff like balancing the budget.

So it only makes sense that a Supplemental Appropriations Bill would address all the financial issues possible unitl the next full budget or supplemental. Financial issues like putting strings on a small business tax credit (increase in the minimum wage) as well as putting strings on more money for the Iraq Invasion (a timetable).

[sinkingfeeling]

5. "Loaded it up with a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops" ...

could the Washington Post use any more volatile language?

[patrick404]

6. Is this really that unusual?

Aren't most bills amalgams of issues as part of a legislative give and take? Seems that this is quite commonplace.

[RaleighNCDUer]

9. It is common, but it is also stupid.

Attaching the min wage bill, which * would love to veto but politically cannot, to the funding bill which he has already sworn he will veto, just gives him another reason to veto the min wage bill. Min wage is NOT the kind of legislation which is going to force him to pass the otherwise unpassable funding bill. The funding bill is going to allow him to veto the otherwise unvetoable min wage bill.

[patrick404]

10. Good pt

thanks for the clarification

[armodem08]

11. On the flip side, (but I do agree with you)

Bush's veto of the minimum wage bill might cause Americans to dislike him even more than if had just vetoed the Iraq bill. Political suicide to the 2nd degree!

[RaleighNCDUer]

12. Personally, I think he revels in it.

Like a shooter going for the most casualties so he'll get in the history books, * is aiming to leave office with 20% or less - so he will never be forgotten. Suicide, maybe, but he can take us all down with him.

[FreeStateDemocrat]

13. Bull shit, screw you corporate whores on both sides of the aisle.