110th Congress / House / 1st session / Vote 18
- Question: On Passage
- Bill: H R 2
- Vote description: This bill would increase the federal minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour over two years. It would increase the minimum wage in three increments. Sixty days after enactment, the minimum wage is to be raised to $5.85. A year after that it will be $6.55, and a year after that it will be $7.25. This is the first change to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 since 1997 when the federal minimum wage was increased from $4.75 to $5.15 an hour. The bill also applies the federal minimum wage to the North Mariana Islands, a territory of the United States. The legislation passed in the House on Jan. 10, 2007, with a vote of 315-116. Every House Democrat voted in favor of the proposal along with 82 Republicans. The Senate version has been stalled because President Bush recommended that tax cuts for small businesses be added to the bill. Senate Democrats lost a 54-43 cloture vote on Jan. 24, 2007 to pass the legislation without tax cuts. The Senate bill now includes $8.3 million in tax breaks even though House Democrats argue constitutional precedents require that tax legislation originate in the House, according to The Washington Post. If the Senate passes its version of the bill, both the chambers will have to reconcile their differences between the two versions.
- Vote type: Recorded Vote (Help)
- Result: Passed, 315-116, with 4 not voting.
- Date/time: January 10, 2007, 5:10 p.m.
- Republican majority opinion: No (Help)
- Democrat majority opinion: Yes (Help)
Key Vote Analysis
This bill would increase the federal minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour over two years.
It would increase the minimum wage in three increments. Sixty days after enactment, the minimum wage is to be raised to $5.85. A year after that it will be $6.55, and a year after that it will be $7.25. This is the first change to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 since 1997 when the federal minimum wage was increased from $4.75 to $5.15 an hour.
The bill also applies the federal minimum wage to the North Mariana Islands, a territory of the United States.
The legislation passed in the House on Jan. 10, 2007, with a vote of 315-116. Every House Democrat voted in favor of the proposal along with 82 Republicans.
The legislation passed in the Senate on Feb. 1, 2007, on a 94-3 vote. The Senate bill includes $8.3 million in tax breaks even though House Democrats argue constitutional precedents require that tax legislation originate in the House, according to The Washington Post. Both the chambers will have to reconcile their differences between the two versions.
See other key votes in the 110th Congress
