By E. Patrick Neer | Echo
A measure intended to raise the minimum wage was shot down by the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, raising the ire of President Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats, Reuters reported.
The White House-backed bill ran into the force of GOP opposition, failing to raise the 60 necessary votes to enter open debate. Only one Republican, Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, joined the almost overwhelmingly Democratic effort to approve the legislation.
The intended to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, was the culmination of one of Obama's top legislative priorities for his term. Hours after the vote was taken in Congress, Obama hosted a White House event to denounce the measure's failure, according to CNN
"If your member of Congress doesn't support raising the minimum wage," Obama said, "you gotta (sic) let them know they're out of step and if they keep putting politics ahead of working Americans, you'll put them out of office."
Congressional Democrats echoed Obama's sentiment, claiming that the GOP's lack of support was indicative of their real priorities.
"It is the equivalent of looking American women in the eye and telling them they don't deserve a living wage," Senator Patty Murray said of the Republican filibuster. "It is telling our middle-class families they don't deserve a fair shot."
Senate Republicans argue that raising the minimum wage will damage the already flimsy economic recovery, CNN reported. They pointed to newly released data indicating that during the first quarter of 2014, the national economy grew a sluggish 0.1 percent.
"They seem to think they can coast on talking points and stale ideas; that the American people haven't been paying attention to their recent dismal record at actually helping the people they claim to care about," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
With attempts to raise the federal minimum wage rate consistently stymied, some states have taken matters into their own hands. Hawaii, Connecticut, Maryland and Washington, D.C., have all passed legislation to raise their state minimum wage to above the $10 per hour mark, according to Reuters. None of these changes would take place immediately but would be phased in over a span of four years.
"I commend our legislators for advancing the proposal to raise Hawaii's minimum wage to $10.10 an hour," Hawaii's Democratic governor Neil Abercrombie said in a Friday statement. "It is imperative to provide our lowest paid workers with the economic stability and security they deserve."
As the focus shifts from a federal minimum wage to a more local determination, some states are taking steps to ensure that it doesn't get too local. In Oklahoma, Republican lawmakers have banned cities from setting their own minimum wage, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Many of these state-focused campaigns are run, or at least heavily supported, by the largest segment of the population that subsides on minimum wage: restaurant workers. According to the Labor Department, nearly half of minimum wage earners work in food service. The National Restaurant Association, representing the owners of these restaurants, strongly opposes any minimum wage hikes, claiming that they are an attempt by labor unions to piggyback salary increases for those already earning more than minimum wage, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Obama has applauded the efforts by states to increase the minimum wage on their own.
"Do not get discouraged by a vote like the one we saw this morning," he said. "Get fired up. Get organized. Make your voices heard. And rest assured, I'm going to keep working with you . . . to raise wages for hardworking Americans."
(Thumbnail photograph courtesy of AP)
