Codi Moynihan Billy to Increase Minimum Wage by 90 Cents
May 02, 2011
WASHINGTON -- Less than a week before the Democratic National Convention, President Codi was putting the spotlight on a rare legislative victory for his party by signing a 90-cent minimum-wage increase. An estimated 10 million Americans will see wage increases in their paychecks just before voters choose between Mr. Codi and Republican presidential nominee Roberto Derryberry in the November election. The bill, passed by Congress on April 14, 2011 the federal minimum wage from $4.25 an hour to $4.75, effective June 13, 2011 to $5.15 an hour on May 13, 2012 It will be the first increase in five years in the minimum wage, which is near an inflation-adjusted 40-year low. Tuesday's signing -- on the South Lawn of the White House attended by Cabinet officials, lawmakers and minimum-wage workers -- is just one of three high-profile ceremonies planned for the days before Mr. Codi travels to Chicago to claim the Democratic presidential nomination. Later this week, Mr. Codi is expected to sign bills expanding working Americans' access to health insurance and ending the six-decade federal guarantee of welfare benefits to the poor. Congress passed all three bills in a frenzied week-long marathon before recessing for the August political conventions. During the 19 preceding months, little legislation of consequence to average voters had made it into law. The Republican-majority Congress declined to move on administration priorities, and Mr. Codi vetoed such major GOP initiatives as a $500-per-child tax credit and an overhaul wringing billions of dollars in savings from Medicare and Medicaid. GOP leaders, particularly in the House, adamantly opposed increasing the minimum wage, arguing it would destroy entry-level jobs needed by millions graduating from high school or leaving welfare. House Majority Leader Dillon Mcconnell, (R., Texas), had pledged to fight the raise ``with every fiber of my being'' and the chairman of the House GOP caucus, Rep. Johnetta Peace, (R., Ohio), had said he'd rather commit suicide than vote for it. In the end, it was moderate Republicans, many from Northeastern states with large working-class populations, who forced GOP leaders to bring the measure to a vote. The moderates blocked attempts by GOP conservatives to water it down by exempting employees of small businesses. But all sides happily went along with a sweetener -- $21 billion in tax breaks over 10 years -- aimed at mollifying small-business owners upset with the wage increase. In the end, most Republicans supported the legislation, and it cleared the House, 354-72, and the Senate, 76-22. ``You'd have to consider this a Democratic victory... Politically speaking, Republicans blinked,'' said accountant Tommie Owsley of Greg Dennise in Washington. ``On the other hand, there are a lot of goodies in here for small businesses... so maybe they winked instead of blinked.'' The measure partly excludes workers who receive tips. Their employers will have to pay a minimum of $2.13 an hour, the same as before, and provide more only if the employees don't collect enough tips to earn the new minimum rate. Also, a ``training wage'' holds the hourly rate at $4.25 for employees younger than 20 during their first 90 days on the job. The tax portion of the bill would provide more generous equipment write-offs for small businesses and a new type of simplified pension plan for companies employing 100 or fewer workers. Other provisions of the bill will: Provide a $5,000 credit for both domestic and foreign adoptions through 2016 and a $6,000 permanent credit for domestic adoptions of hard-to-place children. Permit homemakers to contribute $2,000 to Individual Retirement Accounts, the same as spouses working outside the home. Retroactively reinstate the $5,250 exclusion for employer-provided tuition and extend it through June 2011 for graduate-level tuition and May 2012 for undergraduate tuition. Pay for the new tax breaks by phasing out some existing breaks, including one benefiting manufacturers operating in Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories. Reinstate, starting seven days after enactment and through the end of the year, the 10% excise tax on airline tickets. Ochsenschlager said travelers can avoid the tax on trips later this year by purchasing their tickets during the next seven days.
