Minimum Wage Update

The Senate approves the increase to $7.25 by a vote of 94 to 3. Mitch McConnell takes credit for it:

“This is a testament to what we can accomplish when we work together to move critical legislation forward,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). “We look forward to working with the House of Representatives to send a final bill to the President that will be a victory for both those who earn the minimum wage and those who pay it.”

OK, you may sigh “ahem” at the news that the Republicans held out for those tax breaks, but then the joke may be on them:

The House technically has the right to set aside any tax or budget bill that come from the Senate. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, had earlier reiterated his prerogative to “blue-slip” or set aside indefinitely such a bill coming from the Senate.

That’s correct. Under the Constitution, tax bills technically should start with the House. Let’s hope Rangel does take his prerogative to blue-slip these tax cuts. Something tells me that we’ll see enough Republicans caving so that it will get through the Senate. If not – the GOP has given the Democratic Party a huge issue for the 2008 elections.