Minimum Wage Increase Expected to Pass Today

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on a bill that will raise the federal minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour, the first increase since 1997. Passage is expected, along with Senate approval and finally, the signing of the bill into law by President George W. Bush.

Along with stem cell research, raising the federal minimum wage was a key issue in November's historic elections in which Democrats overhauled both Houses of Congress. Five different states passed ballot initiatives raising their own minimum wage above the federal level. New Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to hold the position, promised swift action on the part of Democrats when Congress resumed this month, and the expected passage of the minimum wage bill is just one aspect of that.

In addition to today's minimum wage bill, House lawmakers are expected to vote this week on other domestic policy initiatives, including approval for federal funding for embryonic stem cell research and approval for implementing security recommendations from the independent commission that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. However, the focus will undoubtedly shift from the Democrats' intended domestic agenda to the highly anticipated national address by Bush this evening regarding his plan for war in Iraq. Bush is expected to outline a plan calling for 20,000 more troops to add to the approximately 130,000 currently stationed in Iraq.

The Democrats' response to Bush's plan and the actions they plan to take with regard to restricting funding for the war through the budget process are being considered a test of their leadership after gaining control in November.

The estimated 13 million Americans who will benefit from a minimum wage increase will be earning approximately $15,080 as a full-time worker. On average, workers earning the new minimum wage would take home between $900 and $1000 per month. Even in Kansas City, Mo., with one of the lowest costs of living in America, a one-bedroom apartment can run you around $400. Add in utilities, a car payment and insurance, rising gas prices and food, and you've got little if any income leftover for savings and retirement, let alone credit card debt and student loans (if applicable).

However, along with the relief that many low-income workers will feel at the increase in the minimum wage comes concerns at the hands of small-business owners who worry about the impact of profits and whether or not they will have to cut employee hours down to make up the difference or raise prices, which will inevitably drive some customers away. It's a balancing act in America, with most Americans recognizing the inability of someone to live on $5.15 per hour, but also wondering where the money will come from to subsidize this increase in a historically shaky economy.

Today's expected passing of the minimum wage increase will provide for the raise in three steps: it would go to $5.85 per hour 60 days after being signed into law by Bush, to $6.55 per hour a year after that, and finally, $7.25 per hour a year after that, making the soonest that minimum wage workers will see the increase in their paychecks March 2009.