Minimum wage boost killed by Senate GOP.(Business)

Senate Republicans yesterday killed a labor-backed proposal to raise the federal minimum wage by $1 an hour.

The Senate voted along party lines, 55 to 44, to scrap the bill, which would have increased wages for America's lowest-paid workers from $5.15 an hour to $6.15 an hour by 2000.

The vote was a clear defeat for the AFL-CIO and for the bill's sponsor, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat, who spearheaded the successful effort three years ago to enact the nation's first minimum-wage increase in 20 years. He had pushed to have his proposal adopted as an amendment to legislation to overhaul bankruptcy laws to make it harder for people to sweep away their debts.

It was also a defeat for President Clinton, who vowed during his State of the Union address in January to fight for the increase.

That effort, along with many of the initiatives spelled out in his January speech to the nation, have withered on the legislative vine as Mr. Clinton battles to salvage his presidency from the Monica Lewinsky sex-and-lies scandal.

"The president's recent political problems certainly did not help the Democrats fight this battle," said Lee Culpepper, chairman of the Coalition for Job Opportunities, a blanket organization of business groups.

He said business groups had laid the groundwork to fight against the wage increase long before independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr's report on the scandal was sent to Capitol Hill.

Since the president's January address to the nation, however, Mr. Culpepper said it was clear that the Democrats were not prepared to wage as strong an effort as they did two years ago when minimum wage became a hot-button election year issue.

Mr. Clinton, who was in New York for a meeting with Japan's prime minister, expressed his disappointment with the Senate's action.

He issued a statement saying a minimum wage boost would have "helped ensure that parents who work hard and play by the rules do not have to raise their children in poverty."

"We value working families, and that is why we should raise the value of the minimum wage," the president said. "I will continue the fight in Congress to do just that."

Democratic leaders had argued that, with the continued strong economy, U.S. corporations could afford a rise in the minimum wage without cutting into jobs or profits.

"If we don't do it when the economy is strong, we certainly won't do it when the economy is weak," Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota told reporters yesterday before the Senate vote.

Business groups, however, aggressively lobbied against the measure warning individual members of Congress that the business community would remember every vote cast in favor of the increase.

Some industry groups questioned Mr. Kennedy's motives for pushing for a vote on the minimum wage increase since it was widely known that the proposal lacked enough support in both chambers to make to Mr. Clinton's desk this time around.

An aide to Mr. Kennedy confirmed as much, saying the senator has made it clear that the GOP's stance on wages for America's lowest-paid workers would come up during the fall congressional campaigns.

"The fact is that the true colors of the Republican Party were on display in the Senate today," said Jim Manley, Mr. Kennedy's spokesman.

"Senator Kennedy is confident that voters will remember on Election Day what the Republicans have done today."

Minimum wage boost killed by Senate GOP.(Business)

Senate Republicans yesterday killed a labor-backed proposal to raise the federal minimum wage by $1 an hour.

The Senate voted along party lines, 55 to 44, to scrap the bill, which would have increased wages for America's lowest-paid workers from $5.15 an hour to $6.15 an hour by 2000.

The vote was a clear defeat for the AFL-CIO and for the bill's sponsor, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat, who spearheaded the successful effort three years ago to enact the nation's first minimum-wage increase in 20 years. He had pushed to have his proposal adopted as an amendment to legislation to overhaul bankruptcy laws to make it harder for people to sweep away their debts.

It was also a defeat for President Clinton, who vowed during his State of the Union address in January to fight for the increase.

That effort, along with many of the initiatives spelled out in his January speech to the nation, have withered on the legislative vine as Mr. Clinton battles to salvage his presidency from the Monica Lewinsky sex-and-lies scandal.

"The president's recent political problems certainly did not help the Democrats fight this battle," said Lee Culpepper, chairman of the Coalition for Job Opportunities, a blanket organization of business groups.

He said business groups had laid the groundwork to fight against the wage increase long before independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr's report on the scandal was sent to Capitol Hill.

Since the president's January address to the nation, however, Mr. Culpepper said it was clear that the Democrats were not prepared to wage as strong an effort as they did two years ago when minimum wage became a hot-button election year issue.

Mr. Clinton, who was in New York for a meeting with Japan's prime minister, expressed his disappointment with the Senate's action.

He issued a statement saying a minimum wage boost would have "helped ensure that parents who work hard and play by the rules do not have to raise their children in poverty."

"We value working families, and that is why we should raise the value of the minimum wage," the president said. "I will continue the fight in Congress to do just that."

Democratic leaders had argued that, with the continued strong economy, U.S. corporations could afford a rise in the minimum wage without cutting into jobs or profits.

"If we don't do it when the economy is strong, we certainly won't do it when the economy is weak," Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota told reporters yesterday before the Senate vote.

Business groups, however, aggressively lobbied against the measure warning individual members of Congress that the business community would remember every vote cast in favor of the increase.

Some industry groups questioned Mr. Kennedy's motives for pushing for a vote on the minimum wage increase since it was widely known that the proposal lacked enough support in both chambers to make to Mr. Clinton's desk this time around.

An aide to Mr. Kennedy confirmed as much, saying the senator has made it clear that the GOP's stance on wages for America's lowest-paid workers would come up during the fall congressional campaigns.

"The fact is that the true colors of the Republican Party were on display in the Senate today," said Jim Manley, Mr. Kennedy's spokesman.

"Senator Kennedy is confident that voters will remember on Election Day what the Republicans have done today."